Click A Bottle

In 1985, the Ontario Liberal Party campaigned on a promise to allow beer and wine to be sold in convenience stores. Running against a Progressive Conservative Party that had been in office since the Second World War, the pledge helped position the Liberals as modernizers. As they took office under David Peterson, their minister of consumer and commercial relations declared the forthcoming reform a “golden opportunity to break with the paternalistic past.”

That break never happened. Mr. Peterson’s government introduced a timid bill that would have allowed very limited private liquor sales. It was voted down by the minority legislature of the time, and the Liberals abandoned the idea altogether. Now, 22 years later, the roles have been reversed. It’s the Tories who are flirting with allowing beer and wine to be sold in corner stores, and it’s the Liberals who are enthusiastically defending the status quo.

Read more on this article here…
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Although it appears this “beer, liquor, wine in convenience stores” argument is not going away any time soon, my hope is that it will become another campaign target, broken promise.   I firmly believe this is a bad idea for the province, and the “problems” craft brewers are seeing, which is now the front-runner for the cause, can be removed by instituting stronger policies within The Beer Store and adding the government arm via stronger regulations against The Beer Store.

 There are LOTS of articles out there on the subject, most of which are a good read.  Based on some of the previous articles we’ve highlighted, I imagine the majority of you will be interested in reading these:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
http://www.thestar.com/
http://www.thestar.com/ (2)
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/ (2)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/ (3)
http://toronto.ctv.ca/
http://www.newswire.ca/
http://www.guelphtribune.ca/

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We need your help!

If you will grant us one simple favour, we will let you in on the biggest secret in online alcohol ordering…EVER.

Here’s what it’s all about:  We have discovered through several repeated scientific tests the optimal way to order alcohol online.  We have dramatically changed the alcohol ordering process, dropping the average time to get alcohol from 30 minutes, to 30 seconds!  This equates to a 6000% improvement, or 60 times faster then the average!  No one knows about this technology yet, you’re the first!  We’ve attached this state of the art technology to our leading edge delivery network of over 130 drivers costantly roaming the province of Ontario, ensuring you get your alcohol in less then 1 hour, with only 30 seconds of effort!

Let me explain this in the easiest way I can….

1. Our group of researchers specialized in improving web site efficiency, have gone through many iterations of the online ordering process, performing spot checks on hundreds of different versions of the ordering process.  Through their discoveries, they have found the most optimal way to order online today!  A 6000% improvement over the current process!  60 times FASTER then normal!
2. We’ve attached this new technology to our existing state of the art delivery software, which immediately connects your order with the driver that is closest to your location.  During our initial field tests with this new techology, we conducted random tests throughout Ontario and witnessed the lifetime of an order in just 6 minutes.  This means, that when our random tester clicked “order”, it took only 6 minutes to have their alcohol in their hands!  These kind of results aren’t normal - but this new technology and ordering process makes this entirely possible for everyone!!
3. Our new website technology uses the latest Web 2.0 applications to offer a 1, 2, 3 step process to getting what you want!
4. Step 1, we take your information to ensure we can deliver to you.  We don’t want to waste your time if we don’t deliver to you - so let us know who you are right away, and we’ll if we can deliver to you tell you right away.  After all - this process is about saving time!
5. Step 2, we offer 2 methods for you to find the product’s you’re looking for quickly.  With the first method, we allow you to type whatever product/category/brand names you’re looking for, and our database of over 3000 products instantly pulls up a list of matches as you’re typing!  When you’re product appears in the list, simply choose the package size, and add it to your cart.   With the second method, we present you with a drop down menu of the most basic choice of alcohol.  Once you select an option there, we present you with further choices.  This continues up to 3 times until we find the products you want the most!
6. Step 3, verify all your information is correct and place your order!  It’s that simple! 
7. Now, this highly advanced ordering process has not been shown to the general public yet…we are only releasing this to a few selected people…and for good reason…

Here’s why we need your help: You may have noticed that most of the public is not aware that ordering of alcohol exists.  It’s true - try it - ask your friends if they know about it - you’ll be surprised how few people are actually aware they can order alcohol!  Only YOU are truly aware of this potential of this product as you’re aware of the ordering process as it’s existed in the past.  You’ve probably seen this industry grow - from having to stand in line at The Beer Store or LCBO, to ordering your alcohol from simple phone lines, to the newest incarnation of moving the ordering process online.   You’ve seen the history, and are the ONLY ones that can see the true potential of this revolutionary product.

But…this is so new, we simply can’t market this to the general public yet..it’s too expensive without help.  We need testimonials and feedback from people like you, who are eager to be amoung the first to try out this new product and see how much time you really can save!

Here’s what we want to offer you: This product will be expensive to launch and market to the mass public, and we frankly can’t afford to do this on the scale we need to without vital feedback!  If you help us out, we will make sure you are (a) given immediate access to this new product, (b) lifetime access and (c) guaranteed you remain at the top of our list for future considerations for any new products we launch.

So here’s the deal: Sign up to our new product today, test out the product selection process, place your order, and send us your feedback.  It’s that simple.

We will GUARANTEE you save time, and don’t waste it standing in line to get the products you want!

This is a great opportunity for you to be on the fore-front of the home delivery revolution.  No one knows about this yet - so be the first to act!

Visit http://www.clickabottle.ca/ to start the process, test it out, and send us your vital testimonials and feedback (example below) to support@clickabottle.ca! 

Sincerely,

Chad
President and Founder
The Beer Guy Inc.

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Example Feedback Form
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Hi,

I found the online ordering experience offered by Click A Bottle….

I enjoyed seeing….

I disliked …

I would like to see…

One thing that stood out…

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For over seven years, Steam Whistle Brewing has been crafting beer. They have also been leaders in “greening” their brewery. Over the last few years, the brewery has undertaken several environment initiatives, including several listed below:

Steam Whistle’s Current Day “Green” Building Features
Inspired to reduce our footprint on this earth, Steam Whistle Brewing continues the tradition of considering renewable resources in our building maintenance and beer production.

Deep Lake Water Cooling
Rather than using conventional air conditioners that rely on mechanical chillers using harmful CFC refrigerants and enormous amounts of energy, Steam Whistle Brewing has opted to use Enwave’s Deep Lake Water Cooling, a smart energy that will lead Toronto towards a sustainable future. Through three intake pipes 83 meters below the surface of Lake Ontario, Enwave draws water from a permanent layer of icy cold (4 C) water. This naturally chilled water make’s it way to the John Street Pumping Station where heat exchangers facilitate the energy transfer between the icy-cold lake water and the Enwave closed-loop chilled water supply. This cold energy cools our brewery (the first stop on the line) using only the coldness from the lake water, not the actual water.

This system uses 90% less energy than conventional air conditioners, eliminating 61 megawatts from Ontario’s electricity grid – the equivalent of the energy needed to annually supply 6800 homes.

It also removes 79,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air, equivalent to taking over 15,800 cars off the road.

This system also reduces ozone-depleting refrigerants, noise, pollution and humidity generated by chiller, fans and cooling towers of conventional air conditioners.

Steam Heat
In their manufacturing and building climate control systems, Steam Whistle uses steam, the most ecologically efficient form of heat energy. Better yet, they get their steam from Enwave’s Centralized Steam Plant eliminating the need for Steam Whistle to have its own boiler on site. They use steam heat to boil water in brewing, to wash their beer bottles, in heating their building, and of course to sound-off their functioning steam whistles!

100% Green Electricity
Steam Whistle is an early adopter of Bullfrog Power, the first 100% green, carbon-free electricity retailer in Ontario. Bullfrog sources power exclusively from wind and low-impact hydro generators who meet or exceed the federal government’s Environmental ChoiceM Program EcoLogoM standard for renewable electricity. Wind power is among the cleanest sources of energy available, producing no emissions that contribute to air pollution or greenhouse gases. EcoLogo-certified low-impact water power must meet a range of environmental criteria including the protection of indigenous species and local habitat, and measures to minimize fish mortality and to preserve fish migration patterns.

Reduce – Reuse - Recycle
The Good Beer Folks continue to look for environmentally friendly products and programs to support Green Manufacturing.

They use only bio-diesel in their fleet of delivery vehicles.
The ’spent’ grain from their brewing process is reused as farmer’s feed.
Their green glass bottles have 30% more glass than industry brown bottles so are built to last for up to 35 uses, twice as long as the industry bottle.
Their painted label reduces to zero the amount of glue and paper that would enter their effluent if paper labels were washed off their bottles with each refilling.
All packaging materials (cardboard, shrink-wrap, broken glass) are collected for recycling from their operations.
They use Biodegradable cups to serve their draught beer at outdoor events.

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At Labatt, management trainees are bluntly told it’s the InBev way, or the highway!

Management trainees at Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. got the drift pretty quickly: Don’t expect working life there to be like one continuous beer commercial. Selling suds, it seems, is serious business.

Those who cannot get their heads around that are in the wrong place, the 14 trainees were told on Day One of their new jobs. It is not enough to deliver good results, John Stacey, Labatt’s vice-president of people matters, said at a recent orientation session in Toronto.

People who deliver results, but “do not fit with our culture … should leave,” he said. “You may think that’s a harsh comment, but we want both [fit and performance],” he told the recruits, all recent university graduates in their early 20s. The company has “zero tolerance” for complacency, they were told.

“It’s that healthy dissatisfaction of where we are that drives us to the next level,” said Mr. Stacey who related that, after 17 years at Labatt, he still goes to work with the attitude that he has to earn his way every day. He demands nothing less from anyone else.

This hard-driving environment “is not for everybody,” he conceded in an interview. Management consultants agree. But in Labatt’s case, they add, prospective and current employees at least have the advantage of knowing precisely where they stand - which allows them to make informed decisions on whether to join, stay or leave.

Read the full article here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070908.RCOACH08/TPStory/Business

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This week’s issue of BusinessWeek has an interesting story about how Bacardi Ltd., which wants to broaden its spirits portfolio, is engaged in a legal fight for control of Patron Spirits Co., the distiller of the red-hot Patron tequila brand.

From the story:

“Last year, sales of liquor priced under $12 a bottle inched up just 0.3%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council trade group. Sales of brands priced $40 and up jumped 23%. Bacardi wants to add a 50% stake in Patrón to its liquor cabinet, especially if it can enforce a three-year-old contract to buy it at what now seems like a bargain price.”

Acquiring Patron would broaden the spirits portfolio of Bacardi, which since 2004 has acquired the Grey Goose and 42 Below vodkas and has made plain its desire to add additional brands. It has said it wants to deepen its presence in “brown” spirits and has expressed interest in Absolut vodka.

Its gambit for Patron, as the BusinessWeek story makes clear, is complicated.

Patron was founded nearly 20 years ago by entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria and architect Michael Crowley. When Crowley died in 2003, he left his estate to a trust that seeks to educate poor children around the world, the story said.

Bacardi, which had recently purchased Grey Goose for $2 billion, in September 2004 offered the trustees $175 million for their stake, according to the story. They agreed.

But DeJoria, who had been seeking the trustees’ half-interest, subsequently offered the trustees $755 million – an offer they accepted.

Bacardi has obtained an injunction, the story says.

The BusinessWeek story is here.

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Jim Brickman’s sales are rising at the LCBO but falling at The Beer Store, which his big competitors own.  Some new rules at The Beer Store make it more difficult for craft or local brewers to compete, which include everything from what brewers can say about their prices to how much they pay for preferential shelf space.

Brick Brewery noted that while the volume of sales of Brick beer through The Beer Store fell 12 per cent for the three months ended July 31, volume sales through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario rose 16 per cent.

Among recent policy changes that have hurt sales, Brick cited The Beer Store’s new “pricing communications” policy.

The policy prohibits phrases such as “24 for 24″ or “buck-a-bottle” from being used inside the store. The phrases were popularized by independent brewers like Lakeport and Brick, which made its name by introducing brands that were substantially cheaper than mainstream brands.

The Beer Store’s Sara Taylor explained such phrases violate its “all-in” pricing policy, which requires the price to include the bottle deposit. A case of 24 is really $26.40, not $24 once the deposit is included, she said.

The Beer Store denies its policies are hurting small brewers, noting most of the rules date back several years, during which sales of small local brands grew tremendously.

The Beer Store is jointly owned by Labatt Canada, Molson Canada and Sleeman, which in turn are owned by InBev of Belgium, Molson-Coors of Montreal and Denver, Colo., and Saporro, of Japan, respectively.

 Read more here: http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/255506

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DENVER (AP) — Beer drinkers hankering for the finer taste of higher-end brews soon may be able to satisfy their thirst with new products from Molson Coors Brewing Co.

The Denver-based company, one of the world’s largest brewers, has formed a small brewing subsidiary called AC Golden Brewing Co. to cultivate above-premium products, joining other large brewers searching for a way to gain a bigger share of the fast-growing market segment already rife with microbrews and craft beer.

In an e-mail to employees last week, Coors Brewing said the brand incubation brewery would introduce products by rolling them out in a slow, deliberate fashion, similar to its launch of Blue Moon White Belgian Ale, an above-premium beer.

Read the rest of the article here: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iIuHRFECI-BKzNtxzf-dTP8O1ykg

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A NEW gift offering, perfect for any beer lover: Steam Whistle’s Retro Wall-Mounted Opener

(Toronto, ON, August 2007) - Steam Whistle Brewing, producers of Canada’s Premium Pilsner, are gearing up for the Holiday season with their unique, vintage-inspired Wall-Mounted Opener, available as part of a holiday gift pack for just $24.95 at LCBO stores and Steam Whistle’s Retail Store.

The opener is fitted with a magnetic back for easy placement right on your fridge, or comes with mounting screws for a more permanent spot on the wall of your ‘rec’ room, bar, garage, cottage or back deck. The gift box also includes two 341mL bottles of Steam Whistle Pilsner to enjoy once the opener is in place.

With the introduction of this collectible opener, Steam Whistle has re-created a special moment of refreshment for beer drinkers: With that cold bottle in hand, lever the cap against the opener, listen for the crisp release as the beer is opened and the nostalgic clink! when the metal cap falls into the handy cap catcher. Then, open the second bottle for a friend and toast your efforts.

“Our beer drinkers appreciate the freshness that comes with the old fashioned, non-twist cap,” asserts Steam Whistle President, Cam Heaps. “This holiday season, we wanted to give them something they can keep within reach and use regularly. And, it’s a nice change from the common gift boxes of beer and glassware.” He adds, “It’s the perfect gift for any beer drinker!”

The collectible wall-mounted openers will be available for purchase in November 2007.

About Steam Whistle

Steam Whistle, an independent brewery housed in Toronto’s historic John St. Roundhouse south of the CN Tower, has a singular focus of making just one beer of exceptional quality that Canadians can be proud of. They brew their refreshing Pilsner with traditional brewing methods and only four, natural ingredients. Steam Whistle Pilsner is packaged in signature green glass bottles and shipped fresh across Alberta and Ontario to Beer and Liquor Stores as well as licensed bars & restaurants. Steam Whistle welcomes more than 60,000 visitors to the Roundhouse each year to the on-site retail store, for a tour or to attend one of the many on-site events and art shows.

To learn more about what they do really, really well visit:  http://www.steamwhistle.ca 

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Coors Light came in a distant last, despite a seemingly multimillion-dollar ad campaign to convince the world that its mere presence can frost away the heat,  in what amounts to the world’s first International Beer CPU Coolant Competition hosted by the ever-curious folks at Tom’s Hardware.

For those late to the beer-as-CPU-coolant craze, Molson’s Canadian Beer was pitted against three industry-leading CPU coolants and a diluted solution of antifreeze to determine the best means possible for cooling an overclocked CPU. Shocking to some, the flat, warm beer from the Great White North took home second place.

Not to be outpaced by their Canadian co-workers, the folks at Tom’s sites in Germany, Ireland, and the United States found some other contenders in an attempt to knock Molson’s off the block as the world’s best beer CPU coolant.

Guiness, Franziskaner Hefe-weissbier, and Coors Light were put through the beer-bong-tubing CPU-cooling ringer to varying efficacy.

Viscosity may have played a role in Guiness’s pasting of the pathetic showing of the American frost-brewed light. And the unfiltered yeast present in the Hefe-weissbier may very well have proved the key cooling ingredient in Franziskaner’s tipping the CPU temperature scale further to the cool end of the spectrum than Guiness did.

And yet at the end of this installment, nothing cooled to the extent of the original, as Molson’s remained the top beer for whisking CPU heat away.

Good old Canadian beer to the rescue - yet again!

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Recently, we learned of the passing of Michael Jackson, one of the world’s foremost experts on beer, also known as THE Beer Hunter.  It is said that at a recent conference, many of the attendees descended upon the same bar after the Saturday evening tasting session.  When he entered the bar, everyone noticed and a few even raised their glass in recognition.  He will certainly be missed but his work and effort elevating beer will definitely live on.  Here is the official AP press release.  Beer Advocate also put together a post that includes links to other blogs and beer related sites where people are honoring or memorializing Jackson.A national toast is being planned for September 30th in honor of the Beer Hunter and famed writer with details to follow on Jackson’s website.  A very fitting way to honor a man who contributed so much to the beer community.

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