The Bar Towel

Cass wrote:

Belgian wrote:Agree. I think someone at the store brought back a case of Bellwoods beer to re-sell. In America they call this 'Capitalism' and I like the sound of it.

Maybe stop assuming Bellwoods distributed the beer.

Ummm, I think that's a pretty strong assumption on your part Belgian.

Fairly certain this photo proves that they are legitimately being imported into the US.

A few months ago Bellwoods tweeted about sending some beer to NYC. Someone from Ottawa replied saying they should send some there instead of out of the country. Bellwoods responded that it was just a small shipment to Torst.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:

Kel Varnsen wrote:
Might be tough for Great Lakes to do it, since there is already a brewery in the US called Great Lakes that has pretty good distribution across the country. Probably be a trademark issue. I could see Mill Street though maybe trying to get into the US (or maybe Muskoka I mean they already have radio commercials so they are obviously trying to expand).

I hadn't considered the trademark issue but you are absolutely right.

Mill Street wouldn't survive in the US. Their beer isn't good enough.

Which would be true if they were just trying to go after the beer geek market. But if they were trying to go after the market of casual beer drinkers who want to try something new I could see it. They obviously have the money behind them to get some decent distribution and promotion if they did. Plus say they distributed something like Tankhouse I could easily see it being promoted as "craft beer from Canada" and getting people interested in buying it that way.

J343MY wrote:

Cass wrote:

Belgian wrote:Agree. I think someone at the store brought back a case of Bellwoods beer to re-sell. In America they call this 'Capitalism' and I like the sound of it.

Maybe stop assuming Bellwoods distributed the beer.

Ummm, I think that's a pretty strong assumption on your part Belgian.

Fairly certain this photo proves that they are legitimately being imported into the US.

A few months ago Bellwoods tweeted about sending some beer to NYC. Someone from Ottawa replied saying they should send some there instead of out of the country. Bellwoods responded that it was just a small shipment to Torst.

much ado about nothing if one looks into Bellwoods' relationship with Torst/Evil Twin.

J343MY wrote:

Cass wrote:

A few months ago Bellwoods tweeted about sending some beer to NYC. Someone from Ottawa replied saying they should send some there instead of out of the country. Bellwoods responded that it was just a small shipment to Torst.

Right, I would guess Bellwoods can make that Stateside sale right away without the Ontario retal hassle. Whereas Bellwoods can't sell a few cases just to one store in Ottawa.

^ I guess we could call this (no pun) micro-distribution to highly select markets. It would explain the 'I will pay anything' price to cover added costs.

Belgian wrote: Right, I would guess Bellwoods can make that Stateside sale right away without the Ontario retal hassle.

That's exactly it. The hassle involved with trying to sell a new product in Ontario makes it worthwhile for the Bellwoods of the world to make one-off sales to markets outside of Ontario.

^ Of course it seems Bellwoods COULD sell to independent retailers in Eastern Ontario... if these were allowed to exist. I know, yes... what a ridiculous idea.

Belgian wrote:

J343MY wrote: A few months ago Bellwoods tweeted about sending some beer to NYC. Someone from Ottawa replied saying they should send some there instead of out of the country. Bellwoods responded that it was just a small shipment to Torst.

Right, I would guess Bellwoods can make that Stateside sale right away without the Ontario retal hassle. Whereas Bellwoods can't sell a few cases just to one store in Ottawa.

^ I guess we could call this (no pun) micro-distribution to highly select markets. It would explain the 'I will pay anything' price to cover added costs.

The shipment to Torst was also to the bar owned by the guy (Evin Twin) that has been collaborating with them. I think these are probably relationships that we want to see develop in Ontario!

I saw bottles of Witchstark at at least one of the bar/bottle shops in NYC last week, forget which one... Top Hops maybe?? I also saw some Hopfenstark bottles around town.

Fred from Hopfenstark was telling me at Mondial that it is way easier for him to send beer to the states than to ON. I don't think his production is big enough yet (especially with the bar now) to have to choose either ON or the US, but by the sounds of it if he had to pick one his beer would be going south not west.

I didn't notice any Bellwoods on the Torst bottle menu, but I didn't read it that closely. Maybe they ran out.