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Craft Beer: What are you drinking now??

Rainy Day - sounds like a nice one. I like English mild ales - nice for a change too.
Your G/F works at CommonGood? That must be deadly. Living close to a half dozen breweries is scary enough for me.
;-)

Yes.

My GF is the taproom, bottleshop and retail manager at CommonGood in Scarborough.

It DEFINITELY has some perks attached what with the free beer, getting to go to industry only release parties, free access to various beer fests, getting comp'd at various other east end breweries, etc... ?
 
saddest thing I've seen in a while

oIOW9Qt.jpg
 
What happened to buck-a-beer?
By my math, that’s $1.65 a beer!

campaign promise eh? $1 beer

after Dougie Simpleton learned it was not possible
because the brewers wanted nothing to do with it
he offered lower taxation for premier store placement

seems my local LCBO equates that with
dump the sh!t on the floor
until we can can throw it in the dumpster

thanks Doug!!
 
It will sell by the skidload.
there is a huge market for cheap beer, cheap wine and the US park bench special, malt liqour. Its not for everybody, but it is for a lot of folks.

I have had a couple interesting meetings with craft brewers this week, ( I'm managing a bar now LOL) , they have a big enough challenge retaining market with dozens of brewers in the GTA, and they know 'no name' is not a competitor at all for them, but every beer drank that is not thier beer is a thing.
I'm trying to make a program of 'local' beer, so Camerons is my closest brewer. Its still a challenge as people say "oh i dont like camerons" , well they make 6 different beers in completely different styles, it woud be hard to not like anything, but old white people are like that.
 
It will sell by the skidload.
there is a huge market for cheap beer, cheap wine and the US park bench special, malt liqour. Its not for everybody, but it is for a lot of folks.

I have had a couple interesting meetings with craft brewers this week, ( I'm managing a bar now LOL) , they have a big enough challenge retaining market with dozens of brewers in the GTA, and they know 'no name' is not a competitor at all for them, but every beer drank that is not thier beer is a thing.
I'm trying to make a program of 'local' beer, so Camerons is my closest brewer. Its still a challenge as people say "oh i dont like camerons" , well they make 6 different beers in completely different styles, it woud be hard to not like anything, but old white people are like that.

Globe and Mail business section did an article about craft breweries recently. About 50% of them don't make a profit apparently. Oversaturation in some areas. Some people also like the idea of owning a brewery but just have no experience.
 
Micro brews are the new wineries , a vanity project for a lot of people. Beer consumption is down 5% in canada last yr, for the first time in 2 decades. You could blame public awareness (driving) , new found health data, aging populatiuon, but whatever the reason its a real trend. LOTS of micro brews dont make money. Sadly the herd will thin.
A lot of 'micro' brews are also made in other peoples breweries, you create a brand and a logo and you have a beer, its made in a big tank by a guy named Fred, not hand stirred by a gal named Monica.

We have seen a big shift to wines and hard liqour (scotch ect) from beers, but its also one and done, very few people are going hard anymore at our bar.
 
Keep sharing the pictures!

Time for more good beer
smile.gif
. For S^*%$ and giggles I counted the different beer I have in the downstairs fridge, I had 18 different beers
beer.gif
.

My buying and collection is a little different others here, focusing less on local brewers and more on highly rated world imports as well as product in other Canadian provinces; let me share a few recent pourings.

Rochefort 8, one of my most fave beers in the world, a Belgian Trappist Dubbel.
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Rochefort 10, one of my most fave beers in the world, a Belgian Trappist Quad.
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I love the strong Belgian ales most of all.

This was very good too, 3 Mile Legacy Brewing Angus Stout. Well carbonated and a nice pronounced smooth stout profile.
attachment.php
 
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Micro brews are the new wineries , a vanity project for a lot of people. Beer consumption is down 5% in canada last yr, for the first time in 2 decades. You could blame public awareness (driving) , new found health data, aging populatiuon, but whatever the reason its a real trend. LOTS of micro brews dont make money. Sadly the herd will thin.
A lot of 'micro' brews are also made in other peoples breweries, you create a brand and a logo and you have a beer, its made in a big tank by a guy named Fred, not hand stirred by a gal named Monica.

We have seen a big shift to wines and hard liqour (scotch ect) from beers, but its also one and done, very few people are going hard anymore at our bar.

So true.
Equal in London brews a lot of beer for various “micros”.
When micro becomes commoditized, then what is it?
Macro?
 
So true.
Equal in London brews a lot of beer for various “micros”.
When micro becomes commoditized, then what is it?
Macro?

Darwinism sorts them out eventually. There’s a lot of “vanity” wineries pumping out terrible wines in Prince Edward County because there’s a lot of very rich people who like the idea and social status attached to owning one but have no clue about anything else. There’s some good ones too obviously. Same goes for breweries. If they produce crap beers they will eventually get found out and reviews will do them in. A new one opened in Kingston this week, Daft Brewery, so I’ll visit that soon as it’s a short walk from the house.

Back to my beer fridge. I have 12-13 different Belgian beers including a really interesting Belgian non sweetened porter and a sour called Jeun'homme which is really good, some Draak beers, Piraat and St Bernadus abbey ales, lots of triples and some quads, Orvin blonde too which is a very good beer, a few German including weiss and altbeers, a few different British ales including some Xmas beers I’m keeping as I like the really caramel-like ones. A full assortment of Unibroue beers, some other Quebec craft brown ales and some bottles/cans from local breweries in Gananoque and Prince Edward County. Actually, it’s a wine fridge that I bought for my wife and she’s a bit annoyed at the room the beer is taking up in there so I should probably drink some more.

Variety is the spice of life but I really need to find some Aventinus Dopplebock as I’ve been craving that for a while.
 
I'll have to agree, just because its craft doesnt make it good. I just gave away my last can of Railway City creamsicle ale. I bought a dozen when I was in St Thomas, I opened the first and could NOT get past the secoind mouthful. Sweet, syroppy and awful after taste. I kept them in the fridge so I could give them out and watch the reaction. No one ever finished a can, they politely tried to say its 'different' and I would politely take the can and dump it out for them.
Orange Snail brewers here in Milton are producing a dark thats similar to a bitter. Its quite delicious and since im not a sweet beer guy it fits my palete.

I'm still a fan of supporting the local makers and buying from people that work and live in my community. Orange Snail being 5kms from my house has become a favoritehere at home, Camerons in Oakville is on my tap as is Nicklebrook naughty nieghbor, Naughty neighbor is a really hoppy style of beer, but not that bitter and a fairly clean finish.
But I have to say Granville Island pale ale (molson product pretending to be craft) outsells every other beer in my bar.
 
I'll have to agree, just because its craft doesnt make it good. I just gave away my last can of Railway City creamsicle ale. I bought a dozen when I was in St Thomas, I opened the first and could NOT get past the secoind mouthful. Sweet, syroppy and awful after taste. I kept them in the fridge so I could give them out and watch the reaction. No one ever finished a can, they politely tried to say its 'different' and I would politely take the can and dump it out for them.
Orange Snail brewers here in Milton are producing a dark thats similar to a bitter. Its quite delicious and since im not a sweet beer guy it fits my palete.

I'm still a fan of supporting the local makers and buying from people that work and live in my community. Orange Snail being 5kms from my house has become a favoritehere at home, Camerons in Oakville is on my tap as is Nicklebrook naughty nieghbor, Naughty neighbor is a really hoppy style of beer, but not that bitter and a fairly clean finish.
But I have to say Granville Island pale ale (molson product pretending to be craft) outsells every other beer in my bar.

@crankcall

Sorry if I’m late to the party, but what is the name of you bar and where is it?

The last time I was at Orange Snail I wasn’t blown away, but it’s been a few years.

Rob
 
Bronte Harbour Yacht Club, its not a bar persay, its a private club with a bar in it. Oakville west.

re; not blown away by Orange Snail, thats the beauty of the actual craft beer business. The brewers get to make a product that excites and interests them. Its not completely dictated by a team of accountants and its not a 1,000,000 gal problem, if it doesnt sell through then we make something else. The true genious in my opinion are the brew pubs, where they may only make 500?L of a batch and then its off the menu for a few months.
 
So true.
Equal in London brews a lot of beer for various “micros”.
When micro becomes commoditized, then what is it?
Macro?
More than 5 million L is macro I believe. Contract brewers lower the entry cost to get beer to market.

Micro limits. (From: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/business-development/brewery-guide.pdf)
"To be considered a microbrewer for a given sales year, all of the following conditions must be met: • The brewer’s worldwide production (not just in Ontario) for the past production (calendar) year is not more than 50,000 hL (5 million L); this figure includes the sum of all of the beer: – the brewer makes, even if the beer is made for another brewer – the brewer’s affiliates make, even if the beer is made for another brewer, and – any other brewer makes for the brewer or for any of the brewer’s affiliates • In the preceding producing year, if the brewer has an affiliate that also makes beer, that affiliate must also have been a microbrewer. • In the preceding production year, if there is a beer-making arrangement where another brewer makes beer for the brewer, that other brewer must have been a microbrewer. • In the preceding production year, if there is a beer-making arrangement where the brewer makes beer for another brewer, that other brewer must have been a microbrewer "
 
I'll have to agree, just because its craft doesnt make it good. I just gave away my last can of Railway City creamsicle ale. I bought a dozen when I was in St Thomas, I opened the first and could NOT get past the secoind mouthful. Sweet, syroppy and awful after taste. I kept them in the fridge so I could give them out and watch the reaction. No one ever finished a can, they politely tried to say its 'different' and I would politely take the can and dump it out for them.
Orange Snail brewers here in Milton are producing a dark thats similar to a bitter. Its quite delicious and since im not a sweet beer guy it fits my palete.

I'm still a fan of supporting the local makers and buying from people that work and live in my community. Orange Snail being 5kms from my house has become a favoritehere at home, Camerons in Oakville is on my tap as is Nicklebrook naughty nieghbor, Naughty neighbor is a really hoppy style of beer, but not that bitter and a fairly clean finish.
But I have to say Granville Island pale ale (molson product pretending to be craft) outsells every other beer in my bar.

Here here! Creamsicle Ale was really good the first few batches, but the last few runs have been bleh. Something has changed @ Railway city and not for the better. Dead Elephant is still consistent though. I prefer Caps Off brewing when I'm visiting my parents in St. Thomas.

Last beer I dumped was "Killer Cupcake Panda" from Flying Monkeys. Tasted like bad cherry cough syrup. Before that the Sawdust City Maple Butter tart beer was down the drain.

Current local favorites are Grain & Grit and Collective (Hamilton) but I'm always hitting all my Hamilton/Burlington locals on the regular. That & the Gueuze in my fridge.
 
There is a pub on Dundas @ walkers in Burlington, think its called #5 . In house brewery is really quite good and selection is really spread out. And the menu is pretty good. Its my go to in north burlington right now
 

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