Saison Dupont

[Bytowner]

I'm sure everyone has loads of barrel-aged silliness to buy, but just a note (via twitter) to say R&R is at least a little bit concerned over sales of Saison Dupont. This is why we can't have nice things.

[matt7215]

its only listed in 26 store across the province

how are we supposed to buy it?

if this was availible in cambridge id be buying a bottle a week mimimum but since the only store ive ever actually saw it on the shelves was Cooper St i dont buy it

its a great product and i hope it stays listed at the LCBO but its not something im going to travel to get or buy by the case

[Roland + Russell]

If you do not see it on your shelves ask for it to be listed at your local store!
We ask store managers to list it, but direct customer input means so much more.

If there is a specific store you'd like to see it at, also let us here at RR know and we will do all we can on our part to get it listed too!

Cheers,

[atomeyes]

i'm also more inclined to buy it during spring/summer. didn't help that it sold out or wasn't available this summer.
t'is the season to buy stouts, strong ales and barley wines.

[spinrsx]

I bought 24 bottles (and have 21 left) - so I did my part

[matt7215]

If you do not see it on your shelves ask for it to be listed at your local store!
We ask store managers to list it, but direct customer input means so much more.

If there is a specific store you'd like to see it at, also let us here at RR know and we will do all we can on our part to get it listed too!

Cheers,

please try store #344 in cambridge

[markaberrant]

i'm also more inclined to buy it during spring/summer. didn't help that it sold out or wasn't available this summer.
t'is the season to buy stouts, strong ales and barley wines.

Nothing goes better with christmas turkey dinner than a saison dupont!

[Craig]

its only listed in 26 store across the province

how are we supposed to buy it?

if this was availible in cambridge id be buying a bottle a week mimimum but since the only store ive ever actually saw it on the shelves was Cooper St i dont buy it

its a great product and i hope it stays listed at the LCBO but its not something im going to travel to get or buy by the case

The odds are pretty good that it's only listed at a handful of stores because all the other stores that got it earlier had a hard time moving it, so they didn't order more.

The LCBO is actually pretty good at getting things in specific stores if you just ask for it, like R+R were saying. Even if it's just a case or two for one person, your local should be able to get it shipped to them pretty quickly.

[Roland + Russell]

We ourselves have consumed a lot of this beer and found the following were all good matches:

Asian to Middle-Eastern cuisines to grilled red meat are all awesome pairings as are roasted chicken or turkey. Main dish salads of all types are also a good fit for Saison Dupont. It also paired well with many kinds of cheese and charcouterie. The carbonation and bitterness make this beer a good palate cleanser. But one word of caution: don't go too light with the food in terms of flavour or this beer will blow it away.

We echo this sentiment:

"I’ve probably had more than 500 bottles of Saison Dupont, and I’m still awestruck and humbled by every single one. No two bottles are exactly alike, a trait it shares with other beautiful living things…” — Garrett Oliver, from The Brewmaster’s Table

Cheers!

[ercousin]

A few months ago when it was in stock at a lot of places The LCBO had it stocked on shelves under fluorescent light. I heard of more than a few people purchasing skunked bottles due to the oxidation through the green glass. Is there any way to protect future shipments of this product from this? There is nothing pleasant about the sherry/cardboard flavours in an oxidized beer...

The reactions would certainly occur slower if the beer was stocked in the LCBOs with beer fridges. According to Dr. Bamforth, the rate of staling is at least halved for every 10*C cooler a beer is stored. Another thing that would help would be to ensure the bottles are stocked on the bottom shelf, away from direct light. Do you have any control over this as the distributor? Can you request special treatment of the beer to protect the beer quality from bad stocking practices?

[esprit]

It would be a shame to see this disappear from the shelves once again. Some of you longer in tooth might remember that we had it as a General Listing in a small bottle over 10 years ago in a time when Belgians were few and far between. In fact, the only other Belgian crafts at the time were Duvel and Chimay, both of which we also handled by oursleves. A great beer only to fall victim to a consuming public that still has a long way to go insofar as beer education and a retail system which cannot wait to drop new brands almost as soon as they hit the shelves to make room for a few more different sizes of Heineken. We're going through the same struggle with Rochefort 8. We were supposed to be in 100 stores for a minimum 6 months but 40 of them dropped it as soon as they received their first 2 cases.

[Bytowner]

It would be a shame to see this disappear from the shelves once again. Some of you longer in tooth might remember that we had it as a General Listing in a small bottle over 10 years ago in a time when Belgians were few and far between. In fact, the only other Belgian crafts at the time were Duvel and Chimay, both of which we also handled by oursleves. A great beer only to fall victim to a consuming public that still has a long way to go insofar as beer education and a retail system which cannot wait to drop new brands almost as soon as they hit the shelves to make room for a few more different sizes of Heineken. We're going through the same struggle with Rochefort 8. We were supposed to be in 100 stores for a minimum 6 months but 40 of them dropped it as soon as they received their first 2 cases.

Are we sure it's a "craft vs. macro" thing? Just seems to me like folks get less excited by classic european releases lately, especially the Belgians. If it's not hopped to hell or aged in fruit juice barrels there doesn't seem to be much support from the community. Tickers are just after constant churn.

We've had a couple releases with serious archetypes that are met with "ho hum" by a good chunk of beer drinkers.

[nickelass]

I bought quite a few, but it seems like the stores near me didn't restock when they ran out. If the store in Liberty Village, or at Dundas and Dovercourt had some I would buy a lot more especially since the price point is amazing.

[Bull_Schott]

A few months ago when it was in stock at a lot of places The LCBO had it stocked on shelves under fluorescent light. I heard of more than a few people purchasing skunked bottles due to the oxidation through the green glass.

Waterloo South has one of their imported craft beer islands directly under a heating vent that is always blowing crazy amounts of heat out. Lots of the bottles on the top shelf are evidently WARM by touch. There needs to be a bit more consideration taken into beer storage.

[chris_schryer]

Having spent time selling beer into LCBOs, I'll confirm the sentiments of both R+R and Esprit: A customer asking for a brand has way way more impact than a sales person. With a few notable exceptions, LCBO managers see sales people as there only to take advantage of them. Building a trust-based relationship can take ages, but if a customer helps get a product in, then makes sure at least some of it gets bought, it helps so much.

That said, if you ask a store to bring in a beer, don't buy one only. Buy four, or six, or whatever you can afford. Buy one and give it to a friend. Get your friends to go in and buy some. If a manager brings in 24 bottles of Dupont and only sells 2 in a month, don't expect to see more exciting stuff in that store. I know, every store should have a passionate manager who wants to bring in the finest product in each category. But, sadly, that's not the case.