Creemore Bought By Molson

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:45 pm

Always buy the one being bought, not the bloated purchaser! The only Creemore "Stock" I have right now are empties

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 5:38 pm

They will take the brand nationally but run it as a separate entity.

That's the kiss of death. Molson has NEVER been succesful in doing this. Creemore's secret is in the process...the brewery hasn't the cpacity for what Molson has in mind for market share and I suspect urbock will be a casualty of the move to "formula brew" Creemore at every high gravity Molson plant in Canada.....this is the doom of a great Canadian beer.

I hold fast to my conviction not to buy another drop of Creemore if Molson brews it.

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 9:20 pm

Alas, both Molson & Creemore employees report that Molson auditors are in the midst of what is known as 'due diligence' which means the deal is done and they are merely confirming the numbers.

The bright side is that Molson as a public company has not reported the offer/purchase. Perhaps our conversations on the net can poison the deal yet so come on you guys... come up with something good! You know, the fact that they intend to replace spring water with heavy water or something similarly insane. We're counting on you!

Mother G · Post by **Mother G** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 11:00 am

Globe and Mail reports it's a done deal.

Regards,

Mother G

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 11:24 am

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... /Business/

PRMason · Post by **PRMason** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 11:34 am

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/arch ... c9087.html
Its done.

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 12:50 pm

The Creemore brand image and brewing craft will remain unchanged and, as such, present Molson with a strong potential to enhance product sales, given its broad customer-based network. Molson will also evaluate expansion opportunities to other parts of Canada, as well as increasing Creemore's awareness through increased investment in marketing, which will remain truthful to the brand identity.

The brewing craft comment is interesting, but I don't see anything in there about not changing the BEER. Not changing the brand image says nothing about not changing the product itself.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 1:44 pm

Bobbyok wrote:
The Creemore brand image and brewing craft will remain unchanged and, as such, present Molson with a strong potential to enhance product sales, given its broad customer-based network. Molson will also evaluate expansion opportunities to other parts of Canada, as well as increasing Creemore's awareness through increased investment in marketing, which will remain truthful to the brand identity.
The brewing craft comment is interesting, but I don't see anything in there about not changing the BEER. Not changing the brand image says nothing about not changing the product itself.

I think that "brewing craft will remain unchanged" is supposed to suggest that the beer will not be changed - but it's vague enough that they could change the beer without breaking the promise implied by the statement.

Ah, you gotta love PR-speak...

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 1:45 pm

So how long do y'all think it will take for Molson to launch Creemore Honey Brown?

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 1:47 pm

GregClow wrote:So how long do y'all think it will take for Molson to launch Creemore Honey Brown?

Or change the name of the lager to Creemore Springs India Pale Ale.

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:44 pm

Bobbyok wrote: Or change the name of the lager to Creemore Springs India Pale Ale.

Post of the week.

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:20 pm

I wouldn't have a problem if a Creemore line extension developed starting with an IPA provided it was a good IPA. This is (like most kinds of beer) a hard style to get right. If I had my druthers I'd make a 5.5 or 6% IPA that resembled the taste of Fuller 1845, i.e., a fruity English palate with a rich malt and English hop taste. The old Charrington Toby on draft wasn't SO far off but I'd go more authentic than that. I would not do a Honey Brown. I feel that the flavour of fermented honey is not usually a good beer flavor, I think people use honey in brewing because of the name "honey brown". I would retain the Creemore Ur-Bock.

I would even issue a Creemore Light (and I think that is inevitable, in fact). There is a Sam Adams Light (and it is good); why not a Creemore Light some day? The basic flavor of Creemore is good and a "light" version can't hurt it (I know, I've made one at home by adding fizzy Montclair). Hopefully the Creemore Lager recipe itself will be kept going for a long time. Let business develop in its usual way, the owners of Creemore will get a nice return on their investment, more Canadians will get to try the brew than at present, and maybe we'll see some quality line extensions. If Creemore later is dropped or the recipe changes, well, that will be too bad but there are many other beers out there to try. Personally I think this purchase and Molson's plans are significant because they represent the first real sign a major brewery has taken the microbrewery phenomenon seriously. After 25 years or so, it finally happened. And there is some satisfaction in that for micro beer fans, for those who were told by big brewery reps 20 and 10 years ago that the public did not want an assertive taste in beer.

Gary

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:22 pm

Bobbyok wrote:
GregClow wrote:So how long do y'all think it will take for Molson to launch Creemore Honey Brown?
Or change the name of the lager to Creemore Springs India Pale Ale.

More like Molson amber to hit the national branded premium draft sales niche same formula they did with Molson "golden"...is it an ale? is it a lager?...depends where we're shipping it.

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:31 pm

old faithful wrote:I wouldn't have a problem if a Creemore line extension developed starting with an IPA provided it was a good IPA.

My comment was more a shot at Keith's IPA, long rumoured to be brewed with lager yeast, and my belief that Molson will try to use the Creemore brand much like Labatt uses Keith's. I doubt that Molson would ever half the notion to brew a good IPA - just look at Rickard's Pale, sometimes called India Pale Ale.

And thanks Jeremy - I'm honoured.

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 10:01 pm

"The Creemore brand image and brewing craft will remain unchanged"

Couple of issues here;
1. A significant part of the Creemore brand image was never going to the industry standard 'micro death' bottle. When they wanted a single serve bottle, they went out of there way to find a mold that didn't associate themselves with Molson (which owns the mold for the industry bottle).

Molson is mandated by contract (to TBS & Labatt) to provide its domestic products in the evil bottle. So how long till change #1?

2. Direct delivery and fantastic customer service is critical to Creemores image. Hence, all the delivery vehicles and line cleaning that they do.

Molson is mandated to deliver all products via TBS and all line cleaning is handled by TBS Draught Services. A lot of bar owners are not happy with this situation. How long till change #2.

There is no reason for the beer to change if only produced in Creemore and Molson keeps their brewers and QA folks from improving the brand.

What are the chances of that?

Just my thoughts/concerns.

The Bar Towel

Creemore Bought By Molson

It's Done!