The Bar Towel

-2 new craft breweries will open
-the LCBO's anti-real Lambic policy will continue, with renewed energy
-Beau's or Grand River will attempt a Lambic or Berliner Weisse
-Trafalgar will continue to be the provincial leader in producing Lambics and sour ales
-Hop City Brewing Co. will release a double IPA, approaching 4.9% abv and 15 IBU's
-the Beer Store (BS) will continue to suck harder than the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy
-Belgian will reach 10,000 posts.......by March.
-bobmorton will reach 50 posts.......by December
-cattersley will lead the masses in an armed uprising against the Ontario liquor laws, attaining minimal but respectable results

2011 death watch:

-Frank D'Angelo's latest attempt at anything
-Stratford Brewing Company

I'd like to read other peoples predictions.

Also, have a look back at the ghost of predictions past...

JesseM wrote:-Hop City Brewing Co. will release a double IPA, approaching 4.9% abv and 15 IBU's

You may be half-right here:

The latest issue of TAPS has an ad for Hop City that features their first two beers along with a new one, Happy Hour (something) Ale, where the (something) bit is unreadable due to the size of the ad.

I'm sure it most likely says something like "Pale Ale", but I would bet that your abv and IBU predictions will be pretty close.

I'm honored. And amused. Go Jesse, and go Trafalgar with their unintentional Flemish Sours.

Thanks guys. I'm kind of surprised at the lack of predictions from fellow 'towelers. My not-so-believable predictions aren't meant to deter any real suggestions .

I predict there will be more Garrison in Ontario in 2011

You will see the best (or at least the most varied) selection of LCBO releases ever this year. Or at least the LCBO will have the most to choose from now more than ever. With all the agents (there are others besides R+R & HMH active in the market) submitting products to the LCBO consumers will be the winners here.

My Predictions for 2011:


-A new Brewpub will open in London, at the former site of Great West Beef
-We will get one new brewery
-One brewery will close its doors forever
-Seasonal releases will get better and better but there will still be habitual complaining from most 'towelers
-Chancey Smith's will see their first of two cask engines very soon
-We will see the demise of beer quality at one of the London beer bars
- I will cut beer drinking by 1/3
-Retail customers will continue to be complete morons by shopping at the last minute

-Retail customers will continue to be complete morons by shopping at the last minute[/quote]


I totally agree with this one! I know we all appreciate and love good beer and the "industry" so to speak but when you get the chance to serve some retail customers, sometimes you see things in a totally different light.

some predictions:

** Bar Volo will open in a bigger location
* several people in Scandanavia will review 5,000 plus beers in 2011 alone, the vast majority of dubious quality
* Ontario brewers will produce several higher a.b.v. beers, that is Bar Volo's Heavy Hitters will be a more normal occurence. One of them will be a triple wheat beer clocking in above 6.4%
* the Ontario Government will do a white paper/consult with consumers on privitization steps for the LCBO, in order to narrow its deficit
* Kevin Sommerville, formerly of Taps, will be brewing some great beers somewhere
* there will be many sarcastic posts on Bar Towel
* several newbies will begin posting, with the most common subject/question on "cross border shopping"

Cass wrote:I predict there will be more Garrison in Ontario in 2011

You will see the best (or at least the most varied) selection of LCBO releases ever this year. Or at least the LCBO will have the most to choose from now more than ever. With all the agents (there are others besides R+R & HMH active in the market) submitting products to the LCBO consumers will be the winners here.

Didn't see this post initially.

Yes, please Cass. I'd like to see more of their stuff for sure provided it isn't the awful Sugar Moon Maple.

- Barrel aging Will continue to be a fad and brewers Will experiment with icewine barrels and maybe an odd BBQ sauce barrel or pickles.
- US brands will be increasingly available at LCBO
- Labatts will make difficult decisions to save the company
- Ottawa will have Another brewpub
- Southern Tier Unearthly, Brooklyner weisse and Dogfish India brown ale at the LCBO
- Alesmith private order finally arrives in Canada
- I finally brew a decent bitter

That's all I got

SteelbackGuy wrote:Yes, please Cass. I'd like to see more of their stuff for sure provided it isn't the awful Sugar Moon Maple.

Nope, not Sugar Moon. Will make some announcements over the next little while.

-DDC will release yet more new offerings into the Ontario market
-Another Quebec brewer will make an appearance in Ontario
-More B.C. beers will find their way onto our shelves
-Craft will continue to erode the market share of the majors
-It will be a good year for IPA drinkers at the LCBO
-Mondial will thrive at it's new location
-Beau's will increase their distribution/availability
-joint releases from craft brewers will become more common
-I will try at least 30 new beers on my 10 day B.C. vacation

- LCBO will introduce 3 new euro-lagers (1 from a country you didn't know existed).
- The Beer Store will convert more of the good walk-in 'style' stores into the new 'stop 'n go' style stores. (sucks)
- Mill St. Barleywine 2011 will cost $17 and be sold in an even smaller ceramic bottle.
- I go to an bar that claims to sell "OCB" on tap, and find that they only have Steam Whistle, and Barking Squirrel..... ?
- LCBO brings in new 10-pack folding-cardboard individual bottle holders.
- While on police duty a homebrewer's house explodes and beer comes out the chimney. I radio back to dispatch that I am proceeding on foot. I instruct my police partner to call in a code 8, and request pretzels....
- BarVolo realizes there is a greater demand for beer in London, ON, than Toronto; pack up their bags and open up shop in a brand new facility in London's bustling north-west region.

Look for new faddish sub-brands and marketing gimmicks:

Kieth's Traditional Lime
Honey Boxer
Miller Genuine Daft
Scratch and sniff Stella cans
Creemore 28 packs for the price of 24 (now that they can do real volume)

At at least one beer from Quebec that is brewed with either mustard or chicken broth