The Bar Towel

Might pop up at the Weston road "boutique" store

Urotsukidoji wrote:Westvleteren 12
http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/westvl ... ZWkj2fDiO0

did we know this was coming? did I miss something.....

Westy12 while really good loses some lustre the more available it becomes...

And it's no better than Bernardus.

JaseWescott wrote:this would be a great time for the LCBO to change it's special import policy so I can buy a single bottle

they are piloting it.
but don't get your hopes up. will likely be for higher end products (like scotch)

If anyone could strike a deal with St Sixtus the control freaks at LCBO could.

Why not relax and have a St. Bernardus 12, a Rochefort or a Westmalle Dubbel instead... you will be happier and richer.

Someone in a case split group I'm a part of called HelloLCBO and was advised that they would not be carrying it. Apparently its a system issue.

anyone else not able to order anything on line in the last 24 hrs or so?

We've announced our first three imports:

Moonlight Meadery Desire

Alvinne Wild West Plum

Alvinne Cuvee Sofie

We're currently taking licensee orders, but will be making cases available to the public (likely through LCBO web orders) in the upcoming weeks.

The recent batches of Alvinne beer have been outstanding. If you like barrel-aged sour beer, these two will have you covered.

The previous Alvinne imports we had a few years back with a different agent were pretty good, but every bottle was a gusher. Which is fine, if you expect it.

Craig wrote:The previous Alvinne imports we had a few years back with a different agent were pretty good, but every bottle was a gusher. Which is fine, if you expect it.

Lately most of the Aventinus I've been having have been volcanoes. This seems to be a cyclical problem for Schneider as I remember it from years past.

Craig wrote:The previous Alvinne imports we had a few years back with a different agent were pretty good, but every bottle was a gusher. Which is fine, if you expect it.

I've talked to the brewers about this.
This hasn't been an issue for over a year. Their yeast strain (Morpheus) is a beast, but they've figured things out.
In fact, some of their barrel-aged beer are undercarbonated (much like Del Ducato is, but not completely flat) so they drink more akin to wine than beer.

Morrish wrote:Someone in a case split group I'm a part of called HelloLCBO and was advised that they would not be carrying it. Apparently its a system issue.

It's actually from leftover inventory from Esprit Agency. Apparently it was listed and then bought right away.

Belgian wrote:If anyone could strike a deal with St Sixtus the control freaks at LCBO could.

Why not relax and have a St. Bernardus 12, a Rochefort or a Westmalle Dubbel instead... you will be happier and richer.

My opinion?
Fresh = Roch 10
1-2 years' age = St Berny Abt 12
4-5 years' age = Westy 12. It is excellent at year 4, but, in the past few years, the batches oxidize really quickly and can be unpredictable. Still not worth $15+/bottle for it.

Gleemer Imports wrote:4-5 years' age = Westy 12. It is excellent at year 4, but, in the past few years, the batches oxidize really quickly and can be unpredictable. Still not worth $15+/bottle for it.

Westy 12 has a funny reputation for being uneven - lots of acceptable batches, a few truly outstanding and a few that do not represent its greatness. I wonder how much cooing & copious note-making is done over a less-than-ideal bottle.

The reason I mention Westmalle Dubbel is that it has an amazing yeast signature and plays in a similar league of Westy 8 while each beer is stylistically doing its own thing.

I will do my own personal Westvleteren research when I am over there. HELL'S YAH.

Belgian wrote:

Gleemer Imports wrote:4-5 years' age = Westy 12. It is excellent at year 4, but, in the past few years, the batches oxidize really quickly and can be unpredictable. Still not worth $15+/bottle for it.

Westy 12 has a funny reputation for being uneven - lots of acceptable batches, a few truly outstanding and a few that do not represent its greatness. I wonder how much cooing & copious note-making is done over a less-than-ideal bottle.

The reason I mention Westmalle Dubbel is that it has an amazing yeast signature and plays in a similar league of Westy 8 while each beer is stylistically doing its own thing.

I will do my own personal Westvleteren research when I am over there. HELL'S YAH.

Personal taste, of course, but I find Westmalle's dubbel too sweet and their tripel too astringently bitter.

Westy 12 is uneven as of late. I think their renos they did a few years ago changed the quality. Without trying to sound snobby, I find their beer to currently be very tough to drink to the point where i'd be tempted to say it's undrinkable. I may have told this before, but 3 of us ordered 1 of each of their beer to drink at the cafe. We left with each half finished. Part of the problem is them being served to the public way too young. They all need a minimum of 6 months' cellaring (in my opinion) to get rid of the astringency and to let the yeast shine.
If you do go to the cafe, buyer be warned. And the take-home beer should definitely be cellared for a bit depending on what you get.

Gleemer Imports wrote:Personal taste, of course, but I find Westmalle's dubbel too sweet and their tripel too astringently bitter. ..

If you do go to the (St Sixtus Abbey) cafe, buyer be warned. And the take-home beer should definitely be cellared for a bit depending on what you get.

I'd rather try various grey-market resale bottles sold around Belgium and Holland, to get aged samples from as many batches as possible. Older the better by the sounds of it?

I agree Westmalle's beer's are a little demanding but they are pretty consistent in terms of quality and flavor profile. It's interesting Orval deliberately messes with their flavor profile but stays within a certain range and is always top quality. Westvleteren might try to do the same.
St. Bernardus is both so easy going for a big beer and very consistent.

Gleemer Imports wrote:

Craig wrote:The previous Alvinne imports we had a few years back with a different agent were pretty good, but every bottle was a gusher. Which is fine, if you expect it.

I've talked to the brewers about this.
This hasn't been an issue for over a year. Their yeast strain (Morpheus) is a beast, but they've figured things out.
In fact, some of their barrel-aged beer are undercarbonated (much like Del Ducato is, but not completely flat) so they drink more akin to wine than beer.

Morrish wrote:Someone in a case split group I'm a part of called HelloLCBO and was advised that they would not be carrying it. Apparently its a system issue.

It's actually from leftover inventory from Esprit Agency. Apparently it was listed and then bought right away.

Belgian wrote:If anyone could strike a deal with St Sixtus the control freaks at LCBO could.

Why not relax and have a St. Bernardus 12, a Rochefort or a Westmalle Dubbel instead... you will be happier and richer.

My opinion?
Fresh = Roch 10
1-2 years' age = St Berny Abt 12
4-5 years' age = Westy 12. It is excellent at year 4, but, in the past few years, the batches oxidize really quickly and can be unpredictable. Still not worth $15+/bottle for it.

All Rochforts the best beers ever. Drink anytime and anywhere.