The Bar Towel

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1. Vanilla Porter in the brew kettle. I love this stuff.

2. canned cobblestone on its way to the BO.
I predict this will kick ass sales wise

im really lookingforward to the stout in cans, though i cant believe its taken this long for an OCB brewery to go after the dry stout market

i too think this sales will be strong on this one

Was at the retail store today and picked up 6 cans of the stout. $3/can. They were shipping out to LCBOs today, as well. I like this one quite a bit, by far my favourite of the MS core lineup. Can't wait to get home from work and crack a couple.

I've always liked this stout on Nitro, and have to be honest, have never had a widget can - is it really similar to Nitro?

This is great news!

I have probably purchased by last can of Guinness now...

JeffPorter wrote:I've always liked this stout on Nitro, and have to be honest, have never had a widget can - is it really similar to Nitro?

It's pretty similar, if not identical. I'm sure there are some scientific differences, but for all intents and purposes, it's the same we've had on nitro-tap. Drinking one now, translates to the can nicely. This'll be a regular buy for me.

I know they don't often induce geekgasms, but a good dry stout is one of my favourite styles. Other than this, Granite's Keefe's Irish Stout and Durham's Black Katt satisfy my cravings, but they're draft-only (well, I guess you can get a growler of Keefe's at the brewery, but you know what I mean). It's also nice to be able to control the serving temp., as most often when I order this one in a pub it comes ice cold, subduing the subtle nuances of a lower ABV ale. Canned Cobblestone is most, most welcome.

look forward to trying this!

Maybe they lose 60ml to the plastic in the widget?

icemachine wrote:Maybe they lose 60ml to the plastic in the widget?

Yup, pretty sure that's the case.

3 bucks a can seems a little high as wellys imperial is 2.95.

Guinness is $2.85 a can, so I would say they are in a similar ballpark.

I'm guessing the widget cans cost more?

I would assume that Diageo has economies of scale that a brewer of many, many magnitudes smaller can't match.

I have no idea if the two beers are really supposed to be compared, but assuming they are, a few percentage points difference between a small brewery and a massive multinational shows quite favourably on the little guy, no?

A big advantage of cans is the relative low cost for a package with 360 degree (up to) 8 colour graphics. Hence, even with economies of scale, brewers like Wellington can put a RIS out for $2.95 (which I think is a lowball price that hurts us all). Assume the big brewers are putting out a 12oz can & lid for as little as $0.12/ can. If you buy via CCS as a really small brewer (ex: Neustadt, Hockley, Railway City, etc...) and are buying less than truckload quantities and storing off site, I have heard you can do it for as little as $0.35/can & lid. These are made here in Ontario I believe.

You add the widget technology (Wow is it big!) to the can and ship them from Ireland as I believe Mill St. is doing and your package cost skyrockets. I am shocked that they are only going to $3.00. I think they will kick serious butt with this package and brand and it may be the largest craft brewery launch (from a volume point of view) in Ontario history. Algonquin grew 54000 HL in one year with the launch of Formosa Springs draft which was just a generic lager. I hope Mill St. does better.

It's been a bit overshadowed by the Stout launch, but Mill St has also just released the 2012 edition of their Barley Wine, which has been aged in bourbon barrels this year.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the first ever retail release of a barrel aged barley wine by an Ontario brewery. And for the tickers, it might be a new rating!