Unfortunately, this is quite the common price range for imported North American beers over here in the Netherlands (where the photo is from, if it’s not Belgium). I wouldn’t spend over €10 for a regular IPA, but I see Triple IPA’s as well and I would occasionaly pay that much for one of those, although I prefer stout beers. The North American IPA’s and stouts that we get over here are often outstanding. I assume we mostly get the good stuff here since the cans will be expensive regardless.
These prices include a 21% VAT as well as an excise tax. The latter is based on the alcohol percentage of the beer (higher percentage -> higher tax). Add the fact that it’s imported from across the ocean and you end up with very high prices. Being a beer lover these days is an expensive undertaking.
Regarding the AI topic, I’ve seen cans with these kinds of designs for over a decade in the beer specialty stores and would not accept them being labeled AI generated when from an established brewer without some decent evidence.
BillyClark@piefed.social 8 hours ago
I think the worst thing to come out of this AI thing is how all the conspiracy theorists now have a new target, calling everything AI without even understanding what it means or how to tell what’s AI. Somebody here even posted the contact info, and now the brewer has to deal with that shit.
They have a saying in politics that if you’re explaining, then you’re losing. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t something similar in marketing.
If you’re an unethical participant in some industry, and your competitor has some distinctive-looking artwork on their product, all you have to do is make a few anonymous posts that the artwork is AI, and boy, howdy, that BS is bound to spread itself to all the mainstream sites via conspiracy theorists.
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 3 hours ago
while I take your point, the worst thing to come out of AI is a toss up between pollution and mass unemployment.