What can you buy for $18 USD these days?

[John]

Yesterday, Walmart had huge signs all over the store stating that all 6 packs of beer were $30 pesos. No way! We definitely scored by maxing out with the limit of 8. With the exchange rate around 13.4 pesos to the dollar, my bounty of 48 beers cost a little less than $18 USD - about 37 cents a beer. Woohoo!!



I'm hoping that they were just clearing the selection so they can fill it with a wide variety of imported beer. I know, I know... I should probably stop dreaming about ever having a good beer selection here.

[SUNBABY]

Ah come on John...you know you can"t buy beer..only rent it!

[Libby]

I was at Walmart again today, and the beer section had been completely restocked with the same beers that were on clearance yesterday. Maybe they got an extra shipment of beer in and had to clear it?

[SUNBABY]

maybe it's a loss leader to just get people in the store...then they end up buying alot of other stuff too.

[Libby]

Originally Posted by SUNBABY

maybe it's a loss leader to just get people in the store...then they end up buying alot of other stuff too.

Yeah, but as far as I know, it wasn't advertised! You wouldn't know unless you were already shopping there. I kept seeing Mexicans asking the employees to verify that the 6-packs really, truely were $30 pesos. They were like, "Okay, so this one is $30 pesos? And this one too? How much is this one? Are you sure?" Everyone had these looks of disbelief and it seemed like everyone was in sort of a daze. The concept of a clearance sale is pretty foreign here. I guess this was our version of Black Friday.

[Dan-0]

John, I'm not sure if I follow you- you're buying Leon, Montejo, Victoria, and Pacifico for 30 pesos a six-pack and you're complaining 'cause there's no imported beer? Up here, those are imported beers and they cost double that, at least. But, speaking of imported beer, I've always said if someone would open a brew pub or something like that in Playa they could make a fortune, don't you think?

[John]

Dan-0, my favorite beer is a beer I didn't have yesterday.

With only 2 beer companies and a near monopoly on beer distribution in Mexico, our choices are very limited here. I'm not sure exactly how many different Mexican beers there are, but I've seen about 20. Quiz time, can anyone name them? Bonus points if I've not heard of them. (I'm hoping there are more that I'm not aware of)

I've heard that it is very difficult for beer companies outside of Mexico to distribute beer here. I've seen Heineken, Guinness, Bud Light, and a handful of other beers from Holland and Spain. Rarely, I'll see some new brands, and I'll try to grab a few, like a German beer that was hidden in the back of a beer cooler at the recently renamed Super Más - I nursed that gem nice and slow!

Mega has been doing "Country of the Month" (for lack of a better term) specials lately where they have food and beverages from different places. They've done Thailand in the past, and recently it's been India. With it, they have a few additional imports. We grabbed some Taj Mahal and Kingfisher just the other day. Unfortunately, 3 weeks ago, they had about 15 imports, probably from an earlier special. We had about 30 beers in our cart when we rolled up to the checkout at 10:07pm. You can imagine how upset we were when they told us that liquor sales stopped at 10pm!! We didn't make it back until a few days ago and all those beers had vanished.

As far as someone opening a brew pub... I totally agree! Finding a way to brew fresh local beer here could be quite lucrative. Unfortunately for me, my knowledge is limited to consumption, not creation.

[Cuff]

But I LIKE Leon....
Of course I only have it in Playa.

[susango]

Originally Posted by Libby

Yeah, but as far as I know, it wasn't advertised! You wouldn't know unless you were already shopping there. I kept seeing Mexicans asking the employees to verify that the 6-packs really, truely were $30 pesos. They were like, "Okay, so this one is $30 pesos? And this one too? How much is this one? Are you sure?" Everyone had these looks of disbelief and it seemed like everyone was in sort of a daze. The concept of a clearance sale is pretty foreign here. I guess this was our version of Black Friday.

They didn't want mass hysteria and any trampling. If they advertised, they would've only been able to let 50 people in at a time.

[Dan-0]

Originally Posted by John

Dan-0, my favorite beer is a beer I didn't have yesterday.

With only 2 beer companies and a near monopoly on beer distribution in Mexico, our choices are very limited here. I'm not sure exactly how many different Mexican beers there are, but I've seen about 20. Quiz time, can anyone name them? Bonus points if I've not heard of them. (I'm hoping there are more that I'm not aware of)

Wow, John, I consider myself somewhat of a beer connoisseur and a would-be expert on Mexican beer, but I don’t think I can come close to naming 20 Mexican beers. I can name about 10, and I won’t name them here, let someone who can get closer to 20 do it!

I've heard that it is very difficult for beer companies outside of Mexico to distribute beer here. I've seen Heineken, Guinness, Bud Light, and a handful of other beers from Holland and Spain. Rarely, I'll see some new brands, and I'll try to grab a few, like a German beer that was hidden in the back of a beer cooler at the recently renamed Super Más - I nursed that gem nice and slow!

Yes, I have no doubt that Mexican brewers and distributors makes it very difficult for foreign brewers, even American and Canadian ones, to import their beer. It’s too bad for us beer lovers. When I’m in Chetumal, I buy a German beer that comes in a little 5 liter minikeg at Sam’s Club. It’s a good Pilsner, and the name escapes me, but it’s a decent German beer fix. But, you have to drink it quickly or it goes flat and it’s kind of messy. Across the border in the “zona libre” they sell Heineken, Carslberg, and several other imports for about $10 or so a case.

Mega has been doing "Country of the Month" (for lack of a better term) specials lately where they have food and beverages from different places. They've done Thailand in the past, and recently it's been India. With it, they have a few additional imports. We grabbed some Taj Mahal and Kingfisher just the other day. Unfortunately, 3 weeks ago, they had about 15 imports, probably from an earlier special. We had about 30 beers in our cart when we rolled up to the checkout at 10:07pm. You can imagine how upset we were when they told us that liquor sales stopped at 10pm!! We didn't make it back until a few days ago and all those beers had vanished.

As far as someone opening a brew pub... I totally agree! Finding a way to brew fresh local beer here could be quite lucrative. Unfortunately for me, my knowledge is limited to consumption, not creation.

Wow, y’all got lucky, I’ve never even seen imported beers like these in a supermarket much less been able to buy them. I do hate that 10:00 pm cutoff, that bites, I can only imagine! As far as a brew pub, I think that’s becoming my new retirement goal.

[Ginger]

Well, that's quite a deal.

HEre in BC, you'd pay about $80 for 48 cans of Bud.


The economy's in the toilet, and no one can even afford to drink away their troubles.

[DavidB]

Hey John, can you go pick me up some and drop them off at the Luna Blue. We'll be there in March so no big hurry.

[susango]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

As far as a brew pub, I think that’s becoming my new retirement goal.

Hey let us know if you need partners. We're hard workers.

[synestere]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

John, I'm not sure if I follow you- you're buying Leon, Montejo, Victoria, and Pacifico for 30 pesos a six-pack and you're complaining 'cause there's no imported beer? Up here, those are imported beers and they cost double that, at least. But, speaking of imported beer, I've always said if someone would open a brew pub or something like that in Playa they could make a fortune, don't you think?

Imho a "real ale " pub would never work in Playa ......... hardly anyone knows what real ale is anymore ........ the majority want cheap and cold ( 'cos they are on a budget ) and then make it last a couple of hours whilst sitting there with $200 dollar sunglasses and too cheap to enjoy themselves .When was the last time you heard someone order a pint of bitter , speckled hen or old peculiar . I would kill for a good pint of cider .... yes I know it;s not real ale but it has probably been around for a lot longer , especially in Somerset ............ pint of cider and a ploughmans lunch on a hot day in a real beer garden ... bit like winning the lottery eh

[melliedee]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

As far as a brew pub, I think that’s becoming my new retirement goal.

I have brewpub experience. I'll bartend and run the open mic poetry night.

There WILL be an open mic night, right?

[Dan-0]

Originally Posted by susango

Hey let us know if you need partners. We're hard workers.

Well I know nothing about brewing, so, at this point my role would have to be limited to quality control (i.e. taste-testing!). So, if y'all could do everything else we could be partners!

Originally Posted by melliedee

I have brewpub experience. I'll bartend and run the open mic poetry night.

There WILL be an open mic night, right?

That sounds fantastic, mel! Of course there'll be an open mic. night! You can lead both the open mic poetry night and the karaoke night, how about th