Buying Beer in New York

Contrary to what you might think in a city that allegedly doesn't sleep, it is quite a task to buy beer here. Perhaps the sedative tendency is counter-productive to the whole not sleeping thing. This theory is much easier to believe when you see that there are liquor stores all over the place and none of them sell beer. Several other theories come to mind however. In New York, space comes at a premium. To illustrate, keep in mind that nearly everyone in Manhattan (who didn't move here 100 years ago) is paying rent with a comma in it (i.e. $1,000+) no matter what size the room is or how many roommates there are. Often stores have multiple levels--even McDonald's has an upstairs (for the fit clientele), so store front space is even more important. So it comes as less of a surprise that beer, given its individual, bulky packaging, is harder to find than wine and hard liquor. I guess it should also not be a surprise that it is damn expensive when you do find it, but it comes as quite a shock the first few times.

I've run into this problem by accident a couple times recently--the second time being more egregious than the first. On Saturday, I bought a 6 pack of Sam Adams and a 6 pack of Negra Modelo for a grand total of $25 (without tax--which would have been added if I'd used my card). Yes, 12 mass-produced beers cost me twenty five dollars and that was without tax! Then, last night, I saw Dogfish Head's Raison D'Etre and had to have some. I swear it said 6 for $8.99. On second glance--at my receipt--I realized it actually said $2.99/bottle. It's still cheaper than the bar, but wow. There's got to be a cheaper place to buy decent beer.