Welly Imperial Stout - in cans!

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:28 pm

True story, according to an email I got from them. I don't know if it's old news or not, but they are only selling the cans at the brewery. God I hope that changes...

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:34 pm

Its true.... and delicious

Friend got me a six pack for my birthday and I have savoured a couple already

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:46 pm

I hope it was a particularly comfortable rock you must have been living under

.

I refrained from shot-gunning the cans I had earlier this summer, but it was tempting, just to say that I did it.........

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:18 pm

Actually Jesse, I get around in Toronto quite a bit, but seeing as Wellington does a piss-poor job of promoting their products here, how the hell would I have known ?
Golly, I guess I better check their website more often to keep up with you.

JesseM · Post by **JesseM** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:26 pm

Malcolm wrote:Actually Jesse, I get around in Toronto quite a bit, but seeing as Wellington does a piss-poor job of promoting their products here, how the hell would I have known ?
Golly, I guess I better check their website more often to keep up with you.

You'll have to understand that I wasn't being condescending. The laughing smiley is supposed to negate any dickishness.

It's just that this really isn't anything new and I vaguely recall discussion of it a while back, and everyone in KW knew about it somehow. But yes they seem to have some sort of stigma against advertising their Imperial Stout in general for some reason.

"We, well we just don't talk about that product...."

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:39 pm

Fair enough. Emoticons don't really do it for me, but that's my problem. I'm not really surprised KW'ers knew about it, but it was absolutely news to me, especially when it's one of my faves.

Have on for me!

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:24 pm

JesseM wrote:
... But yes they seem to have some sort of stigma against advertising their Imperial Stout in general for some reason.

"We, well we just don't talk about that product...."

Sometimes the best a brewer makes is their curse, in terms of profit margin.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:53 pm

Belgian wrote:
JesseM wrote:
... But yes they seem to have some sort of stigma against advertising their Imperial Stout in general for some reason.

"We, well we just don't talk about that product...."

Sometimes the best a brewer makes is their curse, in terms of profit margin.

@ $2.25 a 471ml can i dont see there being much profit in this item, though im not complaining as a have about 20 in my basement

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:37 am

There was some brief chatter about this in the "What are you drinking" thread a few months ago http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewtopic ... ght=#48642

but never a thread dedicated to it. I'm still working my way through the few cases I picked up from the brewery in early June - happy to report the beer is as solid as ever. And buying it by the 2-4 makes the per can price insanely low for a beer of this quality and alcohol % .

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:39 am

And of course we were chatting about this and organizing group orders for it over on the KW forum...

http://kwbeer.forumup.com/viewtopic.php ... rum=kwbeer

Toronto people: get yourself a KW friend with a car and you too can enjoy Weliington RIS in cans!

Tapsucker · Post by **Tapsucker** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:24 am

I've been seeing "Wellington Imperial Stout - Sold Out" signs all over town.

Where have you been finding yours?

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 11:24 am

I'm curious as to why Wellington stopped bottling the stout. To me, it's their flagship beer, and given that stouts seem to continually sell well it doesn't make sense to hold back on such a good product. Whenever C'est What or Volo get a cask, it doesn't last long.
Overall, Wellington products seem to be disappearing from tap lines and they're not making apperances at new bars here in Toronto either.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 12:17 am

If I had to guess why it's not sold in bottles as before, when only a few stores carried it?

Perhaps Welly were thinking it may not appeal to enough people to sell in very many stores... therefore it became hard to actually find at all and so many people who might have liked it WEREN'T buying it... therefore it became a low-margin item not moving enough volume to show a viable profit.

Self-fulfilling prophesy. Again just a wild guess.

I have heard of brewers resenting their most popular or "best' products, as with Petrus and their Oud Bruin (I don't know but we may suppose it's the most resource-intensive product they make.)

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:46 am

Malcolm wrote:I'm curious as to why Wellington stopped bottling the stout.

The packaging changes for Wellington over the years have been dictated by investment in packaging equipment that allowed them to put out more product but limited them to various packages. The bottling line that allowed them to switch from the 341ml to the 650ml served them well and put out a lot of product over the years but it was done when they got rid of it. It was boat anchor material. That line allowed them to do small runs like the stout effectively.

Their present operation has a can line only but has cleaned up their plant substantially. All of their bottling is done by tankering the beer down the road to Brick's big bottling plant. So the choice for short run stuff is now cans and I think it serves them well but I have no idea how they can sell it at that price. It is ridiculously low.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:48 am

Rob Creighton wrote:
Malcolm wrote:I'm curious as to why Wellington stopped bottling the stout.
The packaging changes for Wellington over the years have been dictated by investment in packaging equipment that allowed them to put out more product but limited them to various packages. The bottling line that allowed them to switch from the 341ml to the 650ml served them well and put out a lot of product over the years but it was done when they got rid of it. It was boat anchor material. That line allowed them to do small runs like the stout effectively.

Their present operation has a can line only but has cleaned up their plant substantially. All of their bottling is done by tankering the beer down the road to Brick's big bottling plant. So the choice for short run stuff is now cans and I think it serves them well but I have no idea how they can sell it at that price. It is ridiculously low.

I've always thought your stout is pretty reasonably priced too Rob. But the Welly is a damn good deal too.