/in before the words "Two Buck Chuck" gets posted

You know what's always held me from being an alcoholic and running over the disabled boy down the street has always been the fact that beer is always $1.01 or more when purchased by the can. Thanks, Aldi's!

Yum!

I didn't think that could be beer selling at that price. Beer is routinely 50c a can around here, as long as you aren't too fussy about things like "taste".

Kar98: Yum!

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I just saw that in an ad yesterday. Is that stuff drinkable? How does it compare to something like... ah crap I can't remember. Well how does it compare to something like Pilsner Urquell?

SNGX1275: Kar98: Yum!

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I just saw that in an ad yesterday. Is that stuff drinkable? How does it compare to something like... ah crap I can't remember. Well how does it compare to something like Pilsner Urquell?

Much better than Pilsner Urquell. Just as quaffable, but less bitter, maybe a bit more malty. And it _is_ an actual traditional brand, not a ALDI store brand.

Ok, cool, good to know. I can drink Pilsner Urquell alright if presented.

10 dollars for 4 liters of wine sounds like a deal. Sounds to me like its one of my Favorites, Richards' Wild Irish Rose. That stuff goes down like Kool Aid on a hot day.

ALDIs = Poor People's store here in Ohio.

Is it nicer in other countries?
/Ohio is a country.

A new bar opened up in town and they had a promotion for a few weeks where they had 25 cent Natty Light cans. Thats about half the price you could buy it for by the case.

/The bar was in a basement and smelled like a sewer
//Natty Light in a can is not even worth 25 cents.

Kroger has been selling 24 oz cans of beer for the past few months for a buck a piece. I've had way too many.

I buy beer for a dollar at ALDIs. I am the 99%

dahmers love zombie: Um, my Aldi sells bottles of wine for about a buck ninety nine, and has since the day it opened. Could one of the Aussie Farkers enlighten me as to why selling beer for the equivalent of six dollars a sixpack (not an uncommon price for the cheaper stuff here in FL, USA) would cause the end of civilization?

It's not about the money ($1/beer is "okay" but not ridiculously cheap), it's about it being sold from the grocery store. It's one of those cases where the outrage is manufactured/supported by interest-groups that benefit from the status quo, so you need a bit of background info to understand what's going on:

a) In most states, grocery stores can't sell liquor.

b) The grocery store market here is severely dominated by 2 big chains (Coles/Westfarmers & Woolworths - no relation to Woolworths UK or USA). To give you some idea of their size: even though Australia is really a teensy tiny market, those 2 chains are in the world's top-30 largest retailers. Accounting for the the size of the market (US = 14*population of Aus), Woolies works out to 1.5 times the size of Walmart and Coles/Westfarmers to 1.4 times the size. Together they have a LOT of market power (70% of national supermarket sales).

c) Over the last decade, Coles & Woolies have taken on the existing liquor industry, mostly by building their own liquor stores adjacent to most of their shops. (They now take 60% of the national liquor market).

When you follow the money, the story is really: Aldi, a relative newcomer to the country, manages to get licensed to sell liquor from within the supermarket, thus threatening the remnants of the existing liquor industry, and making the shop-adjacent liquor stores recently built by the big supermarkets a gigantic waste of money. So, under the guise of health-lobbying, a lot of rich corporations are fighting the idea.

I'm just here to say I'm angry at subby for getting my hopes up because I'm in 'merica.

/the internet is american after all...
//derp...

LiquidSky: dahmers love zombie: Um, my Aldi sells bottles of wine for about a buck ninety nine, and has since the day it opened. Could one of the Aussie Farkers enlighten me as to why selling beer for the equivalent of six dollars a sixpack (not an uncommon price for the cheaper stuff here in FL, USA) would cause the end of civilization?

It's not about the money ($1/beer is "okay" but not ridiculously cheap), it's about it being sold from the grocery store. It's one of those cases where the outrage is manufactured/supported by interest-groups that benefit from the status quo, so you need a bit of background info to understand what's going on:

a) In most states, grocery stores can't sell liquor.

b) The grocery store market here is severely dominated by 2 big chains (Coles/Westfarmers & Woolworths - no relation to Woolworths UK or USA). To give you some idea of their size: even though Australia is really a teensy tiny market, those 2 chains are in the world's top-30 largest retailers. Accounting for the the size of the market (US = 14*population of Aus), Woolies works out to 1.5 times the size of Walmart and Coles/Westfarmers to 1.4 times the size. Together they have a LOT of market power (70% of national supermarket sales).

c) Over the last decade, Coles & Woolies have taken on the existing liquor industry, mostly by building their own liquor stores adjacent to most of their shops. (They now take 60% of the national liquor market).

When you follow the money, the story is really: Aldi, a relative newcomer to the country, manages to get licensed to sell liquor from within the supermarket, thus threatening the remnants of the existing liquor industry, and making the shop-adjacent liquor stores recently built by the big supermarkets a gigantic waste of money. So, under the guise of health-lobbying, a lot of rich corporations are fighting the idea.

Holy shiat, and here in Michigan we JUST now got the stupid law changed so we can get booze before noon on Sundays. No really, just last year...the end of the year even, in December.

Ok ok, I shouldn't be talking. At least we don't have "dry counties" in this state, or regulations that require ALL liquor sales go though a STATE store.

/still think no liquor sales before noon on Sunday in 2011 is archaic

If you're that hard up for coins and still need booze, buy a 40oz of Cobra for $1.79.

The_Time_Master: ALDIs = Poor People's store here in Ohio.

Is it nicer in other countries?
/Ohio is a country.

It's a poor people store everywhere. Or at least everywhere I've lived.

What I find more amusing is the fact that Trader Joe's is basically ALDI marketed to rich white people. For comparison, go to the ALDI at E. 79th & Euclid, and then go to the TJ's in Woodmere. The clientèle will be quite different, but the stores are strikingly similar.


/or you could shop at Didldidi (pops)

One dollar beer is much better than a five dollar fifth. At least for your liver.

raggtopp's very good explanation notwithstanding, the other problem that has been found with selling alcohol from within a supermarket is they sell it as a loss-leader, and make up the loss on other products drunkards buy on their way through the supermarket.

In a country already overflowing with alcohol abuse and the concomitant problems, even cheaper booze is not really where you want to be going.

In NZ they're looking at rejigging the laws so that the alcohol has to be a bit out of the way (like the porn corner at the old video store) rather than right up front where everyone has to walk past it. As if drunks will forget to buy it if they have to go a few metres out of their way.

Nothing like nasty warm beer brand Aldi beer.

/better than the generic beer at Penny Markt at least.

Fuggin Bizzy: What the hell is an "Aldi?" And where can I get one?

It's a grocery store that makes Wal-Mart look upscale. Instead of displaying food on shelves, they just kind of chuck some boxes out, slit them open with a knife (generally scoring the product inside), and let the customers root through them. This doesn't bother the customer base, recent immigrants who previously were used to getting food by queuing up for a couple of scoops of UN-approved gruel dished into a rusty pan. All the food is really weird off-brands. "Nestley Chocolate" (PRODUCT OF BULGARIA), "Camble's Soup" (NOW WITH MORE GOAT), and the like.

Or at least, that was my impression from the one and only time I accidentally ventured into one ten years ago.

Aldi's has good stuff for a good price in a store that's small enough to navigate.

The horror. I must spend far more on the same items elsewhere or I will be thought of as POOR!

I spend $200 in Aldi on groceries and it takes almost 3 carts to haul it all. It's food. It's cheap. It's all food by-products later.

I wish Aldi sold cheap guns and cheap ammo.

The_Time_Master: ALDIs = Poor People's store here in Ohio.

They're a low-priced supermarket, but you should give them a shot, as not everything they sell is discount merchandise. They carry name-brand stuff, and their own-brand stuff is frequently quite good, although slightly weird as it is run by Germans. On the plus side of that, their pork is excellent (Germans love pork).

/Aldi's is family-owned, and for a long time it was run by two brothers. They had a falling out and one of them went off and bought what became Trader Joe's.
//No chance of either of them selling beer or wine here in PA, sadly.

Aldi is a great store for getting the same name brands (and yes, off-brands that taste the exact farking same as the name brands) cheaper than Wally World. The clientele differs between Aldi stores, but about 3/4 of the ones I go into are frequented by people who could easily afford to shop at the bigger chains, but prefer the smaller store because of the cheaper prices (allows them to save for luxuries) and cleaner store. Yes, I said cleaner store. I've only seen 1 Aldi that has been unkempt enough to be put into the same class as a Piggly Wiggly. The rest, even Publix would be jealous of.

Available 24/7;

Gobobo: Available 24/7;
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At 2% ABV, even 88p is overpriced. O'Doul's has a stronger kick than that.

PistolBob: I spend $200 in Aldi on groceries and it takes almost 3 carts to haul it all. It's food. It's cheap. It's all food by-products later.

I don't think I've ever spent more than $40 at Aldi's and that was a ton of food.

/Shop at Aldi's and Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (as little as possible, but there are some things you can't get elsewhere) and Acme.

Robo Beat: Gobobo: Available 24/7;
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At 2% ABV, even 88p is overpriced. O'Doul's has a stronger kick than that.

That's 88p for a four pack, which is cheaper than water in Tesco. I *facepalm* at Tesco.

djones101: Aldi is a great store for getting the same name brands (and yes, off-brands that taste the exact farking same as the name brands) cheaper than Wally World. The clientele differs between Aldi stores, but about 3/4 of the ones I go into are frequented by people who could easily afford to shop at the bigger chains, but prefer the smaller store because of the cheaper prices (allows them to save for luxuries) and cleaner store. Yes, I said cleaner store. I've only seen 1 Aldi that has been unkempt enough to be put into the same class as a Piggly Wiggly. The rest, even Publix would be jealous of.

Ah, the Pig Wig... I've never been in one that I did not want to immediately set on fire. Filthy places.

I was at Aldi in Germany and they seller beer on the cheap and it wasn't any notable brands. Then again, you could drink the beer out in public without being fined.

Ya know, as much as Fark hates on Florida, at least I can stop at a glass station convenience store on my way home and buy a 6pk of beer and its actually not outrageously priced. Or I can stop at Publix or Walmart and buy hard liquor. As much as I hate Walmart, they're the only place near my apt with a decent selection / price for the hard stuff.

Funk Brothers: I was at Aldi in Germany and they seller beer on the cheap and it wasn't any notable brands. Then again, you could drink the beer out in public without being fined.

Although if you are drinking aldi beer in public you will be considered a hobo..

Well the beer ALDI is selling in German stores is their house brand, not Wernesgruener, and that house brand varies wildly in quality because it's brewed locally. So in one town, you might end up drinking something decent, and in another one with the equivalent of Miller Lite.

The reasons ALDI is so cheap: no advertisements, other than their web site and the weekly flyer, their stores are small so they can be put on a rather small lot as opposed to something the size of a small European country like Walmart. The interior? No science there. A few aisles with the merchandise on cartons in racks. You go up, you go down, you check out. No ginormous, endless mazes, scientifically created to make you wander around to buy shiat you don't need. ALDI doesn't /sell/ shiat you don't need.
ALDI stock doesn't get traded publicly. No board of directors, no investors that need to be made happy by ever growing margins, by ever reduced costs, by ever increasing profits. In the US, they have no competition, they stand alone in a segment they created.

IDK about the ones outside the U.S. but the ones here only accept cash. That should be a good indicator of their customer base.

lilplatinum: Funk Brothers: I was at Aldi in Germany and they seller beer on the cheap and it wasn't any notable brands. Then again, you could drink the beer out in public without being fined.

Although if you are drinking aldi beer in public you will be considered a hobo..

Lidl or nothing!

Kar98: Well the beer ALDI is selling in German stores is their house brand, not Wernesgruener, and that house brand varies wildly in quality because it's brewed locally. So in one town, you might end up drinking something decent, and in another one with the equivalent of Miller Lite.

The reasons ALDI is so cheap: no advertisements, other than their web site and the weekly flyer, their stores are small so they can be put on a rather small lot as opposed to something the size of a small European country like Walmart. The interior? No science there. A few aisles with the merchandise on cartons in racks. You go up, you go down, you check out. No ginormous, endless mazes, scientifically created to make you wander around to buy shiat you don't need. ALDI doesn't /sell/ shiat you don't need.
ALDI stock doesn't get traded publicly. No board of directors, no investors that need to be made happy by ever growing margins, by ever reduced costs, by ever increasing profits. In the US, they have no competition, they stand alone in a segment they created.

One thing ALDI does to speed up the checkout, since 90% of the merchandise is their own, is put 4 or 5 barcodes on each package instead of just one. That way when it gets scanned at checkout the cashier doesn't have to bother with orienting the package so that the barcode on the bottom can be scanned; odds are the scanner will pick up the barcode no matter what.

Plant Rights Activist: IDK about the ones outside the U.S. but the ones here only accept cash. That should be a good indicator of their customer base.

The ones in Texas accept cash and debit

My favorite passage:

"Labor MP Walt Secord called on the state government to ensure youngsters could not have access to cheap alcohol."

I think the Australians are ahead of the curve in getting youths to appreciate craft beer at an early age. I wish I had been told when I was in HS that you could get 2 six-packs of good beer for the same price as 30 terrible ones. Not that it is a legal marketing strategy, but I think the reason so many people drink terrible beer is because they are desensitized to its taste by the time they are legal because that was all they knew.
/not intended to be totally reflective of my personal experience
//Detroit Fall Beer Festival 2011 was amazing. Chocolate Milkshake Stout was my favorite.
///I know, csb.

jimpoz: One thing ALDI does to speed up the checkout, since 90% of the merchandise is their own, is put 4 or 5 barcodes on each package instead of just one. That way when it gets scanned at checkout the cashier doesn't have to bother with orienting the package so that the barcode on the bottom can be scanned; odds are the scanner will pick up the barcode no matter what.

For the longest time, I'm talking decades after the invention of UPCs and scanners, ALDI Germany didn't even have barcode scanners. Instead, the checkout girls typed up your purchases on their keypads faster than even the fastest hacker could whip up something in C. It was pure, unadulterated magic.