Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.

We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.

Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!

Mikkeller.....................in Alberta

Discuss beer travel and regional information, including the best bars and places to check out around in Canada and around the world, and other chat that is not specific to Ontario.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

User avatar
boney
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1209
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 4:49 pm
Location: Hamilton

Post by boney »

Holy crap. If beer stores could have bank runs, this would be it.

I got into Willow park to pick up the Beer Geek Breakfast and Beer Brunch Weasel and they were nearly gone just hours after opening the doors. Employees would bring a case out of the back room, beer geeks would swarm them and the beer wouldn't even make it to the shelves.

I got a few bottles of each and count myself extremely lucky.

User avatar
Torontoblue
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2136
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:12 pm
Location: Edmonton via Toronto via The Wirral

Post by Torontoblue »

boney wrote:Holy crap. If beer stores could have bank runs, this would be it.

I got into Willow park to pick up the Beer Geek Breakfast and Beer Brunch Weasel and they were nearly gone just hours after opening the doors. Employees would bring a case out of the back room, beer geeks would swarm them and the beer wouldn't even make it to the shelves.

I got a few bottles of each and count myself extremely lucky.
I was gonna "rush out" and get some as they are in a few of the stores that I go to here, but when I saw the pricing, it was just "Mehhhhh............I really can't be bothered chasing beer around" and the pricing the past months has just become a cash grab and is really pandering to the Uber-beergeek.

User avatar
boney
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1209
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 4:49 pm
Location: Hamilton

Post by boney »

Torontoblue wrote:
boney wrote:Holy crap. If beer stores could have bank runs, this would be it.

I got into Willow park to pick up the Beer Geek Breakfast and Beer Brunch Weasel and they were nearly gone just hours after opening the doors. Employees would bring a case out of the back room, beer geeks would swarm them and the beer wouldn't even make it to the shelves.

I got a few bottles of each and count myself extremely lucky.
I was gonna "rush out" and get some as they are in a few of the stores that I go to here, but when I saw the pricing, it was just "Mehhhhh............I really can't be bothered chasing beer around" and the pricing the past months has just become a cash grab and is really pandering to the Uber-beergeek.
Yeah, I'm not sure if reality will live up to the hype (re: Tree Serendipity.....enjoyable but certainly not a world beater). I picked up a few today for Christmas gifts and promised trades, so I was a happy camper, but I wouldn't have lost sleep if I missed out.

Your point about pandering to the Uber-beergeek is an interesting one. The beer guy at Willow Park today said that his "wall of beer" was almost getting as good as some of the specialty beer stores down in the states. If craft beer culture in some areas of Canada is finally starting to catch up to the states in some areas (or at least is on that road), are the days of cult beer status in Canada, camping out for limited releases, selling those beers on-line for ridiculous prices far behind? Aside from the high demand beers in Canada still being foreign (for the time being), is this where the industry in Canada is heading and is this a good thing?

User avatar
markaberrant
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1664
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:28 pm
Location: Regina, SK

Post by markaberrant »

boney wrote:Your point about pandering to the Uber-beergeek is an interesting one. The beer guy at Willow Park today said that his "wall of beer" was almost getting as good as some of the specialty beer stores down in the states. If craft beer culture in some areas of Canada is finally starting to catch up to the states in some areas (or at least is on that road), are the days of cult beer status in Canada, camping out for limited releases, selling those beers on-line for ridiculous prices far behind? Aside from the high demand beers in Canada still being foreign (for the time being), is this where the industry in Canada is heading and is this a good thing?
Excellent point. There is great beer available in specialty stores across Canada, but it isn't cheap and most of it is in limited supply.

Here is a slightly different example. SK govt stores finally got Sam Adams Boston Lager (thanks Moosehead!). It is a great, everyday sorta session lager. But it is almost $15/6-pack. I'm sorry, but that is not the price of an everyday session lager.

I don't feel that stores are price gouging either, it has to do with pricing, taxes, duty, etc. But the end result is that most of the good products here end up being fairly expensive, and as a result, most craft beer in Canada is not an "everyday" purchase for most folks.

I had 8 beer geeks over to my place about 10 days ago, and not one of them had even been to a beer store since May. That is really saying something. Of course, we are all pretty good homebrewers, so it is not like we are going thirsty, but we are clearly the target market for these sorts of products, and we are tuning out.

So yeah, I'd say the craft beer market in Canada is more like the high-end wine market, where you make special occassion purchases, as opposed to the craft beer market in the US where you can grab excellent 4/6 packs for under $10.

User avatar
Torontoblue
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2136
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:12 pm
Location: Edmonton via Toronto via The Wirral

Post by Torontoblue »

Time to break the bank.....................again :wink:

Due in the next week or so:


Koppi IPA
Black Hole $9.99
Barrel aged Big Worst - Bourbon Edition $15.99
Barrel aged Black - Cognac Edition $13.99
BA It's Alive! - White Wine Edition
George! $6.49
Barrel aged Beer Geek Breakfast - Bourbon Edition
Beer Geek Bacon $10.99
Beer Hop Breakfast $10.99

Updated with prices paid for in Edmonton
Last edited by Torontoblue on Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
boney
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1209
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 4:49 pm
Location: Hamilton

Post by boney »

Hopefully these don't come in and sell out before I make it back to Cow Town. Don't know if I'll grab them all, I've still yet to crack a few of the big ones from the last round. Down for the bacon, it's alive and koppi though.

User avatar
boney
Seasoned Drinker
Posts: 1209
Joined: Thu May 08, 2008 4:49 pm
Location: Hamilton

Post by boney »

Picked up most of them yesterday, but haven't cracked any. Surprised to see Brewdog-Mikkeller Divine Rebel there too. I have yet to see the It's Alive around town yet.

Paid $5.19 for the Koppi and $15.29 for the BGB Bourbon. Break the bank, indeed

User avatar
Torontoblue
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2136
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:12 pm
Location: Edmonton via Toronto via The Wirral

Post by Torontoblue »

boney wrote:Picked up most of them yesterday, but haven't cracked any. Surprised to see Brewdog-Mikkeller Divine Rebel there too. I have yet to see the It's Alive around town yet.

Paid $5.19 for the Koppi and $15.29 for the BGB Bourbon. Break the bank, indeed
The It's Alive is up here, a few bottles left in Devines. Only one I didn't see was the BGB Bourbon.

User avatar
Torontoblue
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2136
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:12 pm
Location: Edmonton via Toronto via The Wirral

Post by Torontoblue »

Dragging this old thread up as the Sugar Bowl in Edmonton is the first bar in Alberta to have Mikkeller products available on tap!

A 30l keg of Green Gold IPA was tapped last night, and once that is gone (if it hasn't already) Koppi IPA is to follow; hopefully at lunch time today :)

A keg of Green Gold will be available in Calgary shortly.

Not sure of the prices, but guest taps in Sugar Bowl are usually around $7 - $8.

edit: $8.50 for a tulip glass.

Post Reply