New Beau's 4-Packs [General]

2010 Mar 15
www.beaus.ca/en-4pack.html

Started rolling out last week. From that picture, they look fantastic, but I haven't seen them in-store yet. Represents a hefty price drop from the ceramic bottles certainly ($15.60 for 2400mL). Here's hoping the seasonals get listed soon. Happy hunting!

2010 Mar 15
Beaus is also coming out with a spring seasonal beer called Beaver River an authentic India pale ale and Matt's Sleepytime Stout.

2010 Mar 15
Yeah, looking forward to the Sleepytime. Oak-aged Belgian yeast Imperial Stout. Hopefully they nailed it.

2010 Mar 15
...okay, that stout just got my attention.

2010 Mar 15
I tried the stout on the weekend - amazing. It has a very limited run so get your jugs now .. before I buy it all!

2010 Mar 15
They have them at the Hampton Park LCBO.


2010 Apr 29
Finally got one in Westboro LCBO - after 3 unsuccessful attempts. They said they get them in on Wed and they are usually gone on Fri or Sat. I'm so glad to finally see this beer in a cost-effective format! At $15.50 for 4 x 600ml bottles it rings in per ml on the cheaper end for Ontario micros. Ontario micros have a wide range in price in the 6 pack format - from about $12 to about $19. If you do the math to convert Beau's price and volume to a standard 6 pack it rings in about $13.50 if my math is correct - well done Steve and Tim!

I'll definitely be buying more Beau's now. On Wednesdays :-)

2010 Apr 30
Hmmm, stout...

2010 Apr 30
Hey zym,

The Hampton LCBO isn't that much further and they always seem to have a healthy supply.

I agree that the new format is making me a regular Beau's beer drinker again.


2010 May 1
Hey folks,

Just picked up a few 4-packs of Beau's at LCBO on Hunt Club and Merivale. They were just loading them today and the guy was telling me that the will sell out by day's end usually. No more 750 ml porcelaine bottles, now they are in 660 ml glass bottles.

Look under the cardboard holder that it comes with and there is a $10 taxi coupon!!!!!!!! Drink and don't drive!

<3 KC:)

2010 May 1
KC - thanks for the info! I just took a peek at the bottom of the case after you mentioned it. I would have never noticed. It's good of them to promote 'responsible choice'.

2010 May 1
I just hauled out my Kueppers Koelsch glass to enjoy some Lugtread in :-)

EDIT: it is of course a "tourist's" glass - 300ml, not the usual 200ml. I have a bunch of those, too.

2010 May 1
huge improvement over the ceramic bottles, however, the businessman in me says if they bottled Beaus in 330ml format it would bring them to another level with respect to sales $$$ - is it a cost savings thing (ie less packaging) or a matter of non-conformity? ;)


2010 May 1
Steve told me the other day that the new packaging has already brought them to a new level just because of how much cheaper it is - he said it is selling at about 3x the rate of the old bottles

2010 May 6
Anyone been to the brewery lately and have any info on when the new De Koningshoeven project will be coming out and what kind of availability there will be? Zym?

2010 May 6
Sorry, not I.

2010 May 6
Nevermind, found it,
www.ottawacitizen.com

2010 May 6
"and another visitor, a home brewer who had experimented with juniper berries, was consulted"

One of the guys in our brew club. We've actually got a few guys that have done a fair bit of Sahti

2010 May 6
I still love the new packaging but... anyone else notice inconsistencies with the fill levels on the new bottles? They seem to vary by an inch or so.


2010 May 6
The guys on the brewers' list were mentioning the fill levels - I never thought to check with the ones I polished off. Probably just figuring out the new bottle filler that your tax dollars paid for :-)

2010 May 6
I subscribe to the RSS feed for their blog (beausbeer.blogspot.com/), and apparently they've been having problems with the handles breaking on the new 4-packs:

*****

Our new boxes are selling quite well, and we're very happy for that. What we're much, much less happy about is the strength of the box handle. When we were prototyping the box, which took about 8 months, we raised concerns several times with our supplier that the handle seemed week. "Don't worry" kept coming the response, "our engineers are sure this will be strong enough; remember this is just the prototype, the final boxes will be much stronger".

I wish we had insisted on a stronger box design, because sure enough, within a few days of the boxes hitting the shelf, we started getting calls and emails from customers who had had a close call or worse after the handle snapped off the box.

We immediately got on the phone to our supplier, and we've come up with a short term way to make the boxes that we have a bit stronger while we redesign the top of the box to eliminate the problem. We have a reinforced handle design we like, and will be switching suppliers, too.

In the meantime, please try to hold the box from the bottom for the next couple of weeks. If you do have an unfortunate handle incident, please let us know about it and give us a chance to make it better for you.

*****

I particularly like the part about the suppliers being kicked to the curb for being just a biiiiiit too confident in their design.

2010 May 6
The handle on the 4-pack I bought today was already broken as it sat on the shelf. I chose it anyway since it had the best fill levels. :)


2010 May 7
...maybe they should allow single bottle purchases until the handles/cases are improved!!

I questioned the case as soon as I picked it up. It just felt weak and the way it separates at the bottom is a little odd. Yes, I know the thought process behind why they made it this way, but I think they should improve the design.

2010 May 7
You can take a bottle out of the 4 pack and buy a single if you want.

2010 May 7
You sure about that Peter? The LCBO does not automatically allow that with all packages. I did it once a few years ago with a beer and the lady at the cash riipped me out for it.

2010 May 7
Yep, I did so yesterday at the LCBO at 6487 Jeanne D'arc in Orleans (it looked like they still had lots in stock if anyone is having trouble)

The first time I asked they said no, but a lady checked for me and remembered me the next time I went in, and was happy to sell me a single out of the 4 pack.

2010 May 7
In Kanata and Carleton Place there are signs stating that the new Beau's 4-packs are not sold individually.

I was also not able to purchase a single Caffrey's...only 4 pack.

2010 May 7
It's an ongoing debate in Ontario. The general consensus is that LCBO employees can sell you whatever they damn well please, but most stores just don't want to clean up the single bottles/cans left hanging around. I ran into the issue again last night when I was picking up some of Creemore's Kellerbier. They come in eight packs, thought I only wanted 3. Not feeling like a fight I brought the whole pack to the cash. Alas, it didn't scan.

I said, "Oh, I thought I could only buy it by the case."

The cashier said "You can buy however much you want of anything."

There has also been suggestions that, given their mandate, the LCBO can not (or should not) force you to buy more alcohol than you actually want.

2010 May 7
Just pester a little more if you really want a single. I had never tried it, so I wasn't about to spend $15 on 4 of something I was unsure I would like.

2010 May 7
Cool. Thanks Peter! That is a big downside for them is that if they expect to only sell by the 4-pack, is that it's too costly for most people to sample a $15 pack. I think Scotch should really be seen more frequently in sampler size as well. I rarely/never see any quality Scotches in a sampler size and am not willing to pay $80-100 for something I've never tried. I know there are sampling nights the odd time, but I've never actually been to one yet...soon, hopefully.

2010 May 7
Brian Mc, where can I find the Kellerbier? Glad to hear it's back. Thanks!


2010 May 7
ollie - you can still find Kellerbier in the LCBO's inventory. looks like Carling/Woodroffe and Richmond/Kirkwood are the only 2 locations with stock. although, i did a Creemore truck outside my office this afternoon (@ World Exchange LCBO) so you never know if inventory has been replenished ;)

2010 May 7
monty, I was under the impression that Kellerbier is a seasonal. I was at the Richmond LCBO yesterday but did not see it. I'll look harder next time.

2010 May 7
I just bought some at the Richmond LCBO (the one next to Superstore) today, so they definitely have some.

2010 May 8
I just picked some up in Carleton Place. First taste of it tonight while watching the good ole hockey game.

2010 May 8
Got my Kellerbier! Thanks for the tips everyone.


2010 May 8
I sure hope it's a 'killer beer'!

2010 May 11
What's the deal with the taxi chit / coupon in these 4-packs? I have 6 empty 4-packs of bottles waiting for my next trip east and checked all of them, no coupons. I don't need them, was just curious. I've bought these 4-packs steadily since they were first released but still haven't come across anything that resembled a taxi coupon. I see the Don't Drink and Drive statement on the bottom of the box... Am I missing something super obvious?

2010 May 11
AD - it's a $10 coupon for Responsible Choice, iirc. it's a taxi service that drives you AND your vehicle home. great for those times you unexpectedly get loaded!

2010 May 11
Definitely a good idea and a good cause - but where is the coupon located?

Thanks

2010 May 11
I had to take the whole box apart to find the coupon - don't recall exactly where it was but it was printed on the box and is inside one of the folds somewhere

2010 May 15
I bought a four pack of Beau's today and was surprised to find that it included a CD. It is a sampler/compilation CD from Kelp records commemorating their 16th anniversary. Haven't listened to it yet, but it is a nice bit of marketing from a local record company, through a local brewery.