The Bar Towel

http://www.lapresse.ca/vins/bieres/2017 ... diable.php

Wowza! I didn't see that coming.

Wow indeed. Must have been a nice offer. As far as I can tell this marks the first really good Canadian craft brewer to get gobbled up.

Taste being subjective not only person to person but through time as well, I’d argue Creemore was a”really good Canadian craft brewer” when they were purchased. And let’s not forget Unibroue!

MatttthewGeorge wrote:Taste being subjective not only person to person but through time as well, I’d argue Creemore was a”really good Canadian craft brewer” when they were purchased. And let’s not forget Unibroue!

Touché — I forgot about Unibroue. I like Creemore but I'd put them below TDD as they have a limited style range.

It's noteworthy that no one has noticed any quality reduction with Creemore, so hopefully TDD beers will not suffer and be more widely available.

St. Ambroise were also a pretty good brewery when they were bought.

Brasseurs De Montreal had a similar breadth of offerings as TDD, though they lacked some of the cache of the TDD brand. But outside of Dieu Du Ciele, nobody else in Quebec really compares, do they?

I've been saying for a few years that I thought one of the big Quebec micros would get bought up soon, but I always figured it would be DDC.

Craig wrote:St. Ambroise were also a pretty good brewery when they were bought.

Brasseurs De Montreal had a similar breadth of offerings as TDD, though they lacked some of the cache of the TDD brand. But outside of Dieu Du Ciele, nobody else in Quebec really compares, do they?

I've been saying for a few years that I thought one of the big Quebec micros would get bought up soon, but I always figured it would be DDC.

Dunham.

What macro bought St. Ambroise?

There are also some beers that are so archetypally themselves (St. Ambroise Oatmeal, Trois Pistoles, yes even Creemore Lager) that to change them at all in acquisition would deprive the brand of its useful identity.

Le Trou are kind of the same with their style. I think LTTD are fine but mostly their sours and barrel treatments are exceptional and interesting. I stumbled onto a rare Trou tasting at Only Cafe a few years ago, that blew my mind so there's potential.

rejtable wrote:

Craig wrote:St. Ambroise were also a pretty good brewery when they were bought.

Brasseurs De Montreal had a similar breadth of offerings as TDD, though they lacked some of the cache of the TDD brand. But outside of Dieu Du Ciele, nobody else in Quebec really compares, do they?

I've been saying for a few years that I thought one of the big Quebec micros would get bought up soon, but I always figured it would be DDC.

Dunham.

What macro bought St. Ambroise?

Oh, I had that confused. They got bought by RJ, who don't qualify as Macro.

Isn't Dunham considerably smaller than DDC or TDD?

RJ is a interesting case. I would consider them macro as they totally dominate the bar trade in Quebec. It is very common to see a bar that caters to all beer drinking consumers from mainstream Belle Gueule to Cheval Blanc to the St. Ambroise brands and only has their product on tap. Also in the super market trade, RJ brewing brands are dominant and aggressively price to bring them at par or lower than molson and labatt products. The rest of the craft sector is significantly more expensive. It is common to see specials of St. Abroise 6 packs at $7.99 while 500 ml bottles for stuff like TDD is in the $6 range.

St. Ambroise is still making great stuff, I tried a black IPA when I was in Quebec from them but their Grapefruit IPA wasn't that hot.

Also, I thought TDD had helped launched Godspeed with financing. I wonder what that means for them.

alsiem wrote:Also, I thought TDD had helped launched Godspeed with financing. I wonder what that means for them.

Godspeed has stated they are not affected by this at all.

Craig wrote:
Oh, I had that confused. They got bought by RJ, who don't qualify as Macro.

Isn't Dunham considerably smaller than DDC or TDD?

For sure Dunham is smaller. Just reacting more to the point about comparison. If you only mean compared based on size, well no Dunham doesn't fit.

I won't really miss TDD that much. Bottle formats were crappy, and aside from some individual beers, I just never really found the brewery overall to deliver on the hype for me personally.

To say goodbye to TDD I cracked a 2012 BBA Impératrice last night, and was undrinkable. Bourbon all gone, sour cherries, thin and fizzy like Diet Coke.

Just the way of things, I expect more of this as the Macros continue to lose market share.

Good call on the bottle formats/style/price point consumer decisions we make. I never bought a lot to TDD beers. However, I would love to see a TDD mix 12 pack at the beer store. That would be amazing.

rejtable wrote: To say goodbye to TDD I cracked a 2012 BBA Impératrice last night, and was undrinkable. Bourbon all gone, sour cherries, thin and fizzy like Diet Coke.

It held well. It was the same back then.

lplex wrote:

rejtable wrote: To say goodbye to TDD I cracked a 2012 BBA Impératrice last night, and was undrinkable. Bourbon all gone, sour cherries, thin and fizzy like Diet Coke.

It held well. It was the same back then.

Oh snap!! I agree though. Imperatrice was only ever good in kegs, where it wasn't infected.