The Bar Towel

Steve Beaumont wrote:BTW, any comments on my picks for Canada, the U.S. and Latin America? (Australasia and Europe coming up.)

Nice pick for Canadian brewer of the year; I may be a bit biased living on their doorstep. They have really stepped up this year with their Big Bottle series and now the Single Hop Double IPA range; the latest one released Blue Dragon was wonderful, especially on cask the other night. Really looking forward to see what the Green Dragon hop is.

Running them very close, IMO, would have been Driftwood & Howe Sound

Steve Beaumont wrote:
BTW, any comments on my picks for Canada, the U.S. and Latin America? (Australasia and Europe coming up.)

I love Stone. Held my birthday party there last year. I still don't think I'd put them as the top brewery of year, though they did put out some amazing beers in 2011. Their 15th anniversary was one of my top 10 for sure.

Have to give some love to my (former) home-town brewery Cigar City for Brewery of the Year

For such a young brewery with extremely limited distribution they've made a huge impact and they're pushing the boundaries in every direction.

Sil wrote:Have to give some love to my (former) home-town brewery Cigar City for Brewery of the Year

For such a young brewery with extremely limited distribution they've made a huge impact and they're pushing the boundaries in every direction.

I have mized feeling about CC. I have had a few beers that I loved and I few I would never drink again. My limited experience with them has also involved a flat bottle of Zhukov's and they have had some very significant QC issues over the past couple of year.

Personally, I think they are a very good brewery but they are a little bit over-hyped.

I guess I have a problem including many of the "Toronto" Breweries as "Ontario" breweries, since most of us outside of the GTA can't get the beers that are recieving the acclaim. I'm sure they are great beers, but short of driving 2.5 hours to Volo, I'll never know.

I'll give my shout to my local "Muskoka", even though I disagree with the pricing of some of their seasonals.. I think they are doing some good things, and making solid beer.

elproducto wrote:I guess I have a problem including many of the "Toronto" Breweries as "Ontario" breweries, since most of us outside of the GTA can't get the beers that are recieving the acclaim. I'm sure they are great beers, but short of driving 2.5 hours to Volo, I'll never know.

I'll give my shout to my local "Muskoka", even though I disagree with the pricing of some of their seasonals.. I think they are doing some good things, and making solid beer.

The more I think about it, the more Muskoka deserves the award for that reason alone. Flying Monkeys should also be commended for getting Netherworld and Smash Bomb fairly widely distributed as well. Great Lakes is somewhere in the middle. Amsterdam & Beau's both have significant distribution issues when it comes to their best beer.

Muskoka really has done a great job of brewing some excellent beer and, at the same time, getting that beer widely distributed across the province.

TheSevenDuffs wrote: Amsterdam & Beau's both have significant distribution issues when it comes to their best beer.

Depends on your perspective doesn't it? You and I think Beau's has distribution "issues" because we don't see all of their products that we would like. To Beau's the fact that a high percentage of their seasonals and special releases are sold out the front door (at what is likely a higher profit margin) is probably not considered an "issue"!

JerCraigs wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote: Amsterdam & Beau's both have significant distribution issues when it comes to their best beer.

Depends on your perspective doesn't it? You and I think Beau's has distribution "issues" because we don't see all of their products that we would like. To Beau's the fact that a high percentage of their seasonals and special releases are sold out the front door (at what is likely a higher profit margin) is probably not considered an "issue"!

Fair enough. My point was that to properly evaluate it as Ontario's Best Brewery there are issues, one of which is distribution, that make it a difficult comparison for those who aren't locals.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:

elproducto wrote:I guess I have a problem including many of the "Toronto" Breweries as "Ontario" breweries, since most of us outside of the GTA can't get the beers that are recieving the acclaim. I'm sure they are great beers, but short of driving 2.5 hours to Volo, I'll never know.

I'll give my shout to my local "Muskoka", even though I disagree with the pricing of some of their seasonals.. I think they are doing some good things, and making solid beer.

The more I think about it, the more Muskoka deserves the award for that reason alone. Flying Monkeys should also be commended for getting Netherworld and Smash Bomb fairly widely distributed as well. Great Lakes is somewhere in the middle. Amsterdam & Beau's both have significant distribution issues when it comes to their best beer.

Muskoka really has done a great job of brewing some excellent beer and, at the same time, getting that beer widely distributed across the province.

I agree with the comments on Muskoka and their distribution. I understand this thread to be about the brewery as a whole and not just the beer. They've had great seasonals with wide distribution. Mad Tom had done really well (is in beer stores and on draught at Jack Astors). Seems like they are doing a number of things well on this front that others could learn from.

I don't run a brewery but I'm certain this aspect of the business is hard to do well so that everyone can enjoy and be able to get your product.

The higher pricing is maybe a smart way of funding better distribution and more availability.

I disagree with any of you who think distribution should be a significant consideration in this sort of evaluation. We all know there are significant hurdles in Ontario, and they are hardly the fault of these excellent brewers. We are talking about, IMO, who made the best beer, took the largest steps forward, etc. in 2011. If distribution was an issue how could Mr Beaumont have chosen Alley Kat as Canadian Brewery of the Year? He'd have chosen Central City or Garrison or Dieu du Ciel or some other selling into the LCBO.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:

JerCraigs wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote: Amsterdam & Beau's both have significant distribution issues when it comes to their best beer.

Depends on your perspective doesn't it? You and I think Beau's has distribution "issues" because we don't see all of their products that we would like. To Beau's the fact that a high percentage of their seasonals and special releases are sold out the front door (at what is likely a higher profit margin) is probably not considered an "issue"!

Fair enough. My point was that to properly evaluate it as Ontario's Best Brewery there are issues, one of which is distribution, that make it a difficult comparison for those who aren't locals.

It's a total perspective thing. In Ottawa there is next to nowhere to find a tap from Great Lakes, Flying Monkeys or Amsterdam (limited Beaus distribution doesn't seem so bad now, does it? ). Muskoka just started showing up more and Beaus is everywhere. So, from our perspective GL, FM and Amsterdam all have distribution "issues". Hopefully for 2012 this changes though.

midlife crisis wrote:I disagree with any of you who think distribution should be a significant consideration in this sort of evaluation. We all know there are significant hurdles in Ontario, and they are hardly the fault of these excellent brewers. We are talking about, IMO, who made the best beer, took the largest steps forward, etc. in 2011. If distribution was an issue how could Mr Beaumont have chose Alley Kat is Canadian Brewery of the Year? He'd have chosen Central City or Garrison or Dieu du Ciel.

I don't think the argument was about distribution being a major criteria; it was that because there wasn't significant distribution to certain areas, a brewery that may have been the best overall wasn't picked by some people because they didn't have a chance to try a lot of their line up. In Ottawa there is no Project X, or any Great Lakes for that matter, so I wouldn't pick them for brewery of the year, not because they don't deserve it, but because I don't see anything outside the LCBO from them. And, for me, their LCBO seasonals were a little underwhelming. Love Canuck though.