CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Inflation claims another victim and is putting your weekend celebrations in jeopardy.
Now, buying a pint or a six pack to relax after a long day will cost you more than it did a year ago.
On the other side, breweries are also facing price hikes for raw materials.
Nueces Brewing Company co-owner Cale Moore tells Action 10 News he's felt the overall increase.
"That’s malt right there, stacked up. It'll get brewed all next week," he said.
Moore said he used to pay $35 for a bag of malt, a key ingredient to make beer. Now, he pays $45 a bag.
Moore also has to pay extra in shipping, to get goods here from Germany.
"If you had a lot of products to ship you would put it in a container for $9,000 to ship it. Now that's $16,000,” said Moore.
The challenges to keep business going doesn't end there.
"Cans have jumped and not only that, the lead times are much longer so you're looking at 6-8 weeks, which makes it very hard because you have to carry a large inventory and you have to pay everything up front. You'll have to float that cost,” he said.
Paying out of pocket to keep their businesses afloat and that's in addition to fuel charges for deliveries across the Coastal Bend.
Moore said he was forced to make menu price adjustments during the summer. What was once a $5 beer is now $5.50.
One customer, Rowlie Hutton, has noticed the couple of cents more he's paying.
"We have noticed, and it really does change how I order off the menu,” Hutton said.
Moore knows customers are worried about the costs of living and with business slowing down in the fall, he manages what he can when it comes to prices.
"So, we just have to be careful of how much inventory we're carrying and watch what we spend,” he said.
Part of Moore's business plan is hosting events like Oktoberfest.
It's a good time for local businesses to bring in customers and showcase their craft beer they brew in house.
If you’d like to get more information for Oktoberfest 2022, click here.
