Creemore Bought By Molson

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 10:14 pm

Ooops...forgot one thing.

Creemore Springs Brewery and particularly Howard Thompson have been the driving force in the development of the Ontario Small Brewers Association and a large marketing program which launches soon. Now, Creemore, which is a huge focus in the upcoming program cannot under any circumstances be in this group. It would destroy any legitimacy of the group.

So, I think we're in for some interesting times in the message you the customer will receive in the pubs and through the LCBO/TBS. Keep your heads up folks.

joey_capps · Post by **joey_capps** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:26 am

There was an article on the sale in The Hamilton Spectator today. A few interesting points.

1) John Wiggins (Creemore's founder) says the sale could "spell trouble" for Creemore, wondering if "Molson's corporate culture can understand something like Creemore."

2) Bill Wilders (one of Creemore's largest shareholders) is quoted in a Molson's press release as saying, "Molson understands and appreciates what is special about The Creemore brand [my emphasis] and this makes them a great purchaser for the for the company. They are committed to keeping the combination that made us successful i the market place--finest quality ingredients, dedicated people and small-batch brewing on location in Creemore." (I find it interesting and foreboding that the word brand is used instead of beer--doesn't Keith's make a similar claim? Perhaps not the small batch brewing.)

3) Molson's has created a single point of contact between the two companies, Peter Amirault, Molson Canada's vic-president of business development, whose job is described as "getting Creemore whatever it needs out of Molson while keeping Molson out of Creemore's face." Or in his words, "I'll be the roadblock when Molson tries to get too involved. We created a list of six commandments and the first is: Do not change the product in any way. Amirault points out that he was a former executive with Sleeman's, and consequently understands craft brewing.

4) Parallels are drawn between Keith's and Creemore.

5) Molson plans to spend more marketing Creemore and to extend the brand beyond Ontario's borders.

6) The caption under the reads, "John Wiggins is founder of Creemore Brewery which is famous of its ales and lagers." Hmmm, where can I get a Creemore Ale?

Joe

joey_capps · Post by **joey_capps** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:32 am

Just noticed that it's a Toronto Star article picked up by The Spec.

farslowe · Post by **farslowe** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 12:09 pm

DukeOfYork wrote:Does this mean we should buy Molson/Creemore stock before the announcement hits?

The death of Creemore as an independant, small craft brewery is terrible news for beer drinkers. There will be lots of fallout. Molson will not be allowed to direct deliver it's Creemore brand to licensees, so many will take it off tap.
Regardless of what they say, Molson will eventually be brewing Creemore at their plant in Toronto, the first step in the inevitable demise of a wonderfully quaffable beer.
More symbolic, but still depressing, is the fact the Creemore is no longer a brewery, but just a brand of Molsons, so it has lost it's membership in the Craft Brewers Assn. of Ontario.
This is not a development in the world of brewing that should be celebrated.
So long Creemore....it was nice while it lasted.....

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 1:05 pm

These concerns may or may not be justified, time will tell. Maybe the craft beer phenom really has become - finally - an epiphany for Coors/Molson and they will ensure the product is made the same as currently. Of one thing I have no doubt - if they want to keep the product integral they can, they have the technical ability to do that and much more.

But also we need to remember that there are many, many craft breweries out there. They need our support and there are in the lager area a number of excellent choices including King Pilsener, Steamwhistle, Upper Canada Lager, Amsterdam Lager, Sleeman Lager. By the way I saw in Ottawa recently a new Sleeman Draught (in the bottle), this must be a variation on Sleeman's lager or maybe the steam beer, and should be a good choice for the summer.

Gary

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:15 pm

old faithful wrote: But also we need to remember that there are many, many craft breweries out there. They need our support and there are in the lager area a number of excellent choices including King Pilsener, Steamwhistle, Upper Canada Lager, Amsterdam Lager, Sleeman Lager.

I'd question the inclusion of Amsterdam and Sleeman in a list of "excellent" lagers. I feel that they are both quite poor in comparison to other Ontario lagers like King, Creemore and Neustadt.

And questions of quality & taste aside - it's incorrect to refer to Sleeman as a "craft brewery". They may call themselves that in marketing-speak, but they're way too large to truly fall into that category.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:18 pm

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

The story in the business section of today's Globe makes it sound as if this change will be happening very soon.

No word on whether they'll be scrapping the 500 mL bottles, though. That would bother me more than moving their 6-packs to the industry bottle, as I tend to buy the 500 mL bottle for home consumption much more often than the smaller format.

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 3:14 pm

GregClow wrote:I tend to buy the 500 mL bottle for home consumption much more often than the smaller format.

Sorry Greg,

The agreement specifies that no specialty packages under 600ml are allowed. The 1/2 litre is toast.

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 3:18 pm

Rob Creighton wrote:The agreement specifies that no specialty packages under 600ml are allowed. The 1/2 litre is toast.

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 5:23 pm

Pootz: I like Amsterdam and Sleeman's lager. They are good natural beers. Sleeman's is craft by my definition, which means it started off by making good natural beers and is still doing that. All these beers differ somewhat in palate but are good examples of the craft lager style.

Gary

burgermeister · Post by **burgermeister** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 6:01 pm

old faithful wrote:.... Sleeman's is craft by my definition, which means it started off by making good natural beers and is still doing that. ..
Gary

Sleeman has never really been "Craft". They've been a high gravity, preservative filled, chemical factory since they opened - and that's according to one of the original owners.

Andicus · Post by **Andicus** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:33 pm

To this day, I have never enjoyed a Sleeman product. I didn't get to try the Porter that a few people have said was decent, so who knows?

To each his own.

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 11:27 pm

Sleeman started off as a small company and it still is (compared to giants like Coors/Molson and Labatt). They make beers that I like. Some use adjunct I believe, but so do a number of renowned Belgian specialties. I don't know what is meant by "preservatives". If it is flash pasteurisation of the bottles, that is done for stability and I have no problem with that - the effect is minor and the beers never taste oxidised, which is a good thing. The whole preservative thing in any case is rather complex, I believe some preservatives added are good for beer and that some micro brewers use them, so I am not sure what that means. Sleeman beers are excellent beers with a lot more flavor than any national beer like Blue or Export. I think we may lose focus by neglecting good beers like Sleeman's, they have every claim to craft brewing in my opinion in any meaningful sense, ie. whether or not their hectos are in excess of the arbitrary number some have fixed for micro production. I think it is important to say that not all craft beers have to be hugely assertive in taste, as long as they are well made and tasty for the purpose or niche intended I consider them craft beers. I realise not everyone may enjoy the Sleeman taste, but that does not mean they are not craft beers. There are many craft beers I don't like all that much (or a number anyway); they are no less craft for that..

Gary

burgermeister · Post by **burgermeister** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 11:44 pm

....What do you mean, preservative filled?....

I simply ment that they are far from preservative free as some of the larger brewers like to claim - something that Sleeman has never claimed to my knowledge. I don't even think they have best before dates on their product (could be wrong on that). From what I understand there lots of chemical additives - quite legitimite additives - that are being used to inhibit UVb damage, foam stability and the like. They most definately are not the unpasturized, preservative free, simple ingredient product you'd expect from a "craft brewer".

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 11:49 pm

Well, again I don't know what preservatives are added if any but based on the taste, and size of the brewery at outset and today, I feel that this is a craft brewery. These are well-flavoured beers that are not the most assertive in taste of the craft and specialty brewers but not all beers need to be strongly flavoured to merit the description "craft". Anyway this is my opinion.

Gary