The Bar Towel

George Eagleson and I were at the Wooly recently and Mike and Nancy (owners of Trafalgar) were there. We had a couple of pints with them and I did manage ask a couple of questions (without asking the biggies, seeing as I didn't want to upset them) and found them both really friendly and forthcoming with their information. Really nice people.

So I can tell you that Black Creek is indeed brewed and bottled there. I didn't ask about infection or different equipment for BC, but it is brewed and bottled at Trafalgar.

As for the LCBO, they are 100% LCBO (no beer stores, no draught). They employ people full-time to know the ins-and-outs of the LCBO system better than any other brewery I've talked to, knowing exactly when to submit, paperwork exact, labels exact, etc. and knowing how much to ship so that they sell-out before it sits too long. I was truly amazed at how well they knew the LCBO system; better than most LCBO employees I am sure.

The last thing of importance that I can remember is that they told us that they turn a profit. They didn't get into how much, but made it seem like they were doing well. I know quite a few microbrewies that don't turn a profit every year, so this was quite the revelation.

Haha, wow this brewery is quite the enigma.

MatttthewGeorge wrote: They employ people full-time to know the ins-and-outs of the LCBO system better than any other brewery I've talked to, knowing exactly when to submit, paperwork exact, labels exact, etc. and knowing how much to ship so that they sell-out before it sits too long. I was truly amazed at how well they knew the LCBO system; better than most LCBO employees I am sure.

They are what OCB should be.... for everyone.

NRman wrote:

MatttthewGeorge wrote: They employ people full-time to know the ins-and-outs of the LCBO system better than any other brewery I've talked to, knowing exactly when to submit, paperwork exact, labels exact, etc. and knowing how much to ship so that they sell-out before it sits too long. I was truly amazed at how well they knew the LCBO system; better than most LCBO employees I am sure.

They are what OCB should be.... for everyone.

Actually, that's... sort of a good idea. Put Mike in charge of the OCB offerings.

Perhaps the LCBO relationship is both the explanation and a little overrated. I bet they do what all the others do with one-offs and seasonals; brew them, send them in for approval, but in their case by the time the approvals arrive, the beer has gone bad waiting in the warehouse.

Maybe bar sales would help their turnover and keep the inventory fresh.

When we blow smoke about the 'high' standards of American craft brews, we might forget there's a LOT these south-of-the-border breweries really suck as well. And stick around a long time making a profit.

Again, no mystery, no enigma. Trafalgar play the business game well enough that they can get away with myriad shortcomings and mediocre product. They will simply never rise to the next level, local star status of brewers like Muskoka and Great Lakes.

Thank goodness some of our 'ambitious' self-promoters like Beau's actually deliver on the goods as well!


^^ Trafalgar response to consumer feedback.

Yes you don't have to be big to brew shit, but is this just about over promising and under delivering, or something else?

I'm not apologizing for Trafalgar, but I don't see people here complaining about, say Cool the same way.

O.K. perhaps I'm overstepping, but crap that turns newbies off of local beer isn't good for any of us. I know Cool does a good job with many contract brews, but talk about a trashy brand built on mediocre beer. I'm not looking out for a stunner IPA, I'd just like to see them take their 'brew to a price' formula and make some decent beer for the dive bars they service. They could be the Ontario answer to Yuengling like Northern once was and Brick has kind of hacked at.

At least Cool won't drive people away from 'craft'. Cool may be a missed opportunity, but Trafalgar may impede newcomers.

Belgian wrote:

JeffPorter wrote:My question is, if QC is such an issue, how do the Black Creek beers turn out ok?

It has been speculated (or stated?) on BT that the excellent Black Creek beers contracted at Trafalgar are not bottled there, and it may be bottling rather than brewing process that is accountable for the frequent Trafalgar infections. I really like the Black Creek brews.

I posted this about a year and a half ago in another thread.

S. St. Jeb wrote:It used to be that if did a search for "Trafalgar" on the LCBO website, the Black Creek Porter would show up. I assumed Trafalgar was at least bottling this beer and perhaps brewing it under license. But the Black Creek Porter does not show up on this search any more. Does anyone know if Black Creek is bottling their own beer. By the way, I very much liked the Porter and look forward to getting some of the Pale Ale.

I just did a search on "Black Creek". Trafalgar's Cognac Aged Porter shows up on the list.