LCBO Spring 2011 Specialty Beer Release

[Ukie]

I'll be grabbing lots of these:

Overall the release is slightly better than mediocre, which is standard for the Control Board.

I'm glad to see I wasnt the only one who thought that. I will buy:

Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor
HopHead Double IPA
Panil Barriquee Sour
Gemini

Most of the rest I picked up in previous releases, but maybe I was lucky to have access to them and others were not. The LC raised the bar pretty high in the last 2 releases so I guess a little letdown was to be expected. I can pick up leftovers from the last releases or let the plastic cool down.

[Torontoblue]

8 good beers on that list, IMHO, from a total of 13 (actually take out the usual crap from Trafalgar and it's 12) and people are still bitchin'.

wow

[Ukie]

8 good beers on that list, IMHO, from a total of 13 (actually take out the usual crap from Trafalgar and it's 12) and people are still bitchin'.

wow

But 5 or 6 are repeats.

[Torontoblue]

8 good beers on that list, IMHO, from a total of 13 (actually take out the usual crap from Trafalgar and it's 12) and people are still bitchin'.

wow

But 5 or 6 are repeats.

And maybe the agents did a good job getting them back in to a Seasonal release as they sold well previously, and with a view to maybe getting a General Listing, further down the road.

What would you rather have; a few repeats or all beers to be one off's, never to be seen again? How is a brand supposed to grow by just coming in once?

[Ukie]

8 good beers on that list, IMHO, from a total of 13 (actually take out the usual crap from Trafalgar and it's 12) and people are still bitchin'.

wow

But 5 or 6 are repeats.

And maybe the agents did a good job getting them back in to a Seasonal release as they sold well previously, and with a view to maybe getting a General Listing, further down the road.

Not the point.

I'm not saying the agents arent doing a good job or they are not good beers. I am just agreeing with cratez (sorry to drag you in) that "it is slightly better than mediocre" perhaps because we have seen some of these before, in the last several months.

Its a quarterly major release but if 5 or 6 are from several months ago and if I have a case of each in the basement its hardly a "wow" release for me, unless as I said I was not able to get them before. Maybe like the Ola Dubh or the DDC release.

[Kel Varnsen]

Someone at Trafalgar must have pictures of someone at the LCBO doing something they shouldn't. The best part of drinking last year's Maple Bock was dumping it down the drain.

Does anybody remember the last time Trafalgar DIDN'T have something in a seasonal release?

It makes me wonder if Trafalgar is able to go through the process to get a product in pretty much ever seasonal release what is stopping other Ontario brewers from doing the same thing? I mean I would love to see Beau's Nightmarzen or Black Oak Doubl;e Chocolate Cherry Stout show up in one of these releases.

[Torontoblue]

Someone at Trafalgar must have pictures of someone at the LCBO doing something they shouldn't. The best part of drinking last year's Maple Bock was dumping it down the drain.

Does anybody remember the last time Trafalgar DIDN'T have something in a seasonal release?

It makes me wonder if Trafalgar is able to go through the process to get a product in pretty much ever seasonal release what is stopping other Ontario brewers from doing the same thing? I mean I would love to see Beau's Nightmarzen or Black Oak Doubl;e Chocolate Cherry Stout show up in one of these releases.

Most likely volume & cost to the brewery is prohibitive.

[matt7215]

Someone at Trafalgar must have pictures of someone at the LCBO doing something they shouldn't. The best part of drinking last year's Maple Bock was dumping it down the drain.

Does anybody remember the last time Trafalgar DIDN'T have something in a seasonal release?

It makes me wonder if Trafalgar is able to go through the process to get a product in pretty much ever seasonal release what is stopping other Ontario brewers from doing the same thing? I mean I would love to see Beau's Nightmarzen or Black Oak Doubl;e Chocolate Cherry Stout show up in one of these releases.

the thing thats stopping the breweries from being included is that their products are not sub-mitted. so they are stopping themselves.

[Kel Varnsen]

Someone at Trafalgar must have pictures of someone at the LCBO doing something they shouldn't. The best part of drinking last year's Maple Bock was dumping it down the drain.

Does anybody remember the last time Trafalgar DIDN'T have something in a seasonal release?

It makes me wonder if Trafalgar is able to go through the process to get a product in pretty much ever seasonal release what is stopping other Ontario brewers from doing the same thing? I mean I would love to see Beau's Nightmarzen or Black Oak Doubl;e Chocolate Cherry Stout show up in one of these releases.

Most likely volume & cost to the brewery is prohibitive.

Is it really a volume thing. Has anyone ever been to Trafalger? Is it some huge brewery that is able to pump out millions of gallons of beer a month to meet the LCBO demand? From a local point of view, Beau's seems like it is about the same size as Heritage, if not bigger, yet Heritage is able to get seasonals like Black Current Rye into LCBO's all over the province where as Bog Water is only available at the retail store. I would have to assume that this would be a brewery choice.

[Belgian]

It makes me wonder if Trafalgar is able to go through the process to get a product in pretty much ever seasonal release what is stopping other Ontario brewers from doing the same thing? I mean I would love to see Beau's Nightmarzen or Black Oak Doubl;e Chocolate Cherry Stout show up in one of these releases.

Most likely volume & cost to the brewery is prohibitive.

Is it really a volume thing. Has anyone ever been to Trafalgar? Is it some huge brewery that is able to pump out millions of gallons of beer a month to meet the LCBO demand? From a local point of view, Beau's seems like it is about the same size as Heritage, if not bigger, yet Heritage is able to get seasonals like Black Current Rye into LCBO's all over the province where as Bog Water is only available at the retail store. I would have to assume that this would be a brewery choice.

Could say the same of Grand River; they have been in no hurry at all to get their excellent product shipped far and wide. And when it appears it often disappears within an unreasonably short time for anyone to really access it. Their main priority seems to be quality! If they are happy, why force a lot of change on their working lives?

I'm sure Beau's is at least considering the financials and making sure they are seeing returns. There may be no reason for them to break even promoting Bog Water in some tiny Seasonal release when they really want to (more profitably) sell more Lug tread.

Still it would be a relief if the better brewers we've got did the seasonals.

[TJ]

8 good beers on that list, IMHO, from a total of 13 (actually take out the usual crap from Trafalgar and it's 12) and people are still bitchin'.

wow

I guess it depends on what you want from a release. If you’re just looking for something new then sure, there’s a couple repeats here. There usually are. The Winter Warmers release, which people seemed to really like, had a handful. But considering past spring releases and the dearth of hoppy beers at the LCBO, I’m surprised people are disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no love for the LCBO, I think it’s a pretty sorry system where a few choice beers are released a mere four times a year, with maybe something good in the Halloween release if you’re lucky, when we should have better access to a wider range of beers year-round--like they do at, say, Wegman’s, a store which doesn’t specialize in the sale of alcohol like the LCBO, yet who seem to do a much better job of selling beer.

But it’s the system we’re stuck with and one that isn’t likely to change drastically overnight and it’s unrealistic to expect otheriwse.

Long story short: I think it’s a good release. There are some solid beers in there. A couple of good ones. And the inevitable stinkers, sure. But overall it’s the best spring release to date and it’s almost like the LCBO is slowly starting to give us what we want and all we can say is: Not good enough.

And it’s certainly not ideal, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

Has anyone ever been to Trafalger? Is it some huge brewery that is able to pump out millions of gallons of beer a month to meet the LCBO demand?

I have. Years ago. And don’t quote me on this, but I recall them only having two conditioning tanks and they were hand bottling all their beer one at a time. I’ve also been to Beau’s which, at a glance and unless something has happened at Trafalgar in the last couple of years, seem like they could do a lot more capacity than Trafalgar.

But Beau’s seems to have a pretty good handle on their business so I can only assume they’ll grow and branch out into the Ontario marketplace (and beyond) when they’re ready. (Can't wait!)

But I do agree that it feels a bit like some Ontario brewers don't have quite the same ambition as Trafalgar, much to their detriment and ours.

[Belgian]

Don’t get me wrong. I have no love for the LCBO, I think it’s a pretty sorry system where a few choice beers are released a mere four times a year, with maybe something good in the Halloween release if you’re lucky, when we should have better access to a wider range of beers year-round--like they do at, say, Wegman’s, a store which doesn’t specialize in the sale of alcohol like the LCBO, yet who seem to do a much better job of selling beer.

But it’s the system we’re stuck with and one that isn’t likely to change drastically overnight and it’s unrealistic to expect otheriwse.

Part of This Interview always stuck in my head - from the third reply down:

..... In Ontario the LCBO** is still driven by volume and sales returns and small volume specialty beers take up valuable shelf space that could be devoted to A Marca Brava and Heineken and other such major brands which sell much more quickly. Frankly, the fact that they buy craft beers at all is more an issue of politics than any real desire to be in that business at least in my opinion. As a monopoly they are obliged to at least try to maintain an image that they offer the consumers a real selection.....

Maybe it's not changing overnight but there are some good signs.

[matt7215]

But I do agree that it feels a bit like some Ontario brewers don't have quite the same ambition as Trafalgar, much to their detriment and ours.

Some brewers simply choose not to sell certain products in the LCBO.

Perhaps the seasonal releases we see in the LCBO are influenced by how well those products would sell in their various brewery stores.

Let take a look @ Bog Water

Scenerio A
Beaus makes x amount of Bog Water and sells 100% of it at their retail store @ $y/bottle and it sells out in a few weeks or months.

or

Scenerio B
Beaus makes x amount of Bog Water and sells 50% of it at their retail store @ $y/bottle and 50% through the LCBO for $y-(cost of delivery+LCBO cut+cost of listing)/bottle, the batch sells out in the same amount of time as Scenerio A

Scenerio A sounds a lot better to me

[TJ]

Scenerio A sounds a lot better to me

In either scenario I'm not likely to get any Bog Water, so I'd say they're both equally as lousy.

What about scenario C) Brewery X makes a buttload of good beer and distribute far more through the LCBO than they could through their retail store.

[matt7215]

Scenerio A sounds a lot better to me

In either scenario I'm not likely to get any Bog Water, so I'd say they're both equally as lousy.

What about scenario C) Brewery X makes a buttload of good beer and distribute far more through the LCBO than they could through their retail store.

Brewery X sounds like a welcomed edition to the Ontario market!