The Bar Towel

On a long walk between Union station and a client's office I stopped in at two LCBO stores. Checking the beer shelves for my want-to-haves. Brief chats with CSRs, both beer-smart gents.

First one: Beer is flying off the shelves, but on a net basis beer is the least profitable segment. It's the most labour-intensive (stocking; constant turn-over; re-stocking/shelving, etc.)

Seemed counter-intuitive to me, but....

Second one: Because Cool Brewing/Buzz is not a member of the OCB, brewers who contract-brew at the site are not allowed to join OCB.

That seems odd, to say the least! You must own your own physical brewery to be an OCB member?

zane9 wrote:
Second one: Because Cool Brewing/Buzz is not a member of the OCB, brewers who contract-brew at the site are not allowed to join OCB.

That seems odd, to say the least! You must own your own physical brewery to be an OCB member?

I have no clue about the validity of your first statement, but I can tell you that the conclusion you drew from it is incorrect. You CAN be a member of the OCB without having your own physical brewery.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:... but I can tell you that the conclusion you drew from it is incorrect. You CAN be a member of the OCB without having your own physical brewery.

Not my conclusion. It was a statement from a LCBO employee who knows many of the contract-brewers. He's clearly wrong?

zane9 wrote:

TheSevenDuffs wrote:... but I can tell you that the conclusion you drew from it is incorrect. You CAN be a member of the OCB without having your own physical brewery.

Not my conclusion. It was a statement from a LCBO employee who knows many of the contract-brewers. He's clearly wrong?

Yes that statement is wrong. But the statement and the conclusion do not flow logically, that's all I was trying to point out. So if he also made the comment that "You must own your own physical brewery to be an OCB member" he is incorrect.

TheSevenDuffs wrote:Yes that statement is wrong. But the statement and the conclusion do not flow logically, that's all I was trying to point out. So if he also made the comment that "You must own your own physical brewery to be an OCB member" he is incorrect.

Understood, and sorry for the confusion. The fellow only stated that contract brewers at Cool could not join OCB due to Cool's lack of membership. That seemed nonsensical to me.

Kensington is contract brewed at Wellington (a member of the OCB) but yet they aren't part. Perhaps it is true that to be a member you need to be physical?

admviolin wrote:Kensington is contract brewed at Wellington (a member of the OCB) but yet they aren't part. Perhaps it is true that to be a member you need to be physical?

It is not true.

To be a member of the OCB as a contract brewery, you have to brew at an OCB members facilities..... You also have to apply and pay a membership fee (which is quite reasonable for small brewers).

Is that why St. Andre is no longer an OCB member?

icemachine wrote:Is that why St. Andre is no longer an OCB member?

Most likely. I suspect Spearhead no longer being a member is also due to this policy.

Curiously, though, Skeena/Wolfgang's is still listed as an OCB member, and I was sure that it was being brewed at Cool...

admviolin wrote:Kensington is contract brewed at Wellington (a member of the OCB) but yet they aren't part.

That's Kensington's own choice. Talk to Brock about it some time, he's got some strong opinions about the OCB.

zane9 wrote:On a long walk between Union station and a client's office I stopped in at two LCBO stores. Checking the beer shelves for my want-to-haves. Brief chats with CSRs, both beer-smart gents.

First one: Beer is flying off the shelves, but on a net basis beer is the least profitable segment. It's the most labour-intensive (stocking; constant turn-over; re-stocking/shelving, etc.)

Seemed counter-intuitive to me, but....

Second one: Because Cool Brewing/Buzz is not a member of the OCB, brewers who contract-brew at the site are not allowed to join OCB.

That seems odd, to say the least! You must own your own physical brewery to be an OCB member?

They only have themselves to blame for the profitability of beer. They mark it up differently than they do wine.

The OCB as a group seems strange. Based on this thread there is a lot of confusion about what breweries are allowed to join. And from what I remember from another thread, brewpubs are allowed in but as non-voting members. Combine that with the fact that I just read an article about how there are 100 breweries in Ontario, yet there are only 31 OCB members, makes me think they are going out of their way to make themselves irrelevant.

I mean it says a lot when breweries like Bellwoods in Toronto or Beyond the Pale or Broadhead in Ottawa aren't members. I live in Ottawa but if I look at the OCB map of my region, it only shows Beau's, Kichesippi and Skeena. It doesn't show BTP, Broadhead, Big Rig, Cassel, Ashton or even the Ottawa location for Mill Street. What a joke.

Now I know a lot of those 100 breweries are probably nano-breweries or brewpubs or contract breweries, but how the hell can the OCB say they represent Ontario brewers when they don't even represent a majority of the brewers in Ontario, including a number that are making really good beer? But don't worry they still list Trafalgar as a member, so they got those guys covered.

I am actually surprised that competing groups haven't started up. Something like a GTA brewers association or an Eastern Ontario Brewers Guild Seems like a no-brainer.

And don't even get me started on how fugly the OCB website is.

Kel Varnsen wrote:The OCB as a group seems strange. Based on this thread there is a lot of confusion about what breweries are allowed to join. And from what I remember from another thread, brewpubs are allowed in but as non-voting members. Combine that with the fact that I just read an article about how there are 100 breweries in Ontario, yet there are only 31 OCB members, makes me think they are going out of their way to make themselves irrelevant.

I mean it says a lot when breweries like Bellwoods in Toronto or Beyond the Pale or Broadhead in Ottawa aren't members. I live in Ottawa but if I look at the OCB map of my region, it only shows Beau's, Kichesippi and Skeena. It doesn't show BTP, Broadhead, Big Rig, Cassel, Ashton or even the Ottawa location for Mill Street. What a joke.

Now I know a lot of those 100 breweries are probably nano-breweries or brewpubs or contract breweries, but how the hell can the OCB say they represent Ontario brewers when they don't even represent a majority of the brewers in Ontario, including a number that are making really good beer? But don't worry they still list Trafalgar as a member, so they got those guys covered.

I am actually surprised that competing groups haven't started up. Something like a GTA brewers association or an Eastern Ontario Brewers Guild Seems like a no-brainer.

And don't even get me started on how fugly the OCB website is.

the OCB is a group of small breweries that lobbies the ontario government and acts as a joint marketing group

you have to pay to be a member

a lot of breweries, especially new breweries, do not see the benefit of paying the OCB to do what it does for it members

matt7215 wrote:
the OCB is a group of small breweries that lobbies the ontario government and acts as a joint marketing group

you have to pay to be a member

a lot of breweries, especially new breweries, do not see the benefit of paying the OCB to do what it does for it members

The fact that they have the ear of the government when they don't even represent 50% of the small breweries in the province is kind of annoying too.

And if they can't get more of the breweries in the province involved in their group maybe they need to rethink there plan and figure out better ways to get them involved. Like I said their map is a joke with respect to Ottawa. I mean by comparison looking at their website the Vermont Brewers association manages to have all of the brewers in Burlington Vermont on their map. Which is great because for someone visiting Burlington it is effective promotion of their industry. The same can't really be said for the OCB.

And I have to think there will be a snowball effect. I mean as fewer breweries become members the group loses effectiveness. And as its effectiveness diminishes, even more breweries will choose not to be members.