Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Bargain Booze in Sydney?

I'm hosting a NYE party for 10+ and wish to have some decent beers and wines on hand. Does anyone have a suggestion for a shop in Sydney that has good variety and won't cause me to have to take out a mortgage to pay for the libations? I've always been surprised to be able to buy Australian wines in the US for less than I can buy the same brand in Australia!



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I've always been surprised to be able to buy Australian wines in the US for less than I can buy the same brand in Australia!
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Sickening in't it. I bought 2 bottles of Oyster Bay Sav Blanc here in Sydney to take to my rellies in LA for $16 a bottle. Imagine my surprise when I found it in Stater Bros for $10.

One place you could try here is 'Dan Murphys'



www.danmurphys.com.au

The large supermarket chains all have outlets which sell bargain booze. Save your legs and find the closest to where you live and you can stock up. Congratulations you do plan ahead, NYE, the best idea is to buy the cheapest and chill it down another degree or two, that way it saves on strawberries and they can't work out if it's good or bad, regards bkkrop

..and don't buy duty free wine. It's a rip off.

Sickening in't it. I bought 2 bottles of Oyster Bay Sav Blanc here in Sydney to take to my rellies in LA for $16 a bottle. Imagine my surprise when I found it in Stater Bros for $10.


I'm sure it was Oyster Bay that i saw at the supermarket for $7.99NZD the other day ;)

For people not from Australia your Wine & Beer feels expensive.

Dan Murphy's has a great range, just lacks the discount we get in NZ at the supermarket.

Dan Murphys or 1st Choice Liquor Stores.
These guys tear each other down for "lowest prices", so sus out what you need, get a quote then hop over to the other store.
If its more expensive, they MAY beat it by 10%.
Plus both sellers do bulk orders, glass hire ice etc...

Just to illustrate the price difference, I went to the Dan Murphy web site and saw an advert for a 6 pack of Dos XX Cerveza, a decent Mexican beer made in Monterrey, Mexico & on sale for $14.90 AUD for a 6 pack... Last week I bought a 12 pack at my local Ralph's Supermarket here in So. California, on sale at $7.99 USD. I also bought a 12 pack of Bohemia for the same price.

How much of the selling price of beer is due to taxes in NSW?



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Australia has a high tax based on alcohol content (and not price), which is good from a public policy standpoint. US has low taxes on alcohol federally and most states also have low taxes; a few are considerably higher. So cheap low-end liquor is expensive in Australia (beer is probably the worst case), while high-end liquor can be same price as US (once in the >$300/bottle range), though the distributors and importers are greedy and operate lower volume so there is not the bargain distribution that you can find in the US (e.g. at Trader Joe's or on the web). Aldi in Australia is probably a good comparison, and sells decent wine for AUD 5/bottle, better than "two buck chuck" sold by TJ in US (and now costing USD 3-4/bottle at most TJ locations). So the difference in pricing isn't quite as extreme as your post suggests, if buying "best in local market" and not some crap like Dox XX (which is a truly abysmal beer, worse than Bud, hence the low price in US where it is not exotic). Now Australia has some truly awesome beers (including one that is made with Shiraz, I kid you not), with the bargains being at the high end due to the tax structure.

Thanks for the explanation, but can you explain why a case of Budweiser I saw at a bottle shop in Freo, WA this summer was priced at AUD$94.99? Far more expensive than a case of Heineken imported from about as far away. Is that including a huge tax component? And who's buying BUD at that crazy price?

Thanks for the explanation, but can you explain why a case of Budweiser I saw at a bottle shop in Freo, WA this summer was priced at AUD$94.99? Far more expensive than a case of Heineken imported from about as far away. Is that including a huge tax component? And who's buying BUD at that crazy price?

:eek::eek: I think buying Budweiser per se is crazy, but at that price??

I'll admit it's many years since I drank it but I wasn't impressed at the time. Never noticed the price before but I'll be sure to check next time I'm in a liquor store...that price seems, errr, crazy. :D

You were right not to be impressed -- it's America's Basic Beer -- and we were so astonished, my wife took a picture of the price placard.

Believe or not, Bud is sold in OZ as a "Premium Imported Beer". :eek:
... How much of the selling price of beer is due to taxes in NSW? ...It's actually federal taxation (excise) - it's the same for all states.

In Australia, excise on "heavy" beer (>3.5% A/Vol) is assessed at a rate of "$36.98 per litre of alcohol calculated on that alcohol content by which the percentage by volume of alcohol of the goods exceeds 1.15" plus GST".

So a 12oz (355mL) Can of Beer at 4% alcohol by volume has excise of 41¢* - that's $2.56 per six pack before you add manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and retail costs (and any profit margin).

* ((4%-1.15%) x $36.98) x 0.355 x 1.1

reference: http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/view.htm?locid=%27PAC/19210026/Sch%27#Sch

I find this site (http://www.boozle.com.au/) handy for comparing grog prices. Bear in mind that prices tend to creep up approaching times of celebration.

Discount Liquor in Surry Hills.

You were right not to be impressed -- it's America's Basic Beer -- and we were so astonished, my wife took a picture of the price placard.

I dropped by 1st Choice Liquor today (one of the cheapest around) and a case of Budweiser (24 x 335 ml bottles) was more sanely priced at $47.99.

That bottle shop in Freo is either going gangbusters or going broke! :)

I dropped by 1st Choice Liquor today (one of the cheapest around) and a case of Budweiser (24 x 335 ml bottles) was more sanely priced at $47.99.

That bottle shop in Freo is either going gangbusters or going broke! :)

Maybe the new kid got the 9 and the 4 the wrong way around.

That bottle shop in Freo is either going gangbusters or going broke! :)

Maybe the new kid got the 9 and the 4 the wrong way around. It was one of those signs with the digital-display style pips, and you color in certain pips with a black marker so the remaining white ones show the price... and it was BIG, and hanging outside the door as if this were a price to be proud of.

Here's photo coverage... I was wrong, actually, the price was $98.99 per case:

http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/2009/08/16/uncommonly-valuable/

BTW, this was in a good-sized shop attached to the Tradewinds Hotel, a km or two uphill from Freo centre. Heineken was going for about half the price, so we wondered if Bud is some kind of rare delicacy... I'm sure if someone found a way to smuggle a case of VB into the States, you could find someone willing to pay USD$100 for it.

and not some crap like Dox XX (which is a truly abysmal beer, worse than Bud, hence the low price in US where it is not exotic).


Since my son is part owner of a beer distributorship here in So. California that handles beers manufactured by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery (Dos Equis, Sol, Bohemia, Superior, Carta Blanca, Noche Buena, Casta, Tecate, etc.), I LOVE Dos XX, etc... One of the great things about the U.S. is that there's a brew available for every taste.




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