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Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 9:35 pm
by matt7215
boney wrote:
Just as an aside.....considering that both Black Creek (LCBO bottles) and Trafalgar are produced out of the same brewhouse, I wonder how the hell the quality of the two products differs so dramatically. I know that they are brewed by different teams and Black Creek brews under contract, but I always just assumed that Trafalgar had so many problems because of systemic sterilization/cleaning flaws at the brewery, which might presumably affect both products.
i was under the impression that the Black Creek 500ml bottle were not being packaged at Trafalgar, i was told it was sub-contracted to another brewery
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:10 pm
by boney
Ah, I could be totally mistaken. Always had it in my mind that Trafalgar was bottling them, but I can't tell you where I got that notion from in the beginning.
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 10:45 pm
by phat matt
From my understanding Black Creek used to be produced by a different brewery. Now things have shifted to Trafalgar producing Black Creek, and there own brands.
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:38 pm
by Belgian
This and the others (Porter and Pale, maybe I had the Olde Stout in botlte?) are very solid - Black Creek and Grand River showing at the LC sort of makes up for Scotch Irish fizzling away. Now all we need is a good Ordinary Session Bitter!!
It seems very possible Black Creek brew at that other brewery, but then skip the whole nasty souring/explosive bottle volcano process by bottling it elsewhere. The beers seem perfect.
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:29 am
by phat matt
I can guarantee you that all black creek beers are made at trafalgar by the same people making all trafalgar brands.
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:59 am
by matt7215
phat matt wrote:I can guarantee you that all black creek beers are made at trafalgar by the same people making all trafalgar brands.
why are all the black creek bottles fine then?
different bottling line for the 500ml bottles then the one they use for bombers?
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:22 am
by phat matt
No clue why the black creek ones are fine. All are run through the same brewing and packaging lines. Personally I know Trafalgar has their problems, but the brands I have had the last year have been pretty good. I think they just had a really rough time with qc a few years ago, and are still feeling the affects of it in the beer geek crowd.
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:15 am
by icemachine
Haven't tried any of the Trafalgar brands for a couple years, heard a decent review of the Maple Leaf lager that was released for Canada Day.
I did try the Black Creek Porter, Pale and Stout over the last 18 months and found no QC flaws in them, so I may risk trying a Trafalgar brand again, although considering their overall lineup, only a couple appeal to me on a product level alone.
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 12:43 pm
by JeffPorter
icemachine wrote:Haven't tried any of the Trafalgar brands for a couple years, heard a decent review of the Maple Leaf lager that was released for Canada Day.
A good point...when was the last time any of us tried a Trafalgar beer? Their line-up still seems lacking, but maybe the quality control issue has been dealt with...
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:17 pm
by boney
JeffPorter wrote:icemachine wrote:Haven't tried any of the Trafalgar brands for a couple years, heard a decent review of the Maple Leaf lager that was released for Canada Day.
A good point...when was the last time any of us tried a Trafalgar beer? Their line-up still seems lacking, but maybe the quality control issue has been dealt with...
Fair enough. Already started taking up the challenge. Had the Cherry Ale and India Ink this past weekend, with their Maple Bock and Maple Leaf Lager awaiting judgement. Will post....maybe in Random Reviews, when complete.
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:21 pm
by Belgian
phat matt wrote:I can guarantee you that all black creek beers are made at trafalgar by the same people making all trafalgar brands.
They can make good beer and have a few good recipes - they sometimes add too much water, and can't seem to bottle a stable product to save their life.
I'm sure some Trafalgar brews are very nice at the facility. It's a missed opportunity in my opinion.
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:24 pm
by MatttthewGeorge
I thought Rifleman was pretty damn great, and the last two beers I've had from Trafalgar have been problem free as well. At the Black Oak hop rub a couple of months back I saw the brewer from Black Creek there, which I thought was unusual but positive... here's to hoping things are turning around over there!