LCBO 2012 summer release speculation

[atomeyes]

Too early to talk/speculate about the summer release?
I know the spring release is still trickling out, but the summer release can't be that far off.

I'm betting its Belgian heavy.

[TheSevenDuffs]

When does the summer release typically hit the shelves? May?

[mintjellie]

There better be geuze.

[Stroonze]

The guys at keep6 metioned that Phillips ginger beer will be part of the summer release.

[esprit]

It is highly unlikely you'll see any gueuze as the LCBO has consitently rejected our offerings. We do sell Lindemans Cuvee Renee in Consignment at $77.40 for a case of 12 x 375ml.l

[tyler90]

It is highly unlikely you'll see any gueuze as the LCBO has consitently rejected our offerings. We do sell Lindemans Cuvee Renee in Consignment at $77.40 for a case of 12 x 375ml.l

What? Cuvee Renee was part of the release last summer.

[Belgian]

I think we need a Fruits of The World feature since the summer release usually runs away with itself.

Plus I'm desperate for a maracuja-and-coconut flavored 1.8% Belgian ale, hopefully sweetened with Aspartame. Those kinds of beer never fail.

[mintjellie]

We've gotten a geuze two summers in a row now. Sure, one of them tasted like aspartame, but the cuvee renee was pretty tasty. Tasty enough to make me interested in trying more geuze.

It's not geuze, but Bacchus sold quite well too. And Panil has sold well two years in a row now.

[atomeyes]

We've gotten a geuze two summers in a row now. Sure, one of them tasted like aspartame, but the cuvee renee was pretty tasty. Tasty enough to make me interested in trying more geuze.

It's not geuze, but Bacchus sold quite well too. And Panil has sold well two years in a row now.

we have an eye on the prize. the BIG prize. not that over-priced gueuze stuff from last year that was ok tasting.

it would also be nice to let in some good US craft beer. while Brooklyn and Dog Fish are good, the guys at the LCBO don't seem to realize that other breweries do exist.

[jrenihan]

I assume there will be at least one wheat beer on the list. I wonder if it could be St. Bernadus Wit.

[Kel Varnsen]

it would also be nice to let in some good US craft beer. while Brooklyn and Dog Fish are good, the guys at the LCBO don't seem to realize that other breweries do exist.

Or it could be vice versa and the US craft breweries don't seem to realize (or care) that the LCBO exists. I was reading an article last weekend and they were talking Stone. And even though most of us would probably think they are a big, well established US craft brewery, they are actually only available in 32 US states. This got me thinking and doing some more research I found out that New Belgium Brewing is the 3rd biggest craft brewer in the US, and they are only available in 19 states. So if you use those two companies as an example why would a US brewer try to expand to Ontario when it would probably be easier and much more profitable to try and expand their distribution within their own country?

[matt7215]

it would also be nice to let in some good US craft beer. while Brooklyn and Dog Fish are good, the guys at the LCBO don't seem to realize that other breweries do exist.

Or it could be vice versa and the US craft breweries don't seem to realize (or care) that the LCBO exists. I was reading an article last weekend and they were talking Stone. And even though most of us would probably think they are a big, well established US craft brewery, they are actually only available in 32 US states. This got me thinking and doing some more research I found out that New Belgium Brewing is the 3rd biggest craft brewer in the US, and they are only available in 19 states. So if you use those two companies as an example why would a US brewer try to expand to Ontario when it would probably be easier and much more profitable to try and expand their distribution within their own country?

to futher this point, its not like their are a lot of US breweries that are trying to get distribution in ontario and cant find someone to represent them as an importer

also, why would american breweries want to deal with the LCBO's labeling requirements and storage conditions when they are likely only getting a one time order at a price point that is likely below what they sell most of their beer for

i dont blame american breweries for shying away from this market

[atomeyes]

it would also be nice to let in some good US craft beer. while Brooklyn and Dog Fish are good, the guys at the LCBO don't seem to realize that other breweries do exist.

Or it could be vice versa and the US craft breweries don't seem to realize (or care) that the LCBO exists. I was reading an article last weekend and they were talking Stone. And even though most of us would probably think they are a big, well established US craft brewery, they are actually only available in 32 US states. This got me thinking and doing some more research I found out that New Belgium Brewing is the 3rd biggest craft brewer in the US, and they are only available in 19 states. So if you use those two companies as an example why would a US brewer try to expand to Ontario when it would probably be easier and much more profitable to try and expand their distribution within their own country?

to futher this point, its not like their are a lot of US breweries that are trying to get distribution in ontario and cant find someone to represent them as an importer

also, why would american breweries want to deal with the LCBO's labeling requirements and storage conditions when they are likely only getting a one time order at a price point that is likely below what they sell most of their beer for

i dont blame american breweries for shying away from this market

Depends on their capacity.

If i were a brewery, i'd much rather distribute to Ontario (one warehouse for 11 million people, theoretically) than 10-30 states.

Less money spent on a sales and shipping department. do one large batch, bottle and ship it to one location. get prompt payment, make a huge sale, let someone else fret about distribution.

i was looking at De Dolle's northeastern US distribution. trust me - i'd much rather deal with the LCBO unless the LCBO makes ridiculous requests.

also, the LCBO doesn't always try to get us deals. there was an article that said they were actually buying it from the wine at higher than the winery's suggested wholesale price.

[Kel Varnsen]

it would also be nice to let in some good US craft beer. while Brooklyn and Dog Fish are good, the guys at the LCBO don't seem to realize that other breweries do exist.

Or it could be vice versa and the US craft breweries don't seem to realize (or care) that the LCBO exists. I was reading an article last weekend and they were talking Stone. And even though most of us would probably think they are a big, well established US craft brewery, they are actually only available in 32 US states. This got me thinking and doing some more research I found out that New Belgium Brewing is the 3rd biggest craft brewer in the US, and they are only available in 19 states. So if you use those two companies as an example why would a US brewer try to expand to Ontario when it would probably be easier and much more profitable to try and expand their distribution within their own country?

to futher this point, its not like their are a lot of US breweries that are trying to get distribution in ontario and cant find someone to represent them as an importer

also, why would american breweries want to deal with the LCBO's labeling requirements and storage conditions when they are likely only getting a one time order at a price point that is likely below what they sell most of their beer for

i dont blame american breweries for shying away from this market

Depends on their capacity.

If i were a brewery, i'd much rather distribute to Ontario (one warehouse for 11 million people, theoretically) than 10-30 states.

Less money spent on a sales and shipping department. do one large batch, bottle and ship it to one location. get prompt payment, make a huge sale, let someone else fret about distribution.

i was looking at De Dolle's northeastern US distribution. trust me - i'd much rather deal with the LCBO unless the LCBO makes ridiculous requests.

also, the LCBO doesn't always try to get us deals. there was an article that said they were actually buying it from the wine at higher than the winery's suggested wholesale price.

But even in the US the brewers are letting someone else deal with distribution, since my understanding is that breweries aren't allowed to distribute their own product.

Plus if a hypothetical California brewery wants to add distribution to Texas all they have to do is find a Texas distributor and sell their beer to them. If they want to sell to the LCBO, they have to worry about things like producing special labels with metric measurements and french on them at the very least.

[atomeyes]

those labels are a joke. i think that the LCBO does them. they're stickers that are slapped on. not that much work.