The Bar Towel

Good on Ya!

Had some at Volo on Thursday. Lovely peachy fruitiness, good sweet malt backbone and quenching bitterness. An excellent effort. Perhaps this is the template for "Ontario-Style" DIPA.

Thomas Hardy is an excellent example of how good the LCBO prices sometimes are. This beer retails for 3.28 British Pounds for a 250 ml bottle. This works out to $6.72. If the LCBO is going to sell it for $4.00, its a real bargoon.

You are always able to apply for a price change. Most of us operate on a slim margin, especially with bottles, so decreasing the price usually isn't an option.

We apply for pricing approval on every beer we sell. That is usually a rubber stamp. When we approach the LCBO about listing our product, price is a factor in their decision on whether or not to carry it. The final decision on pricing is really ours. They don't tell us what to charge. When we approa...

I defense of the LCBO, you can very often do better price-wise there than at "specialty" stores in the U.S. I think Peter from Esprit could speak with more authority on the subject, but when I was down in the Mid-West (twice this past summer) I spent a lot of time in large liquor outlets a...

The jury is still out on this years imp stout. My input was minimal, so I can't really take too much credit ( or blame) for the outcome. I am making a special Christmas ale again this year. Christmas Cake is a dark ale brewed with currants, dates, figs, and plums. It is oak aged and available only a...

I noticed that when I clicked on the John By Imperial Stout link that it went to the Tsarina Katarina page on RateBeer. Please be advised that they are two very different beers and should be judged on their own merits.

The LCBO originally gave us a commitment for around 500 cases of 24. We will probably ship close to double that number by the end of the program. Thanks to all of you who bought some and to those who also got others to try it. I hope we can convince the LCBO that this beer could sell year round.

I think it would last about 6 months.

Best stock up on the Black Irish. The Fall Ale program ends soon and there is definitely no guarantee that it will ever be on the shelves again.

Ken,
Do you put your head between your legs, speak swahili and kiss a chicken at any time during the Nutcracker dance? Or does this just work for me. I'd mention that I am naked too, but nobody needs that visual. Oh, I guess you have it now...

I am brewing the Santa Claws Christmas Cake this week. I have the figs, dates, currants, and raisins ready for maceration. I'll be making at least enough for 2 firkins. Volo and The Castle are likely venues.

Oddly enough, i think this is actually marketed in the U.K ( in cask at least) as an "old ale" and not as a porter.

Saw Frank doing Copperhead Pilsener ads on Hockey Night in Canada last night. It starts " I wan't to be serious with you for a moment..." I thought he mioght be using his time to ask for donations to a worthwhile charity or something, but instead, he talks about Copperhead. When he is earn...