Bellwoods Brewery

[Belgian]

^ All of the above, yes. Nothing special at all with a beer selling out in either three days or in three weeks.

It's also true complete novelty sells fastest, because people know others will be after it quickly too. Repeats are like 'oh I'll get over there sometime next week' because of the opposite assumption, correct or not. The stuff will sell either way.

[atomeyes]

absolutely baffled as to why there's still bottles of this left at the shop

Twelve bucks per 500 ml might have something to do with it.

My thoughts exactly.
For a brewery who's products have extremely limited reach (zero distribution) its difficult to expect locals to keep buying multiple bottles of multiple releases when the price is so high

I drove from Markham a couple of times last year to try them out - partly because of the hype and partly because I lived in the neighbourhood as a kid ... not going to do it again any time soon

some of these posts are ridiculous. absolutely ridiculous.

first, not to pick on you, portwood, but if you're driving out from Markham, didn't you know what to expect beer-wise (or even price-wise) before you came?
why wouldn't you go there any time soon?
i live in the east end and, in the past month, i've been at Bellwoods 5 or 6 times. I've been to the Only twice. Volo zero times. No other bar. totally cool with it not being your thing, but i'm scratching my head as to how it can't be any beer person's thing. their tap list is better than ever. they've had BOYD and 3MM on tap plus a sour. their food's better than ever (the fried chicken's killer). the staff's incredibly nice. so, where was the miss? i'm sincerely curious.

people complaining about the price: again, this ain't Portland. And there's a reason why you don't have a brewery open in downtown Manhattan. Our rent's insane. even with Bellwoods locked into rent prior to the Ossington explosion, they're paying good money for rent. barrels cost money. especially barrels that are coming from the US (you pay for duty, HST and cross-border shipping). Raspberries are grown locally in June/July. Otherwise, we're getting US raspberries. they are not cheap. same with cherries. add that with a high ABV beer and, realistically, what do you want the price to be?

do some of you buy beer from the Bruery? I got 3 bottles of Black Tuesday in the recent lottery. higher ABV than BOYD, but still, if you knew how much that cost JUST to have to shipped to my friend's LA address, it makes Bellwoods seem like a deal. or a 33 cL bottle of any Russian River sour? if/when you find it, it's around $12/bottle. US.

just wait until Bellwoods starts to ship the majority of their beer outside of Ontario and locals are crying that it's unfair that we don't get access. In Belgium, they're going nuts for their beer. this is in a country that has De Struise, Alvinne, De Dolle and Cantillon for barrel-aged options

[FEUO]

first, not to pick on you, portwood, but if you're driving out from Markham, didn't you know what to expect beer-wise (or even price-wise) before you came?
why wouldn't you go there any time soon?
i live in the east end and, in the past month, i've been at Bellwoods 5 or 6 times. I've been to the Only twice. Volo zero times. No other bar. totally cool with it not being your thing, but i'm scratching my head as to how it can't be any beer person's thing. their tap list is better than ever. they've had BOYD and 3MM on tap plus a sour. their food's better than ever (the fried chicken's killer). the staff's incredibly nice. so, where was the miss? i'm sincerely curious.

people complaining about the price: again, this ain't Portland. And there's a reason why you don't have a brewery open in downtown Manhattan. Our rent's insane. even with Bellwoods locked into rent prior to the Ossington explosion, they're paying good money for rent. barrels cost money. especially barrels that are coming from the US (you pay for duty, HST and cross-border shipping). Raspberries are grown locally in June/July. Otherwise, we're getting US raspberries. they are not cheap. same with cherries. add that with a high ABV beer and, realistically, what do you want the price to be?

do some of you buy beer from the Bruery? I got 3 bottles of Black Tuesday in the recent lottery. higher ABV than BOYD, but still, if you knew how much that cost JUST to have to shipped to my friend's LA address, it makes Bellwoods seem like a deal. or a 33 cL bottle of any Russian River sour? if/when you find it, it's around $12/bottle. US.

just wait until Bellwoods starts to ship the majority of their beer outside of Ontario and locals are crying that it's unfair that we don't get access. In Belgium, they're going nuts for their beer. this is in a country that has De Struise, Alvinne, De Dolle and Cantillon for barrel-aged options

I agree with all of this... except the Bellwoods food being better than ever. BRING BACK THE DUCK HEARTS!

[nickw]

$12 isn't at all unreasonable for what it is and where it's from but acknowledging the price as potentially a reason it is still available in the bottle shop is fair game IMO (said as someone who frequents Bellwoods often). Not everyone has an unlimited beer budget, and this beer came out as holiday bills were due, and after a solid few months of other big and pricey beer releases, at Bellwoods and elsewhere. As much as people may want to go out for beers multiple times a week or stock a 000s of bottles cellar, other priorities often take precedence, y'know.

All that to say, $12 for this beer is very, very well worth it.

[northyorksammy]

12 cdn=8.50 USD for a 500 ml of high proven quality. That's fair and reasonable.

[atomeyes]

12 cdn=8.50 USD for a 500 ml of high proven quality. That's fair and reasonable.

yup.
the comparables?
Rodenbach Vintage - $12 at the LCBO. zero fruit added. 75 cL bottle. lower abv than 3MM
Dragon's Milk - no fruit. barrel aged. $7.60 for 75 cL. similar ABV than 3MM. Dragon's Milk is good fresh, MUCH better with a year's cellaring (or 2 months in the fridge). it's very hot and is nowhere near as complex as 3MM. 2 totally different beer.
Chimay Blue - 33 cl. 9% abv. zero barrel. zero fruit. $3.75 for 33 cL, or $7.50 for 75 cL. a great beer, but, again, comparing it to 3MM is just not right. 3MM is rich and fruity and deep. Chimay's nice and a great beer to have with a burger.

so want to save some $$ and sacrifice some quality? Dragon's Milk is a great deal. Chimay blue's a great deal.
want to go 1-2 notches up and want something local? 3MM. and you pay for the notches and proximity.

[Craig]

I think calling Bellwoods 2 steps above Chimay is pretty darn debatable.

[atomeyes]

I think calling Bellwoods 2 steps above Chimay is pretty darn debatable.

please re-read what i posted.

did somebody say exactly what you're suggesting? i don't think i said Bellwoods is 2 steps above Chimay. but i would argue that this batch of 3MM fresh is definitely 2 notches above a fresh Chimay blue. 2 totally different beer, but 3MM has more depth and mouthfeel and, frankly, flavour.

[portwood]

some of these posts are ridiculous. absolutely ridiculous.

first, not to pick on you, portwood, but if you're driving out from Markham, didn't you know what to expect beer-wise (or even price-wise) before you came?
why wouldn't you go there any time soon?
i live in the east end and, in the past month, i've been at Bellwoods 5 or 6 times. I've been to the Only twice. Volo zero times. No other bar. totally cool with it not being your thing, but i'm scratching my head as to how it can't be any beer person's thing. their tap list is better than ever. they've had BOYD and 3MM on tap plus a sour. their food's better than ever (the fried chicken's killer). the staff's incredibly nice. so, where was the miss? i'm sincerely curious.

LOL

Your irrational passion towards Bellwoods matches mine towards Springbank Distillery (single malt Scotch). Is Springbank better than any other whisky? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm willing to pay a "brand premium". Seems to me you're in the same boat as far as Bellwoods

I'm not in the same obsessive mode towards beer as Whisky ... so I'm willing to try just about any beer once ... BUT I find it hard to pay $11 a second time for 500ml Bellwoods when a Rochefort 10 (or a myriad others of equal or better quality) is available at my local KGBO (no drive to Toronto required) for $4.35 (under 7 bucks for 500ml)!!!

[Craig]

I think calling Bellwoods 2 steps above Chimay is pretty darn debatable.

please re-read what i posted.

did somebody say exactly what you're suggesting? i don't think i said Bellwoods is 2 steps above Chimay. but i would argue that this batch of 3MM fresh is definitely 2 notches above a fresh Chimay blue. 2 totally different beer, but 3MM has more depth and mouthfeel and, frankly, flavour.

I think this is pretty darn debatable.

[DaveBar]

12 cdn=8.50 USD for a 500 ml of high proven quality. That's fair and reasonable.

yup.
the comparables?
Rodenbach Vintage - $12 at the LCBO. zero fruit added. 75 cL bottle. lower abv than 3MM
Dragon's Milk - no fruit. barrel aged. $7.60 for 75 cL. similar ABV than 3MM. Dragon's Milk is good fresh, MUCH better with a year's cellaring (or 2 months in the fridge). it's very hot and is nowhere near as complex as 3MM. 2 totally different beer.
Chimay Blue - 33 cl. 9% abv. zero barrel. zero fruit. $3.75 for 33 cL, or $7.50 for 75 cL. a great beer, but, again, comparing it to 3MM is just not right. 3MM is rich and fruity and deep. Chimay's nice and a great beer to have with a burger.

so want to save some $$ and sacrifice some quality? Dragon's Milk is a great deal. Chimay blue's a great deal.
want to go 1-2 notches up and want something local? 3MM. and you pay for the notches and proximity.

Watch out for the Dragon's Milk. Bought a case on the release over a year ago. Had a few and let them sit until last October. Opened one and it had almost not BBA flavor at all!!

[El Pinguino]

Interesting "comparables" to the 3 minutes to midnight. I thought it was damn delicious, but not enough to go and buy more. I am happy with the couple of bottles I still have left. But ya, I'd take Chimay blue and Rochefort 10 over it in the long run, doesn't matter if you're comparing on cost or taste...

[atomeyes]

some of these posts are ridiculous. absolutely ridiculous.

first, not to pick on you, portwood, but if you're driving out from Markham, didn't you know what to expect beer-wise (or even price-wise) before you came?
why wouldn't you go there any time soon?
i live in the east end and, in the past month, i've been at Bellwoods 5 or 6 times. I've been to the Only twice. Volo zero times. No other bar. totally cool with it not being your thing, but i'm scratching my head as to how it can't be any beer person's thing. their tap list is better than ever. they've had BOYD and 3MM on tap plus a sour. their food's better than ever (the fried chicken's killer). the staff's incredibly nice. so, where was the miss? i'm sincerely curious.

LOL

Your irrational passion towards Bellwoods matches mine towards Springbank Distillery (single malt Scotch). Is Springbank better than any other whisky? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm willing to pay a "brand premium". Seems to me you're in the same boat as far as Bellwoods

I'm not in the same obsessive mode towards beer as Whisky ... so I'm willing to try just about any beer once ... BUT I find it hard to pay $11 a second time for 500ml Bellwoods when a Rochefort 10 (or a myriad others of equal or better quality) is available at my local KGBO (no drive to Toronto required) for $4.35 (under 7 bucks for 500ml)!!!

outside of some anti-Bellwoods posters on here, most would rate Bellwoods as the top Ontario brewery and it's in Canada's top 10 (arguably, top 5). there is rational "passion". it's called "taste buds".

you're not obsessive over beer. cool. so don't drive to Toronto for it. just like how i wouldn't spend more than $70 on a bottle of scotch. it would be silly for me to do so since i can't appreciate high end scotch. doesn't mean scotch is not worth it - which is what you're saying about Bellwoods.

[Belgian]

Meh, people have their own values and opinions, that says nothing of what something is worth.

To my thinking no discussion of Bellwoods is anti-Bellwoods because if people didn't care at all they wouldn't post. I can honestly say I'm not crazy for Roman Candle IPA, but I still will try anything they brew & compare notes.

On a side note, an amazing classic like Rochefort 10 is mass-produced for a very good reason and the resulting price has nothing to do with the comparative value. I find it difficult comparing Ontario's dirt-cheap Orval or Chimay to one-off barrel releases from Bellwoods brew pub (with custom-designed labels, let's be honest those are hard to beat.)

And thanks for mentioning the Bellwoods fried chicken.

[Coronaeus]

To add fuel to the fire, one great thing about these barrel aged releases from Bellwoods is that even if you buy your 4-8 limit and don't like the first of the bottles you try, you can rest assured that you will be able to trade the others for great stuff without much problem. The list of things that I have received in return for BA Bellwoods beers is fairly impressive, both in terms of rarity, and price. I mean, I've received bottles with $30+ price tags for $12 Bellwoods bottles. I suppose this might be why I don't seem to ever blink at the price.