I'm considering bottling the Sgt. Major's IPA, perhaps by October.I would put it into the Beer Store in 341 ml standard bottles (6 packs) I have two questions for you bartowelers, as you are my soundest source for feedback.
A) Do you think it will sell?
B) Which Toronto area stores would be best?.
As each store listing costs me money, I will have to be picky about which stores would give me the best bang for my puny bucks.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Cheers!
Perry
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bottles of Sgt. Major's IPA...
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joey_capps
- Bar Fly
- Posts: 592
- Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2001 7:00 pm
- Location: Waterdown
Perry,
I think that bottling SMIPA is a great idea, and it will fill a void in the ontario market place. I think it will sell. I know it would be the beer I would keep on hand, bring to parties, give as gifts,etc. It would be nice to have a local, reasonably priced (assumedly) product to introduce people to the world of good, flavorful--what was your word?--oh yeah--yummy beer. Personally, I could see myself buying at least a case a month (and I'll commit to that for a year if it helps bring the beer to market)
A few questions: what would be its price point? Are we looking at $2.00-$3.00 a bottle? Will it be sold in singles, sixes, twelves, twenty-fours? What will be the availability?
On a personal note: what about a Hamilton listing? Dundurn would be my suggestion. With the proper promotion at the Judge, I think you would have something of a market here, though I don't know what volume you are looking at. (You could call it Tiger Cat IPA, here, and change your name to Stealer or something
)
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide Just don't bankrupt your company!!! I rather have Scotch Irish only on tap than not at all.
Cheers, Joe.
I think that bottling SMIPA is a great idea, and it will fill a void in the ontario market place. I think it will sell. I know it would be the beer I would keep on hand, bring to parties, give as gifts,etc. It would be nice to have a local, reasonably priced (assumedly) product to introduce people to the world of good, flavorful--what was your word?--oh yeah--yummy beer. Personally, I could see myself buying at least a case a month (and I'll commit to that for a year if it helps bring the beer to market)
A few questions: what would be its price point? Are we looking at $2.00-$3.00 a bottle? Will it be sold in singles, sixes, twelves, twenty-fours? What will be the availability?
On a personal note: what about a Hamilton listing? Dundurn would be my suggestion. With the proper promotion at the Judge, I think you would have something of a market here, though I don't know what volume you are looking at. (You could call it Tiger Cat IPA, here, and change your name to Stealer or something
)Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide Just don't bankrupt your company!!! I rather have Scotch Irish only on tap than not at all.
Cheers, Joe.
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joey_capps
- Bar Fly
- Posts: 592
- Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2001 7:00 pm
- Location: Waterdown
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Kid Presentable
- Posts: 144
- Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: Toronto
I would definitely buy at least a couple sixes a month. like I said at the st. lawrence beerfest, if a beer like this is going to be around I don't care if there's no more hopdevil. a good ipa is something that the beer store is really hurting for. as far as which beer stores I think the one at yonge and hayden would be a good choice. it's quite accessable and always seems busy enough.
kp
kp
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Mississauga Matt
- Posts: 270
- Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 7:00 pm
The selling price would be around $10.65-$10.95 per six pack, inc. deposit The folks at the Winking Judge have suggested two stores in Hamilton (the one you suggested Joe and one other). We initially plan to sell in The Beer Store only, the LCBO seems too costly at this moment.
As for Session, I would love to sell it botttle conditioned. It is firmly planted in the back of my mind. But I need to do two things first.
A) Find a proper bottle for this type of ale. The "screw-cap" standard bottle won't do it.
B) Talk with the LCBO. A beer like this would need more attention so the Beer Store might not be the best place for it.
Rest assured, the idea is there!
As for Session, I would love to sell it botttle conditioned. It is firmly planted in the back of my mind. But I need to do two things first.
A) Find a proper bottle for this type of ale. The "screw-cap" standard bottle won't do it.
B) Talk with the LCBO. A beer like this would need more attention so the Beer Store might not be the best place for it.
Rest assured, the idea is there!
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Jon Walker
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1899
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: Wherever you go there you are
Well this is exactly the good news I've been hoping for! Selfishly I could say that of course I think it will sell and of course you should put it in my local beer store but...I think an honest answer will be more useful to you.
I think it CAN sell well but may need some time to find a market. It is a wonderfully unique beer in Ontario, I wish there was more of a demand for American style IPA, but unfortunately you will be the pioneer. As such your strategy to only hit a few key stores is wise...better to build slowly so as not to over extend yourself. In time, with the right packaging, right word of mouth and careful deployment I really do feel your products will create a niche market. As many others have offered I am certainly good for at least 24 bottles per month but even if we all signed on for a case a month that's hardly going to be sufficient to make it profitable for you. So where to put it? I'd say it has to be in stores whose clientelle aren't exclusively Molson's/Labatt's drinkers. Rosedale would be a good bet as would Queen's Quay, they do move more "micro" beer than more blue collar stores. Can't the Beer Store management give you some sort of breakdown of which stores are selling higher numbers of smaller brewery beers? That might prove helpful.
Regardless if there's anything I can personally do to help you make this plan a reality please don't hesitate to ask. Being able to get Sgt.Major's on a regular basis would be a glorious thing.
I think it CAN sell well but may need some time to find a market. It is a wonderfully unique beer in Ontario, I wish there was more of a demand for American style IPA, but unfortunately you will be the pioneer. As such your strategy to only hit a few key stores is wise...better to build slowly so as not to over extend yourself. In time, with the right packaging, right word of mouth and careful deployment I really do feel your products will create a niche market. As many others have offered I am certainly good for at least 24 bottles per month but even if we all signed on for a case a month that's hardly going to be sufficient to make it profitable for you. So where to put it? I'd say it has to be in stores whose clientelle aren't exclusively Molson's/Labatt's drinkers. Rosedale would be a good bet as would Queen's Quay, they do move more "micro" beer than more blue collar stores. Can't the Beer Store management give you some sort of breakdown of which stores are selling higher numbers of smaller brewery beers? That might prove helpful.
Regardless if there's anything I can personally do to help you make this plan a reality please don't hesitate to ask. Being able to get Sgt.Major's on a regular basis would be a glorious thing.
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Josh Oakes
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2001 8:00 pm
- Contact:
Bonjour M. Mason,
I do hope that you will be selling this Ottawa gem in Ottawa too...Obviously at the Rideau/King Edward LCBO. You might consider Hawkesbury, for all the Montreal beer afficionadios. And if you want to expand eventually in La belle province, Im sure J.F. Joanette will oblige.
This news made my week!
Lubiere
I do hope that you will be selling this Ottawa gem in Ottawa too...Obviously at the Rideau/King Edward LCBO. You might consider Hawkesbury, for all the Montreal beer afficionadios. And if you want to expand eventually in La belle province, Im sure J.F. Joanette will oblige.
This news made my week!
Lubiere
For completely selfish reasons I suggest the avenue road store north of lawrence. I'm sure that between Cass and myself we can make it worth your while. Of course if you could deliver a keg to my house it would be even better!
Seriously though (I am serious about the keg though), I beleive that that beer store does a fairly brisk business in microbrews...Ken from blackoak just put his beer into that store maybe ask him how beer is selling there (if he's willing to share that info).
Seriously though (I am serious about the keg though), I beleive that that beer store does a fairly brisk business in microbrews...Ken from blackoak just put his beer into that store maybe ask him how beer is selling there (if he's willing to share that info).
Perry,
I definitely will buy some of the bottles! Quite frankly, I will buy it from any location, although a Hamilton location would be apreciated (Dundurn would be my recomendation - they usually stock the best selection).
With that said, I feel that you will have to market it to others as well. I know the Winking Judge will help as best they can, but any ideas on reaching others who apreciate a BIG BEER such as Sgt. Major?
I definitely will buy some of the bottles! Quite frankly, I will buy it from any location, although a Hamilton location would be apreciated (Dundurn would be my recomendation - they usually stock the best selection).
With that said, I feel that you will have to market it to others as well. I know the Winking Judge will help as best they can, but any ideas on reaching others who apreciate a BIG BEER such as Sgt. Major?
Looks like I'll be putting the IPA into the LCBO stores as well! Eventhough the cost of service is much higher the LCBO seems to be a good place to sell "different" beers. The product consultants can also recommend one beer over another giving me the chance for word of mouth. This is a really exciting time for us, I must tell you, although nothing is final yet. Thanks for your words of support in this matter
Perry
Perry
I know I'm a little late chiming in on this one, but after tasting it this past weekend, I wanted to add another voice to the chorus of folks who would definately be interested in seeing your IPA bottled.
As for locations - my local Beer Store on Brock Avenue north of Queen in Toronto has a incredibly healthy selection of micros including the full line from KLB, Wellington, Unibroue, McAuslan and others.
This may seem surprising to some people at first, since my area (Parkdale) has a reputation as being a bit of a "low rent district" where Wildcat and Maximum Ice tend to be a more popular choice. But I guess the influx of both artsy and yuppie types in the last few years has made the premium and micro brands more desirable. I'm even within walking distance of a bar that serves St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout on tap - something that would've been unthinkable in this area a few years ago.
So I guess my point is - when you're drawing up a list of stores to carry your brew, consider the Brock & Queen outlet in Toronto. I think it would do well there.
Greg
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GregClow on 2002-08-12 22:37 ]</font>
As for locations - my local Beer Store on Brock Avenue north of Queen in Toronto has a incredibly healthy selection of micros including the full line from KLB, Wellington, Unibroue, McAuslan and others.
This may seem surprising to some people at first, since my area (Parkdale) has a reputation as being a bit of a "low rent district" where Wildcat and Maximum Ice tend to be a more popular choice. But I guess the influx of both artsy and yuppie types in the last few years has made the premium and micro brands more desirable. I'm even within walking distance of a bar that serves St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout on tap - something that would've been unthinkable in this area a few years ago.
So I guess my point is - when you're drawing up a list of stores to carry your brew, consider the Brock & Queen outlet in Toronto. I think it would do well there.
Greg
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: GregClow on 2002-08-12 22:37 ]</font>