The Bar Towel

sprague11 wrote:I'll probably spring for a bottle and extend an open invitation to any Bartowelers that either want come to come to Newmarket or wait till I hit London

Maybe the LCBO will have my cases of Black Damnation and Pannepot sent the 20km up Yonge street by then

cfrancis wrote:I want infinium but it will probably be only available around Toronto.

Anybody in Ottawa want to go together and call up a case?

Sure. I can probably scare up a few more O-town beer geeks too.

Evidently SA Utopia $115 a bottle and 40 bottles available:


http://www.thespec.com/news/local/artic ... to-ontario

Ukie wrote:Evidently SA Utopia $115 a bottle and 40 bottles available:


http://www.thespec.com/news/local/artic ... to-ontario

It doesn't seem to be credited here, but this is actually Mr Rubin's article, and it made the front page of today's Star! Imagine that. Beer on the front page.

Hmm... front page Star news, just 40 bottles... good luck getting even one (esp. with restaurants elbowing into the line, LOL.) Upshot is that if the hype sells it out in a day, Utopias will likely be back again in 2011, and sell much more gradually (as did the Ola Dubh 40 when it was quietly re-stocked.)

And hey - nifty bottle. Make a nice door stop!

(PS - the Infinium looks like an awfully nice classy present for friends and fam who like to drink bubbly.)

The #1 question on the LCBO customer service FAQ is about Utopias!

http://service.lcbo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/764

You know its tough to get when they sell it on Ebay:

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=sam+adams+utopias

Ukie wrote:You know its tough to get when they sell it on Ebay:

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=sam+adams+utopias

I almost made a joke about re-selling a few on Fleabay to cover one's own costs. "Collectible glassware, contents not intended for consumption."

I think the Liquor Control Freaks would be all over that.

When I was at the Montreal Beer Festival this June, samples of the Utopias were selling for $10 if memory serves. Alas, they were out of stock by the time I arrived at the booth. Don't think I'd buy a bottle at the price they are asking but I am looking forward to some of their other offerings.

One of my best beer memories is a Sam Adams event that Sleeman held at Bier Markt back in 2003, soon after they signed the distribution deal.

It was a sit-down tasting featuring the Lager, Spring Ale, Winter Ale, and maybe one other of their "regular" beers, followed by Triple Bock, Millennium and Utopias. There was also food, and IIRC, it was only $20. An insane bargain considering that's what a serving of the Utopias alone usually sells for in bars.

Sadly, I think that event was the only good thing Sleeman ever did with the brand. So glad that Moosehead is doing a lot more with them!

It is disturbing that there are only 40 bottles. I hope restaurants to budge in here and buy it all up to rape their customers for $20-30 samples.

SteelbackGuy wrote:It is disturbing that there are only 40 bottles. I hope restaurants to budge in here and buy it all up to rape their customers for $20-30 samples.

Pfffff that never happens.

sprague11 wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:It is disturbing that there are only 40 bottles. I hope restaurants to budge in here and buy it all up to rape their customers for $20-30 samples.

Pfffff that never happens.

Yeah I know hahahah.

Seriously though, if some restaurant owner decides he/she wants 15 bottles of the stuff, and stock piles it so no one else can buy it, then I essentially consider them terrorists. Holding customers hostage in the hops they will come and pay a silly amount of money. I think this happened with the Ola Dubhs too. It is highway robbery!

Belgian wrote:Upshot is that if the hype sells it out in a day,

I would say more like a minute after Summerhill opens. You will have people camping out, who dont have a clue about beer, just looking to grab some to flog on Ebay, Craigslist and Kijiji just in time for Christmas. I know it is illegal but....? There is always a workaround.

There were 8 or 9 thousand for sale last year and I read they were almost impossible to find, speaking of which:

"Mommy why is that lady crying?"

http://consumerist.com/2010/10/ups-shat ... reams.html

My first, and probably last, Samuel Adam's purchase was the Triple Bock. If you've had it, you know that dreadful doesn't quite begin to describe it. I realize that the brewery must put out consumable product, but once bitten, twice shy. I did get a very big laugh just now though, as I've only started watchine 'Oz & James Drink To Britain', and in episode 5 they crack open a bottle of Utopia. Their reaction mirrors my expectation of what it would taste like.