LCBO 2013 Spring Craft Seasonal Release

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:50 pm

No one gives a fuck about 4D anyway! I heard they just pour frozen corn in rain barrels and top it off with Lake Michigan water and let it sit. GA-ross!

it's gonna be so yummy

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:52 pm

seriously, though...does aged mean the possibility of barrel aged?

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:28 pm

cmadd wrote:Ok guys, don't screw the pooch and publish an article about how hyped 4D is.

So true. Let's just keep this one to us...

For anyone who hasn't had this, it is amazing. Maybe once this one sells out in 2 days we will get the BB version, which is one of my top 3 beers of all time.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:30 pm

Back to the release...

For me this one is a bit disappointing overall. 4D is awesome, Bridge Burner seems interesting to me as does the 8 Wired IPA. After that, this release doesn't do much for me.

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:49 pm

cmadd wrote:Ok guys, don't screw the pooch and publish an article about how hyped 4D is.

No promises

jrenihan · Post by **jrenihan** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:52 pm

To me it seems like a good but bizarrely Belgian-heavy release. I tend to think of spring as prime IPA season, and they are pretty neglected in this release.*

The 4D is definitely the one I am most looking forward to. I would characterize this as a list with lots of good beers that I look forward to (Abbaye Des Rocs, Gouden Carlous, Chaman) but few really exciting beers (really just 4D). Nothing wrong with that!

Panil is becoming amazingly regular.
Ren

*On re-reviewing, I guess it seems odd to say that IPAs are neglected when there are three of them on there... I suppose I was expecting some American IPAs/DIPAs. Anyway, still a pretty good lineup!

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:52 pm

No one's mentionning price on the 4D... 8$ for a 355ml bottle seems steep.

Is this close to the Michigan price?

Gavin · Post by **Gavin** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:55 pm

[quote="jrenihan"

Panil is becoming amazingly regular.[/quote]

I couldn't be happier about that.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:03 pm

iguenard wrote:No one's mentionning price on the 4D... 8$ for a 355ml bottle seems steep.

Is this close to the Michigan price?

It was either $7 or $8 at the brewery at Winter Solstice. So, despite being expensive, it is a good deal.

boney · Post by **boney** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:10 pm

I understand how this release could seem a little underwhelming overall to some. Non-American beer styles (and many non-American breweries) just aren't very "sexy" in the craft beer world right now and there are plenty of great US breweries a lot closer that aren't available in Ontario for one reason or another. That said, I dig me some Belgains and the mix from Italy, New Zealand, France and the US makes me happy.

The Bridge Burner is quality. Lafefront makes some real dogs, but this isn't one of them. The BIA IPA on the other hand is a total dog from an otherwise good brewer. I hope we get more from B del Ducato in the future.

cmadd · Post by **cmadd** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:07 pm

TheSevenDuffs wrote:Back to the release...

For me this one is a bit disappointing overall. 4D is awesome, Bridge Burner seems interesting to me as does the 8 Wired IPA. After that, this release doesn't do much for me.

Yup, totally agree. This Euro-heavy release reminds me of a wine tasting I was at a few weeks back. I was telling a lady I was into beer, and I reassured her I didn't mean sessioning a rack of PBR, instead I was into good beer.

She said, "Oh you mean Belgian". As if good beer couldn't possibly come from North America.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:22 pm

cmadd wrote: She said, "Oh you mean Belgian". As if good beer couldn't possibly come from North America.

Yeah, I'm normally pretty stoked about sprind releases with all the DIPAs etc,

I find it a little Belgian heavy myself. And I'm torn because I loves me some Panil and other sour Belgians, but not really interested in anything that's a Tripel or a Belgian Pale Ale. It also strikes me as weird they would do such a release like this while doing the Dupont feature.

Been wanting to try Chaman for a while, but the reviews don't make it sound that promising...

On the other hand, maybe Ontario brewers will fill that void, and these "seasonal" releases will become less and less important, because our own guys will kick so much ass.

kafercrazy · Post by **kafercrazy** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:45 am

JeffPorter wrote:maybe Ontario brewers will fill that void, and these "seasonal" releases will become less and less important, because our own guys will kick so much ass.

this.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:57 am

kafercrazy wrote:
JeffPorter wrote:maybe Ontario brewers will fill that void, and these "seasonal" releases will become less and less important, because our own guys will kick so much ass.
this.

After I wrote this, I kind of thought - I bet it IS going to be a good beer year at the LCBO (starting off with 10BY), but I bet it'll be Ontario brewers who drive it. While I used to look forward to DIPAs like Gemini from the States, I'd much rather have fresh 10BY, RPA, Karma Citra or dare-I-say, Witchshark on the LCBO shelves.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Amsterdam puts on the shelves this year, too...Also, maybe if this happens, the folks who import the seasonals will also have to work harder to find better more elusive stuff.

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Thu Jan 31, 2013 11:11 am

This is a damn fine looking release, will be picking up just about all of these, multiples if the budget stretches that far