Here’s a new one: It looks like westvleteren12.com and the site that goes with it is for sale at Flippa.com. According to the site’s owner, he started westvleteren12.com back in April as a fansite of the widely-regarded “best beer in the world”. But after a few weeks on the web, the owner received a whole bunch of requests to buy the beer. Well apparently he was able to locate a drop shipper in Belgium with 50+ cases willing to sell the beer for $9 a bottle plus the shipping costs from Europe. In addition to the dot com and adjoining site, the sale also includes the domains www.westvleteren12.be and www.westvleteren12.net. As well as an accompanying Twitter account with more than 600 followers. The owner also claims, based on some of his own market testing, that the site will easily clear $1,100/month in revenue.
Now I certainly understand people wanting to get their hands on this beer; without hesitation it is certainly one of the best in the world. But does selling the beer online make it lose some of its mystique? Or for that matter, is it just downright wrong? For those that don’t know, according to Wikipedia,
Buyers of the beer receive a receipt with Niet verder verkopen (“Do not resell”) printed on it. The abbey is very much against resale of their beer, and it is their wish that the beer is only commercially available at the two official sale points. To this end, any Westvleteren beer which is sold anywhere else in the world is grey market beer, as no wholesalers or pubs are supplied with the beer, and the abbey is actively working to eliminate the illicit sales.
While the site does help promote the drinking of Better Beer — I’ll give it that — and it allows people who might not otherwise ever get to the abbey (or even Belgium for that matter), it also goes against everything the beer’s brewers (the monks) stand for and want in their beer.
So here’s the question, would you buy the site? And is the site’s existence (and sale) even right?
Good morning, all, and happy Sunday to you. As I’m sure we’re all sitting here this morning recovering from great beer-filled weekends, I wanted to post some links and stories of interest.
First, the Sam Adams Beer Lover’s Choice program is back for 2009. You may remember in 2008 when the Blackberry Whit beat out the Coffee Stout for mass distribution for the year. Well this year, the contest is between a Pils and an “Ale” (correct me if I’m wrong but I thought Sam Adams already made an Ale?). They’re being described as:
Samuel Adams Pils
Similar to a traditional Czech Pilsner, our Samuel Adams Pils is brewed with a blend of five Noble hops varieties from each of the world’s only remaining Noble Hops growing regions. The spicy, herbal and citrus hop character is well balanced by the Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt, adding honeyed malt character and full body without adding sweetness. ABV is 5.2%
Samuel Adams Ale
This IPA style Ale is brewed with a carefully selected blend of hops from top German, English and American growing regions. It is dry hopped with Anthamum, Simcoe and East Kent Golding hops for a powerful fruity and earthy aroma. The intense hop character is balanced by the old German style malt lending a unique sweetness, full body and tart finish. ABV is 5.8%
To find Beer Lover’s Choice events near you so that you can taste the two potential brews and cast your vote for your favorite, check out the Beer Lover’s Choice website.
Once again, Chow.com has chosen their top ten summer beers for 2009. The beers making the list this year are:
Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
Bell’s Oberon
Dogfish Head Festina Pêche
Russian River Brewing Company Blind Pig IPA
Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel Ale
Nøgne Saison
Brouwerij Kerkom Bink Blond
Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca
Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus
For a brief write-up of each beer and a peak as last year’s list, check out the article on CHOW.com. Which is your favorite from the list?
The folks at Flavorwire.com were lucky enough to (virtually) sit down with DIY filmmaker Anat Baron who recently created the beer industry documentary Beer Wars for a brief but informative interview.
We planned on only discussing the film — which which follows the owners of Dogfish Head and Sam Adams as they go toe-to-toe with that largest and most powerful brewery in the United States — but in the process, she schooled us in the history of brewing legislation and broke our hearts with the news that one of our favorite Trappist beers now has more in common with Bud Light than Chimay.
And lastly, check out the latest issue of The Maine Magazine (formally Port City Life) or follow this link for a brief quote from yours truly (they think I’m an expert! heh) about what new-for-summer-2009 Maine beers to drink.
So I’ve returned to my desk, fresh off a weekend of fun and frivolity at the Vermont Brewers Festival in Burlington, VT and I cannot stress enough, if you live within striking distance of Burlington and you didn’t make it to this years festival, you missed out big time! I would strongly suggest you plan ahead now for the summer of 2010 and do not miss next year’s festival!
Our Vermont beer-filled weekend began with lunch at the Long Trail Brewery on Friday, followed by a tour & tasting at the Otter Creek Brewery, a visit to Winooski Beverage in Winooski, VT (just outside of Burlington), lots of beers around the campfire Friday night, a side-trip to the Ben & Jerry’s factory Saturday morning (because it can’t all be about the beer), a tour & tasting at the Magic Hat brewery Saturday afternoon, and it all culminated with the festival itself on the shores of beautiful Lake Champlain Saturday evening from 6:00-10:00. You could not ask for a better weekend!
The winning individual beers for me for the weekend were definitely the Smuttynose Baltic Porter, the Wild Child sour ale from The Alchemist, and the Imperial Stout from Otter Creek. But I would have to give the overall kick-ass award to Microbrasserie Dieu du Ciel from Montreal, QC – every beer of theirs we tried was out of this world. I know a few of their beers are available here in Portland (at Downeast Bev and Whole Foods for sure), so if you haven’t tried any of the Dieu du Ciel stuff before, its absolutely worth the price.
Many thanks go out to Kurt, Laura and the rest of the Vermont Brewers Association crew for making my trip possible and to Pete, Russ, Kellie, Jamie and Meryl for accompanying me on the journey. And please watch below for a fun little video snapshot I put together of the festival-that-was (featuring the song Happy Man by The Prodigals). Cheers!
Up bright and early to hit the road for Vermont for a beer-filled weekend, which culminates with the Vermont Brewers Festival tomorrow evening. So far the trip includes lunch today at the Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, a trip to Winooski Beverage — one of the best liquor stores in the state according to the folks at BeerAdvocate — dinner tonight at American Flatbread and of course the festival itself tomorrow. And I’m sure many more excursions will be added along the way.
I’ll be attending the Saturday evening session of the festival, so if you’re going to be there, be sure and say hello. If you would like to be there but haven’t gotten your ticket yet, you’d better hurry – it will sell out before “the door”. Tickets still remain for this evening’s session and tomorrow afternoon, however.
If you can’t make it to Burlington for the weekend but would still like to keep tabs on the goings on, please follow me on Twitter (@livingstonmedia). I will be Tweeting from Vermont all weekend using the Hashtag #vtbeer, so you can easily track the conversation. Others who are planning on attending the festival, please feel free to use the same tag so we can really get a conversation going! See you there!
It probably comes as no surprise that along with craft beer’s raise in popularity in recent years, comes many people trying to capitalize on that success. And I don’t mean in the form of producing beer itself, but rather all of the accoutrement that go with it.
One such accoutrement has popped up out of the deep south, of all places. Based in Atlanta, Georgia,
The Beer Connoisseur™ Magazine… is a high-end consumer magazine similar to publications focusing on cigars and wine. The editorial is nationally focused, with plans to include regional inserts and a local insert for Georgia readers.
The Beer Connoisseur™ recognizes the growing beer trend and will provide informative issues that quench every aspect of the beer lover’s thirst for knowledge, style and sophistication. The reader can expect articles on Beer Icons, Fine Beer & Food, Beer Reviews, Restaurant & Brewery Reviews, Tasting Abroad, Education, Events, Sports, Entertainment and more. The Beer Connoisseur™ is the leading consumer educator of the changing and cutting-edge beer industry for both the novice and connoisseur alike.
While it certainly sounds like a good idea, it also sounds like one that’s been done (All About Beer and Draft come to mind first, but there are certainly more) and there’s no real word on how The Beer Connoisseur plans to differentiate themselves. And do that many people still subscribe to magazines? Or enough to keep the already crowded niche afloat?
However, the best part of The Beer Connoisseur™ is definitely their location. If they can really market themselves well in the South, they’ll bring a great deal of attention to a corner of the country starved for Better Beer expansion, attention & recognition (sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in a part of the U.S. where Better Beer seems more like the norm rather than the exception!!).
While the magazine waits to hit news stands, be sure and check out beerconnoisseur.com — a website which is the prelude to the magazine, which opened to the public on June 29th, 2009 — and follow the magazine on Twitter. And go celebrate the launch with the gang from the publication SweetWater Brewing Company on Tuesday, July 21st from 7:00-10:00PM (see beerconnoisseur.com for more details).
the widely-regarded “best beer in the world”. But after a few weeks on the web, the owner received a whole bunch of requests to buy the beer. Well apparently he was able to locate a drop shipper in Belgium with 50+ cases willing to sell the beer for $9 a bottle plus the shipping costs from Europe. In addition to the dot com and adjoining site, the sale also includes the domains www.westvleteren12.be and www.westvleteren12.net. As well as an accompanying Twitter account with more than 600 followers. The owner also claims, based on some of his own market testing, that the site will easily clear $1,100/month in revenue. 
Hi and welcome to Blog About Beer. My name is Logan and I live just north of Portland, Oregon, a city that has more craft breweries than any other in the US. I'm a full time marketer, blogger, and dad to the most beautiful girl in the world. I'm also a homebrewing and craft beer fanatic.