Liquid Motivation: The Cost of Beer in French Polynesia

I thought perhaps I could make this liquid motivation post informative as well as thanking Chris G for the cold frosty beers he was generous enough to buy us. Costs are from Mangareva, Gambiers in March 2014.

A 500ml Hinano (the big can) costs 350 Polynesia Francs which is approximately $4.12 USD. A 330ml Hinano (the “normal” can) costs 300 Polynesian Francs or about $3.88 USD. Of the cans, clearly the 500ml is the better financial (i.e., dirtbag) value. Of course, the better value is still incredibly expensive for the quality (ouch!). Good thing that our years in Victoria have accustomed us to spending more for beers than we did in Colorado Springs.

There is also a 750ml Hinano bottle which you can get in some locations, hit or miss in others, which requires a deposit if you don’t have bottles to exchange. It costs the least per liter, after the initial outlay of deposits, and is the best value if you have space to carry the bottles and if you are cruising in locations where you can swap them out. The Hinano big bottle also has the advantage of being reused.

However, it is a relatively large beer commitment for Carol and I because, outside of microbrew territory, I am a huge, huge fan of small glass of cold, carbonated, beer at the end of a hot sunny day of boat work, kiting, diving or whatever, but after the first glass the cold frosty deliciousness peters out and I am left with the fact that the beer is…not a craft brew.

With a 500ml Hinano can (see left), Carol and I can split a big beer in the cockpit with a sunset, or down below listening to an SSB net, before desalting and starting dinner prep.