I wrote:
It's odd that some decent German 4 packs of bombers are waay cheaper than local brews
Just seems crazy that they can ship it all the way from Germany and still be that much cheaper than a brewery only a few miles away
Is there some sort of Germany subsidy?
aa lot of things go in to explaining that price difference.
first, transpo isn't as big a cost as you might think. when you're shipping containers full of beer, the cost per pack is pretty low. those beers are distributed by big shipping networks. also, getting a few 6-packs from Aslin to DTC probably isn't as cheap as you think.
you know how in real estate, the 3 most important things are location, location and location? in brewing it's volume, volume and volume. the breweries you listed are large, industrial breweries. they brew something like 20 to 100 times more beer than anything local to you. volume up = costs down. they can make their beers cheaper and they're priced accordingly.
the there's ingredients: those german brewers spend less on ingredients per bottle/can of beer than your locals. in addition to volume discounts, none of those beers are hop-forward like our IPAs, NEIPAs, etc., nor do they contain other expensive ingredients like vanilla beans, fruit, etc. again, cheaper to make.
finally, you're comparing small(ish) batch local beers to (high-quality) industrial beers. bitburger produces a damn fine lager, but in germany it's considered pedestrian. it's what they serve at soccer stadiums and outdoor festivals. it's not considered a premium product like craft beer, so in a way you're comparing apples to oranges.