Beer in the news

[mcgster]

On another note...

Moose Knuckle beer is already trademarked in Canada lol

http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmr ... exOnPage=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mr x]

LCBO to sell its biggest, most expensive beer ever
Quebec’s Unibroue makes a big, pricy splash with 50 six-litre bottles of Fin du Monde, on Thursday at Toronto’s Summerhill location.

http://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2 ... _ever.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

y: Josh Rubin Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Nov 25 2014

Fin du Monde

3 stars

Where to buy: LCBO

Price $149/6-litre bottle or $9.95/four pack

Food pairings: Fondue, ripe camembert, French onion soup

The verdict: Whether it’s in the big bottle or not, still a very good beer

When beer aficionados talk about a “big beer,” they usually mean a brew that is high in alcohol, extra hoppy, or otherwise boldly flavoured.

This week, the LCBO is unveiling its biggest beer ever, in a much more literal sense.

On Thursday afternoon, 50 bottles of Fin du Monde, a strong Belgian-style ale from Quebec’s Unibroue, will go on sale at the LCBO’s Summerhill location. The price? A mere $149. But this isn’t your standard 341-millilitre bottle. Instead, it’s a whopping six litres (that’s about 17½ standard bottles, if you’re keeping count); it’s the biggest, most expensive bottle of beer ever sold at the LCBO. A four-pack of regular-sized Fin du Monde will set you back a bit less: just $9.95.

Unibroue has been producing the giant bottles — known in wine circles as a Methuselah, after the 969-year-old biblical figure — for a few years, but until now, they weren’t available for sale to the public. Instead, they were produced a few times, and brought out once in a while for special events such as beer dinners, festivals, or to mark milestones for Unibroue employees, such as a retirement.

Whenever one was opened, says brewmaster Jerry Vietz, he’d see a sparkle in everyone’s eye — and not just because they’d been drinking Fin du Monde, which is a hefty 9-per-cent alcohol by volume.

“Excitement, every single time!” is how Vietz describes people’s reactions to seeing the behemoth bottle. After witnessing enough wide-eyed delight, something clicked for Vietz and his colleagues, and they decided to make a small batch of the large bottles available to the public. A few hundred were produced this year, with just 50 sent to Ontario. They’ll be going on the shelves at 3 p.m. Thursday. (Vietz will be on hand, autographing bottles. At 1:30, he’ll also be hosting a guided Unibroue tasting; tickets for the tasting are $35 and reserve a bottle for you to purchase. Call 416-365-5900 for a ticket.)

There’s more to large bottles than just shock value and presentation, Vietz insists. As in the wine world, the contents of a larger bottle typically age more gracefully. That’s particularly the case with age-worthy brews such as Fin du Monde, which is bottle-conditioned (meaning it’s given an extra hit of live yeast when bottled).

“Beer tends to age better in larger format. First, the ratio of headspace is less in these bottles than in the small bottles. The large volume of beer also acts as a buffer, slowing the drift in temperature that can occur during aging and affect the aging potential,” Vietz explained via email.

However, once you open the bottle, you shouldn’t try to reseal it, so make sure to invite a few friends over when you do.

Previously, the title for most expensive bottle of beer sold at the LCBO was held by Utopias, a blend of several brews aged in cognac, port and whisky barrels. Utopias, which weighed in at a rather robust 28 per cent alcohol by volume, sold for $114.95 per 500 millilitre bottle.

Despite the high price tag, those bottles of Utopias sold out in just a few hours. Whether the Fin du Monde will do as well remains to be seen. Vietz is optimistic that the trophy bottles will sell, but hopes people will keep on buying the regular-sized Fin du Monde as well. (In either size, it’s a very good beer, with a fruity, spicy character).

“Honestly, we don’t make a whole lot of money from these six-litre bottles,” said Vietz.

[mr x]

Budweiser sales drying up as American drinkers continue shift to craft beer

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/11/26 ... raft-beer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here’s a very cool graph (http://online.wsj.com/articles/budweise ... ding_now_3) from Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal that says an awful lot about America’s changing taste in alcohol. Americans now buy more craft beer than Budweiser. (Not Bud Light, mind you. Just Bud.)

On the one hand, this chart is a reminder that craft brewing is still a niche — albeit a fast-growing one. According to the Brewers Association, craft labels make up about 14% of the U.S. beer market. Take Allagash, Lagunitas, Dogfish Head, and all your other favourite little breweries, toss them together, and they barely outsell the third most popular brand in America.

On the other hand, it’s also a very specific testament to the decline of Budweiser, which these days is basically a beer without a purpose. Twenty years ago, when Americans were less health-conscious and had more homogeneous tastes, selling a mass-market, mid-priced lager designed to appeal to the largest possible demographic made lots of sense. But now, it’s a brand without a natural audience except for older Americans who drink it out of habit and maybe a nostalgic sense of brand loyalty. If you walk into a bar, there will almost always be a cheaper beer, a less caloric beer, and plenty of tastier beers on tap. And so it’s not totally shocking that, by Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s account, 44% of Americans between the ages of 21 and 27 have never tried a regular old Budweiser. It’s not as if they’re missing anything.

This isn’t to say Budweiser is in immediate peril. Again, thanks to all those old fans, it’s still the third most popular brand in the country. But it’s obviously a bad sign for the future, which the WSJ reports is why AB-Inbev is starting a new marketing effort to rehab the beer’s image with young drinkers, in part by avoiding using Clydesdales in its commercials this holiday season and substituting relatable twentysomethings, even though the company says: Clydesdales “will continue to play a central role in our campaigns, including holidays and Super Bowl.” Per the Journal:

The marketing push is accompanied by an effort to get Budweiser back on tap. Theory being: If Levi’s and Converse can end years of sales declines by winning over young consumers, so can Bud.

“This is a very considered, long-term view of what will turn around the brand,” said Brian Perkins, AB InBev’s vice president of marketing, Budweiser.

But this analogy strikes me as a bit flawed. Levi’s could change up the look of its jeans. Fashion loves to go retro. But Budweiser can’t radically change its formula, and it’s not obscure enough to be rediscovered (not that Chucks were ever totally obscure). Bland, mid-priced, beer is bland, mid-priced beer. Budweiser is stuck in the middle, and some new commercials aren’t going to pull it back out.

[mr x]

NSLC execs pressed to grow profits in face of aging population
President says beer sales down, but Nova Scotians drinking more wine

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scot ... -1.2851235" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nova Scotia's aging population is forcing liquor executives to come up with new ways to keep profits growing.

The president of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation told a legislature committee Wednesday that beer sales, which make up 46 per cent of what stores sell, continue to decline.

Bret Mitchell says that's a trend across North America. He says as people age they tend to move to spirits or wine.

Although hard liquor sales are also down, people are buying more wine – a lot more. Wine sales have grown more than 20 per cent in 18 months.

Last year stores sold 15 percent more wine than in 2012. Ciders, particularly local brands, are also selling well.

Overall, profits are up at the liquor corporation, but Mitchell says keeping them up will require lowering costs and getting customers to acquire more expensive tastes.

"We are not forecasting at this point that our revenue is going to decline, but we're going to do everything we can to not only stabilize it but increase it," he told members of the public accounts committee.

Simply increasing prices isn't the answer, according to Mitchell. He calls it "a fool's game."

"You can only increase prices so far before customers just buy less or they move to some alternative," he said. "So we do not rely on pricing very often in terms of our profitability mix."

Instead, Mitchell thinks the key is to convince people to buy more refined products.

"If we can get you to buy a $17 bottle of wine instead of a $15 bottle of wine, we're not getting you to drink more, we're getting you to make us more money."

It's one way the corporation has been able to continue to grow profits, Mitchell told provincial politicians.

"Quite frankly it's been the only way that we've been able to enhance our profitability and our margins going forward."

[CorneliusAlphonse]

"When we control the market and set the price, somehow we are able to continuously increase profits despite declining sales"

[mr x]

Simply increasing prices isn't the answer, according to Mitchell. He calls it "a fool's game."

"If we can get you to buy a $17 bottle of wine instead of a $15 bottle of wine, we're not getting you to drink more, we're getting you to make us more money."

A fool's game indeed, lmfao....

[canuck]

^ I just shake my head at that fucking comment of his. Jesus.

[akr71]

I never realized that there was such a drastic jump in quality from a $15 bottle of wine to a $17 bottle of wine. Douchebag

[canuck]

I never realized that there was such a drastic jump in quality from a $15 bottle of wine to a $17 bottle of wine. Douchebag

No kidding! I echo your commment, what a douchebag!

[McGruff]

That guy has to be told that beer sales are down because his prices are just way too high and we are making our own beer.

[LeafMan66_67]

That guy has to be told that beer sales are down because his prices are just way too high and we are making our own beer.

Don't think you want to tell NSLC that homebrew is cutting into their profits.

[mr x]

NSLC: Private liquor sales fail to enrich small businesses

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1 ... businesses" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Twelve years after the province decided to flirt with private liquor sales, the experiment hasn’t turned out as expected.

However, the head of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. says he has accepted that three of four Halifax-area independent liquor stores, meant to create opportunities for small business, are run in collaboration.

The corporation skipped over a promised public review of the program and is nearly done drafting a new operating agreement that will enshrine those changes for several more years.

The original request for proposals to win the coveted licences said that each store needed to be owned independently. It said nothing about operating them independently. After a series of sales in recent years, all but one are operated by Micco Cos., the holding company owned by businessman Mickey MacDonald.

MacDonald owns Harvest Wines & Spirits, while his son Colin owns Cristall Wine Merchants and his friend Rod Levy owns Premier Wine & Spirits.

The fourth store, Bishop’s Cellar, is owned and operated separately by developer Jim Spatz.

As each of the three stores was sold, the NSLC approved the change, with a spokesman telling The Chronicle Herald that joint operations would help the stores thrive.

The corporation’s last annual report showed $11.7 million in sales between the four, up $2.6 million from 2012-13, though much of that increase was attributed to a shift in warehousing.

“Originally, the program was designed for a number of things, primarily an entrepreneurial opportunity for people, for small business,” said Bret Mitchell, the NSLC’s CEO, after presenting recent revenues to a legislature committee Wednesday.

“I think it’s proven that’s not the case. I wouldn’t call the individuals that are presently operating any of the four, even as a group, as necessarily small-business people.”

The new operating agreement should be finished in January, said Mitchell.

“We think the program is stable and they’re certainly all making very good money, so we’re pleased with that.”

The NSLC had committed to do a public review of the program after its first five years, and in 2007 it hired consulting company Gardner Pinfold to carry it out.

The report estimated that the program had created 34 direct and 18 indirect jobs and that it brought Nova Scotia new household income of $1.4 million.

All the changes in ownership have happened since that report. A second five-year review was planned, according to a document explaining the private wine and spirits stores program on the NSLC website.

The review would have started around 2012, when the private stores’ five-year operating agreements expired, but none has been done.

“We have completed our own review and the operator review with our government,” said Mitchell.

“That’s the only … review we were intending to do.”

The stores’ operating agreements also expired two years ago and they have been operating under an extended year-to-year agreement.

MacDonald said Micco Cos. employs the staff of the three stores, and they share a common buyer.

They also talk often with Bishop’s Cellar to see if they can collaborate on anything, he said.

“An individual out there with a lone store, it’s really tough because of the inventory issues, the cost of training and everything else. … The volume makes a difference,” he said.

Staff is the same as it was before the three stores changed hands, “if not a little bit better,” he said.

“It’s just a small little wine store, so they’re not meant to create millionaires out of the owners,” MacDonald said.

“It’s more a thing of passion than it is trying to grow riches.”

He credited Mitchell with being “very open-minded.”

The program has met expectations in many ways, said Mitchell. The stores stock specialty drinks that aren’t available in NSLC stores, giving consumers more choice, he said.

Another thing the NSLC didn’t foresee is that the stores would become big suppliers of local restaurants. Mitchell said Wednesday that nearly 70 per cent of the stores’ sales are to local licensed establishments.

“They were never intended to be a primarily licensee channel, but that’s how they’ve evolved, so we’re OK with that as well,” he said.

[McGruff]

Why not tell him his prices are too high and now make your own? What is he going to do? Make it illegal to brew your own?

[LeafMan66_67]

Why not tell him his prices are too high and now make your own? What is he going to do? Make it illegal to brew your own?

We enjoy no tax on our ingredients - it would be a shame if someone stepped in and taxed our hops and grain.

[GuingesRock]

You can grow hops around here, and malt your barley

[chalmers]

I find the title of the article misleading, insinuating that no one is making money from the venture. On the contrary, the businesses are making money, but now 75% of them are controlled by a BIG business. And the other one is owned by a large business owner as well.
That's not what the NSLC had intended, but they seem fine with it. And though they were to do an audit of the review, they decided against it.

Pretty poor!

[McGruff]

Yea, taxing hops and grain is scary for sure. I wouldn't put it past any Provincial gov't. There certainly would be an uproar, but government only thinks in dollars and cents. I couldn't imagine smuggling grain and hops from province to province, but I would do it if I had to.

[BobbyOK]

ARRGGHH. ARRGGHH, ARRGGGHH, ARRGGHH is about all I can muster with this.

NSLC: Private liquor sales fail to enrich small businesses

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1 ... businesses" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Twelve years after the province decided to flirt with private liquor sales, the experiment hasn’t turned out as expected.

However, the head of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. says he has accepted that three of four Halifax-area independent liquor stores, meant to create opportunities for small business, are run in collaboration.

The corporation skipped over a promised public review of the program and is nearly done drafting a new operating agreement that will enshrine those changes for several more years.

The original request for proposals to win the coveted licences said that each store needed to be owned independently. It said nothing about operating them independently. After a series of sales in recent years, all but one are operated by Micco Cos., the holding company owned by businessman Mickey MacDonald.

MacDonald owns Harvest Wines & Spirits, while his son Colin owns Cristall Wine Merchants and his friend Rod Levy owns Premier Wine & Spirits.

The fourth store, Bishop’s Cellar, is owned and operated separately by developer Jim Spatz.

As each of the three stores was sold, the NSLC approved the change, with a spokesman telling The Chronicle Herald that joint operations would help the stores thrive.

The corporation’s last annual report showed $11.7 million in sales between the four, up $2.6 million from 2012-13, though much of that increase was attributed to a shift in warehousing.

“Originally, the program was designed for a number of things, primarily an entrepreneurial opportunity for people, for small business,” said Bret Mitchell, the NSLC’s CEO, after presenting recent revenues to a legislature committee Wednesday.

“I think it’s proven that’s not the case. I wouldn’t call the individuals that are presently operating any of the four, even as a group, as necessarily small-business people.”

The new operating agreement should be finished in January, said Mitchell.

“We think the program is stable and they’re certainly all making very good money, so we’re pleased with that.”

The NSLC had committed to do a public review of the program after its first five years, and in 2007 it hired consulting company Gardner Pinfold to carry it out.

The report estimated that the program had created 34 direct and 18 indirect jobs and that it brought Nova Scotia new household income of $1.4 million.

All the changes in ownership have happened since that report. A second five-year review was planned, according to a document explaining the private wine and spirits stores program on the NSLC website.

The review would have started around 2012, when the private stores’ five-year operating agreements expired, but none has been done.

“We have completed our own review and the operator review with our government,” said Mitchell.

“That’s the only … review we were intending to do.”

The stores’ operating agreements also expired two years ago and they have been operating under an extended year-to-year agreement.

MacDonald said Micco Cos. employs the staff of the three stores, and they share a common buyer.

They also talk often with Bishop’s Cellar to see if they can collaborate on anything, he said.

“An individual out there with a lone store, it’s really tough because of the inventory issues, the cost of training and everything else. … The volume makes a difference,” he said.

Staff is the same as it was before the three stores changed hands, “if not a little bit better,” he said.

“It’s just a small little wine store, so they’re not meant to create millionaires out of the owners,” MacDonald said.

“It’s more a thing of passion than it is trying to grow riches.”

He credited Mitchell with being “very open-minded.”

The program has met expectations in many ways, said Mitchell. The stores stock specialty drinks that aren’t available in NSLC stores, giving consumers more choice, he said.

Another thing the NSLC didn’t foresee is that the stores would become big suppliers of local restaurants. Mitchell said Wednesday that nearly 70 per cent of the stores’ sales are to local licensed establishments.

“They were never intended to be a primarily licensee channel, but that’s how they’ve evolved, so we’re OK with that as well,” he said.

[CorneliusAlphonse]

"we have allowed all them to become owned by big business, and not allowed new entrants into the program, somehow it is failing to enrich small business, program has failed" is that the gist of the article?

[Jayme]

And that they don't seem to care.

[toddthebeerdude]

http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Local/20 ... -weekend/1

Tour for brewery investors taking place in Truro this weekend

TRURO – People who are interested in investing in a proposed microbrewery in Truro are invited to a special tour this Saturday.

Jon Keddy, who is the developer of Walker Lofts, which will replace the former Walkers building on Prince Street, is contemplating including a brewery as part of the lofts.

Keddy will host a brewery investor meeting and tour of the commercial space on Saturday at 11 a.m. on site. Participants are asked to use the entrance near Dairy Queen. He anticipates up to 50 people will attend.

“The meeting and tour is for people who want to invest … whether it’s small, medium or large … and to see how compatible the site is,” said Keddy. “It’s to see the feasibility and appetite (for such a project) and to look for someone to take the lead role.”

The gathering will also include a visit with brew master Greg Nash, who is from Amherst and now lives in the United States. Other expert guests will include legal and bank representatives to answer questions investors and potential investors may have.

Keddy said a general public tour of the entire building will be held early in new the year, possibly mid-January.

“It’s yet to be determined how it goes,” Keddy said of the brewery concept. “It would be different thinking for the town … and make the town more of a destination.”

[Jimmy]

http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Local/20 ... -weekend/1

Tour for brewery investors taking place in Truro this weekend

TRURO – People who are interested in investing in a proposed microbrewery in Truro are invited to a special tour this Saturday.

Jon Keddy, who is the developer of Walker Lofts, which will replace the former Walkers building on Prince Street, is contemplating including a brewery as part of the lofts.

Keddy will host a brewery investor meeting and tour of the commercial space on Saturday at 11 a.m. on site. Participants are asked to use the entrance near Dairy Queen. He anticipates up to 50 people will attend.

“The meeting and tour is for people who want to invest … whether it’s small, medium or large … and to see how compatible the site is,” said Keddy. “It’s to see the feasibility and appetite (for such a project) and to look for someone to take the lead role.”

The gathering will also include a visit with brew master Greg Nash, who is from Amherst and now lives in the United States. Other expert guests will include legal and bank representatives to answer questions investors and potential investors may have.

Keddy said a general public tour of the entire building will be held early in new the year, possibly mid-January.

“It’s yet to be determined how it goes,” Keddy said of the brewery concept. “It would be different thinking for the town … and make the town more of a destination.”

Is there something we don't know about?

[Keith]

The gathering will also include a visit with brew master Greg Nash, who is from Amherst and now lives in the United States.

He's got one long commute to get to work everyday.

[chalmers]

Hadn't realized Nash had moved to the States. Hope he still sends up some of his beer!

Interesting way to set up a potential business partnership. Hopefully there are some nibbles, would be nice to see a spot open in Truro.

[toddthebeerdude]

Hadn't realized Nash had moved to the States. Hope he still sends up some of his beer!

Interesting way to set up a potential business partnership. Hopefully there are some nibbles, would be nice to see a spot open in Truro.

yeah I hadn't heard Nash moved either lol. Would be nice for people in the Truro area to have a little brewery