Southern Tier IPA / Dog Fish Head - where art thou?

Hawks28 · Post by **Hawks28** » Tue May 27, 2008 1:06 am

anyone else notice those "An Introduction to American Craft Beer" booklets at their local LCBO? Mine had a big stack of them today beside the Anchor Steam and SA summer ale. They profile 9 american beers, and the brewing companies, currently or soon to be carried by the LCBO. Nothing in depth, but I was surprised to see them. It says the ST IPA and Rogue Dead Guy will be available in June, and the DFH 60 min will be here in July.

Hawks28 · Post by **Hawks28** » Tue May 27, 2008 1:10 am

bujubanton wrote:Can someone explain why we can't get the Phillips Amnesiac double IPA in Ontario? I guess because B.C. beer would corrupt us?

I would love to see more brews from micro breweries across Canada. Maybe some Propeller or Garrison, Half Pints, Phillips, etc. theres lots out there that should be sold here in Ontario.

Illuminatus · Post by **Illuminatus** » Tue May 27, 2008 3:37 am

Hawks28 wrote:anyone else notice those "An Introduction to American Craft Beer" booklets at their local LCBO? Mine had a big stack of them today beside the Anchor Steam and SA summer ale. They profile 9 american beers, and the brewing companies, currently or soon to be carried by the LCBO. Nothing in depth, but I was surprised to see them. It says the ST IPA and Rogue Dead Guy will be available in June, and the DFH 60 min will be here in July.

I haven't seen that. I did grab an intro to Ontario craft beer booklet from the Greyhound station the other day.

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Tue May 27, 2008 7:02 am

bujubanton wrote: Can someone explain why we can't get the Phillips Amnesiac double IPA in Ontario? I guess because B.C. beer would corrupt us?

That may have less to do with the LCBO's backwater nature and more to do with the brewery not wanting to overextend itself. Having to deal with the LCBO monolith doesn't make it any easier, but smaller breweries often don't want to deal with the hassles of shipping long distances.

That said, I see that Phillips Amnesiac has been available at Volo in the past. So if there were individual privately operated beer stores in Ontario, chances are one might try to bring in such a beer, just as certain bars do. The government run systems just aren't set up to handle microbrews in any quantity - i.e. they will never have a wide variety of micros to satisfy those of us that want Premier Gourmet style selection.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:48 am

Hawks28 wrote:anyone else notice those "An Introduction to American Craft Beer" booklets at their local LCBO?

I mentioned these weeks ago. I agree they are a surprisingly supportive portfolio of US micros. It's about time, yeah, but I was still surprised the LCBO actually stopped denying the existence of US Craft beers.

We now have a foot in the door for ST, Rogue, DFH and Brooklyn plus this added visibility. Seems like a good effort is being made.

PS off topic but the LC has Grolsch Hefeweizen at Brimley -- In case some of you are pulling your hair out (not all of you of course!

)

sstackho · Post by **sstackho** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:59 am

Just curious, R&R - do you know when the ST IPA that is being held up was bottled?

Fresh is best for these. I feel I've noticed differences in flavour within just a month for some IPAs.

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:11 am

Can someone explain why we can't get the Phillips Amnesiac double IPA in Ontario? I guess because B.C. beer would corrupt us?

Ask Ralph at Volo about bringing this beer in (and BC beer in general) - when he brought it in a few years ago I understand the red tape costs were astronomical. It was far more expensive to bring in beer from another Province than another country (in most cases).

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:18 am

Fresh is best for these. I feel I've noticed differences in flavour within just a month for some IPAs.

This is my concern as well. If these are still tasting fresh, I'll buy a lot of cases (I am not exaggerating - I'll likely buy very little else, besides DFH 60, the rest of the summer). If they end up being even a little stale by the time they hit the warm LCBO shelves, I'll take a pass.

My preference would always be to spend my beer cash on a local brewer, but apart from fresh growlers of Church Key West Coast Pale Ale (which I hope to get more of this weekend), I've yet to taste anything even remotely close to St IPA and DFH 60 that I can buy in Ontario and consume at home.

I think a lot of other people feel the same way (about American IPA style and the lack of choices here) and that is why we are so anxious about this order. Let's clear this red tape R&R, we're thirsty!

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:03 am

tupalev wrote:
Fresh is best for these. I feel I've noticed differences in flavour within just a month for some IPAs.
This is my concern as well...

I think a lot of other people feel the same way (about American IPA style and the lack of choices here) and that is why we are so anxious about this order. Let's clear this red tape R&R, we're thirsty!

I'm always jumpy about freshness, especially with hoppy styles (or FTM any kind of Weissbier) - but early June should not be too bad for the Southern Tier.

And I agree, a local equivalent would be great. I hope some brewers here jump on the bottled IPA bandwagon, despite lack of precedent. Every other pint I drink out is Durham Hop Addict!

bujubanton · Post by **bujubanton** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:10 am

How come they can't seem to hold up illegal guns at the border...but they can hold up Southern Tier....

-the only way Ontario craft brewers are going to improve, is by allowing in product from ST and DFH and Phillips (with a million hoops) and the Three Floyds, Bells etc....and not just at a couple bars.
It's time to enter the late 20th century..when it comes to beer selection.

Bobbyok · Post by **Bobbyok** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:20 am

bujubanton wrote:How come they can't seem to hold up illegal guns at the border...but they can hold up Southern Tier....

Because the most despicable crime you can commit in this country according to the practical application of our laws is to try and take away a dollar from the tax man.

bujubanton wrote:-the only way Ontario craft brewers are going to improve, is by allowing in product from ST and DFH and Phillips (with a million hoops) and the Three Floyds, Bells etc....and not just at a couple bars.
It's time to enter the late 20th century..when it comes to beer selection.

The only way that's going to happen is for the government to enter the mid 20th century and realize prohibition and the need for government to be a retailer of goods of any kind is long gone.

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:26 am

Most of our favourite American micro's are too small to want to come to Ontario. They can barely keep up with local demand as is. And as for the "only at a couple of bars" comment, those bars that are willing to pay for them can bring in pretty much anything. But you're right, it seems silly that we have such a hard time getting other Canadian beer here. At the same time, do I want unpasteurized product from BC here on a regular basis? Likely not, hop monsters and other hefty beers that can survive the travel excluded...

And I do not think Ontario's micro's "need" these brewers here to improve - but if these new brews convince some to start bottling an under-represented style, great.

grub · Post by **grub** » Tue May 27, 2008 10:53 am

bujubanton wrote:How come they can't seem to hold up illegal guns at the border...but they can hold up Southern Tier....

to be fair, that's not a realistic comparison. it's obviously easy to cross the border with guns and/or beer hidden in your vehicle and claim that they're not there.

cross the border with a few beers and tell them about it, and you'll be on your way (possibly after paying some tax/duty). cross the border with even a single gun and i'd bet you'd meet more than a little resistance.

if you crossed the border with a truckload of guns and happily told the border guards "i have a truckload of guns" i'm guessing you wouldn't even get as far as the southern tier has...

velovampire · Post by **velovampire** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:03 pm

tupalev wrote:My preference would always be to spend my beer cash on a local brewer, but apart from fresh growlers of Church Key West Coast Pale Ale (which I hope to get more of this weekend), I've yet to taste anything even remotely close to St IPA and DFH 60 that I can buy in Ontario and consume at home.

Might sound kind of strange, but if you've got any extra growler caps hanging around, you may want to toss them in your pocket before the trip. I had the same intention as you a few weeks ago and rented a car and drove the looong back roads to Campbellford and when I arrived, was told that I couldn't have a growler as they were "out of lids". It wasn't a complete loss, as I was able to pick up 2 cases of the West Coast, a case of the Holy Smoke, and a bomber each of the Grains of Wrath and the Lactese Falcon, but I was mildly disappointed as I wanted to share some really fresh West Coast with a couple friends.

Anyway, to make a long story short, they're most likely restocked on lids, but you never know - and really, there's no harm in tossing a growler cap or three in your pocket as it could save you some disappointment at the other end.

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:36 pm

Might sound kind of strange, but if you've got any extra growler caps hanging around, you may want to toss them in your pocket before the trip. I had the same intention as you a few weeks ago and rented a car and drove the looong back roads to Campbellford and when I arrived, was told that I couldn't have a growler as they were "out of lids". It wasn't a complete loss, as I was able to pick up 2 cases of the West Coast, a case of the Holy Smoke, and a bomber each of the Grains of Wrath and the Lactese Falcon, but I was mildly disappointed as I wanted to share some really fresh West Coast with a couple friends.

Anyway, to make a long story short, they're most likely restocked on lids, but you never know - and really, there's no harm in tossing a growler cap or three in your pocket as it could save you some disappointment at the other end.

Hey I appreciate the heads up! I usually bring in empty growlers (with lids) to fill/exchange, so it should not be an issue.