I recently had an experience with this beer and it was amazing! I live in Blaine WA and can cross the border with ease. Where is the nearest place I can get this. Furthest South would be best! Thanks in advance. (We get this in Bellingham I know, but taxes make it so expensive. $20/bottle)
It's just the Canadian craft scene is still somewhat in it's infancy compared to the U.S and I feel that Canadian craft brewers should expand east and west, rather then south at this time. Alberta does get more imported craft beer then just about anywhere in Canada, so I really can't complain but not being able to get exceptional Canadian brews burns me a bit.
That is too bad and I can see some of that frustration. On a positive note however, there are some great breweries doing awesome things up in the Great White North. When I was spending a year in Vancouver BC, I discovered this beer at this bar called the "Black Raven" out in Deep Cove BC. The beer was titled "Black Hand of Death". What an amazing beer. There is good beer, but man do you have to look for it! What is it that holds craft brewing back? Is it the Macro-Breweries basically bribing bars with LED TVs and other swag to get only their beers tapped? I have heard of this and think it is appalling if that is the truth! That is corruption at its' finest!
That is a very good question. In Calgary we are starting to see a revolution in the craft beer scene. Restaurants and bars that serve craft are opening all the time. There is so much coming into this province that I can't keep up, I just don't have the money to try every new brew that shows up in this city! So I think in Calgary it's happening. We just had a new brewer open up, they produce decent beer but no where near as good as Driftwood, Howe Sound or Alley Kat. The proper beer bars are busy now. In fact I was at Beer Revolution a few Friday's ago and the Brewesters side was slow, we had to wait an hour on the Brewsters side to get a table on the Beer Revolution side, so there is a demand in Calgary. For the rest of Canada, the strict provincial liquor boards might stiffle the craft industry. Alberta probably has the most deregulated market in Canada and I believe it's the easiest market to import new products into. B.C has some great micro-breweries. Quebec produces the most craft beer out of any province hands down. I think this mostly is a cultural thing, but I am not sure as I have not been there yet. Culture maybe why the whole craft industry is slow, I see it with my own friends that have no interest in craft beer. I have tried on many occasions with everyone I know and some are interested but I think it's a smaller number of interested people to those who do not like good beer. Even the ones who are very receptive to craft will still show up at my house with a case of Kokanee and I ask them, you don't drive a cheap car or wear tacky clothes but why the cheap beer? I was just in the U.S on a two and half week rock climbing trip down in Indian Creek Utah, which is a Mormon wasteland for beer. At one point I was standing around the fire with about ten people and the worst beer in someone's hand was Full Sail Sessions Lager, which is not bad at all. Looking around people were drinking Deschutes, Epic, Uinta, the Californians won with the best IPA's. So I think it's mainly a cultural thing in the U.S and Canadians just are not there yet.
Were getting there buddy, people like us need to change the culture and that's what were doing. I feel like a missionary trying to covert the masses to my beliefs because I know I'm right. I see it everyday on the front line (my beer room) some are too stubborn to admit that perhaps (insert macro lager name here) isn't the greatest beer in the world. That being said just as many are coming around and thanking me for changing their perspective, the fact Craft beer is the fastest growing segment of the liquor industry speaks with volume. As for distribution we should focus on what we can get opposed to what we can't. Yes it's true we don't get Driftwood in next door Alberta and they can pick it below 49, its also true we can't get loads of big name breweries from the states. However, I'm overwhelmed by how many beers are flooding the market here in Alberta and it's getting to the point where no store can sell them all (but some will still try). In all honesty I think the culture in Alberta's bitten off more then it can chew at retail level, too much freedom, too many agents saturating the market with whatever they can add to their portfolio. I work in retail and find I'm paying more attention to kegs coming into the province even though I don't sell them. I'm happy with how fast our beer cultures growing but I too struggle to keep up with it all, and I'm completely obsessed. That reminds me Adam, lets go drink some beer. If you don't want to go watch the tap list at Beer Revolution change in real time I have some Driftwood at my place. Cheers
Manitoba is Canada's true beer wasteland, and I'm stick in it (for now). The only saving grace is the drive to the border is short, and the parcel pickup depot fees in Pembina,ND are cheap!
Given that the average Canadian doesn't drink HP, I guess that is true. I was about the argue and say I don't drink that much HP, but I'm sitting in front of the computer posting right now with a glass/open bottle of Half Pints Saison De La Ceinture Flechee in front of me so I'll be quiet...
I'm sure Canadian breweries would love to distribute their beers nationwide, but the horribly draconian and unfair business terms dictated by the LCBO and others makes it much easier to put the beer on the truck and send it to the US. The LCBO has bizarre requirements like non-standard box barcodes and safety seals on twist-offs, all while withholding payment for months and threatening to destroy your beer without compensation if it has Potassium Ferrocyanide levels that are deemed perfectly acceptable in wine. You also have to supply a massive amount of beer at a specific (and low-margin) price point. This is fine if you're a massive brewery like Harviestoun or Southern Tier, but not really feasible for the smaller players. Many brewers from the US and Europe who have sent their beers to Canada in the past have basically sworn off doing so again because it's a pain in the ass. Ask Tomme Arthur or Jean van Roy how much they loved their Ontario experiences.
From what I have heard the LCBO is very harsh as compared to the AGLC. The LCBO should take a step back, relax regulation and let the markets do their thing. I think a lot of people in the east fear deregulation and how it will make the consumer somehow victim to the big bad corporation. But in the case of alcohol, the LCBO should sit back, drink a cold one and let the proper business people do what they are pationate about. After the liquor regulations are relaxed then we can talk about power...
I've heard from more then one source that some breweries won't deal with the rest of Canada simply because they expect something similar to the LCBO in every province. Thanks LCBO I don't have any room on my shelves great American craft at this point.
