ChillStreet

[sheanhiggins]

Surprised to not see anyone discussing this exciting new 'Local craft brewery'

https://www.facebook.com/chillstreetelmsdale/

1:They ship in extract from NZ.
2: They water it up in their fermenter
3: They pitch yeast



There is talk of expansion and new locations.
This could get really ugly really quick.

[Keith]

Wonder if they could have saved any $$$ by ordering a truck load of brewhouse at a time.

[RubberToe]

I'm practically speechless.

[NS Bayman]

I believe the Auction House does the same thing. They use the SmartBrew system I think?

http://www.smartbrew.com/

[amartin]

Oh yeah, I heard about that from a co-worker who lives out that way. Their website lists them as a "craft beer experience", which I guess isn't exactly the same as a brewery, although that's what Metro News called them in an article. My impression of it was that it was like a store brand beer with a fancy display. If they're not producing wort though, I don't know what the plan is for making money. Sounds expensive.

[KB1138]

When beer can sell for $5.50 a can then extract becomes feasible

[Hub Brewer]

Nook and Cranny here in Truro has been doing this for a while now. Recently rebranded as Salty Dog Brewing Co and now sells cans. Think it's been at least a year if not two?

[sheanhiggins]

Totally cool with a few isolated Nook & Cranny's or Auction House type set ups (its bound to happen) and they haven't had much serious negative impact on the craft beer market overall. Auction house also carries local legit craft...

But there are mumblings that Chillstreet isn't just a sigular shop but a test run for a much larger planned expansion.

There are what? maybe 50 or 60 Sobeys in NS? A good chunk already have an NSLC but those that don't? Guess what they're getting?

Perry Kozzats (Director of Sobeys Construction) was involved with the build-out from the begining.

Now tell me this isn't concerning/a problem. I'll put on my foil hat now and make a prediction: 5 years from now there's a chillstreet in every major town.

FUCK THAT.

[Keith]

Fully agree

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[GAM]

On the plus side it is likely ( I have never tried it) a nicer beverage than most "back woods" NSLC's have.

S

[amartin]

I'm not sure I understand what the problem is. Sure, it's hard to respect them as brewers when they're essentially a large scale festa brew operation, but I judge beer based on how it tastes, not who made it or how. The end product they're providing is (possibly? I haven't had any) good quality, or at least some varied beer at a convenient location.


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[sheanhiggins]

You make a good point Andrew, If the beer is good then whats the problem? Well, I think the main problem is that they're making false claims like "Local" and "Fresh" and the folks that don't know any better think they're supporting the same type of microbrewery as say, Unfiltered. Big difference.

Haven't tried the products myself, but I've heard from a few who have that it is definitely a below sub-par product. (yes there are many out there) but this one won't be fixable with some simple water chemistry adjustments.

It'll de-value the other brands, confuse the consumer, and flood the market with a garbage brew.

[amartin]

It's locally owned, and the beer is locally fermented and packaged at least. If the wort is handled properly between NZ and here I don't see why it wouldn't necessarily be fresh. Again, I haven't had it before (and I don't plan to either).

If the beer is lousy, maybe it won't sell, or maybe they'll have to improve it somehow. Maybe they'll find a different wort supplier or something. I'm not concerned about the breweries actually making beer though. People who want good beer will buy good beer. People who buy shitty beer and continue to do so probably weren't buying anything good before.


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[Bowserm]

I tried the chill street last week and I immediately knew it wasn't true brewed beer. The honey brown tasted like a malt can I did a couple years ago.

The think that I really hate is these "breweries" are selling product as their own and calling themselves a brewery. To me a brewery is more than a spot for fermentation. It's the process, the malt and mashing..

They should be calling themselves onsite fermentation not a brewery.

[Woody]

Amen Boswer. I'm always quick to share with folks in Truro that the wort is made in New Zealand. It's misleading to allot of the public who don't know the difference.

[KB1138]

Unfortunately the notion that if you produce bad beer the market won't support you and your business will fail has been disproven by Rare Bird

This Chill street thing does seem ominous though. Can you be a "brewery" without brewing anything? And the entire trend of craft beer is about local products and local knowledge. The people down the road who are putting in the work to produce something unique and, ideally, of high quality. Not about buying something online produced by a manufacturer on the other side of the planet and calling it local because you added yeast to it.

[Hub Brewer]

Just want to say it's nice to see a healthy discussion about something on here again. Makes me wistful for the days when g-rock was constantly stirring things up:). As for the topic itself, i'm of the opinion "each to their own", if I saw that it was somehow cutting into market share of a normal local brewery i'd likely be more bothered (Note: though our town doesn't have a full brewery I do still always make a point to educate people I talk to about the difference), but I suspect most people buying from these places would otherwise be buying some Molson product or another from the nslc or no beer at all. Then again, as my wife likes to reminds me, I could be wrong, and usually am.

[amartin]

Fair point about Rare Bird, I've never been overly impressed with any of their offerings. That said, I don't know how successful they are, or if they plan on expanding, or if they have already, or what. I haven't been paying a lot of attention to a brewery I don't care for, but I was under the impression that they were owned by the same people who own the "distillery" (I don't think of aging pre-made rum as distilling anymore than fermenting pre-made wort as brewing) and coffee roasting place, so maybe the beer's success is part of a larger brand, or something like that. I'm pretty sure I had a point when I started this thought.

I disagree with the point about the local element being the entire trend behind craft beer. Craft beer has been a trend for 30 odd years now, and was more about quality than where it was made. I've never had any qualms about buying a good beer from Sierra Nevada or Anchor or somewhere else far away. That said, I think craft beer has been helped by the local food movement (despite being made mostly with ingredients grown elsewhere), although I think the quality of the products produced here stand on their own. As in, the local breweries are making some fantastic beer, but there are probably some people willing to try some of it because it's local.

[toddthebeerdude]

you are right Shean. Sobeys is using this as a pilot and if successful they will be rolling this out all over the province. The place gets called a "brewery" and even worse publications like the Metro are calling it craft beer. I am really sorry that there is no way to differentiate smartbrews from craft in the province currently and they receive all the benefits earned by the industry. I have a lot of information if you are interested to chat

[sheanhiggins]

Thanks Todd. For me its pretty simple...
If I go out for breakfast, and I order a freshly squeezed orange juice (and pay a premium for it) it had better not come from a Mcains can of concentrate.

[CPR]

Love seeing some chatter on this forum.

Hate "ferment on premise" places, but I guess I would argue that they're not necessarily worse quality-wise than some places that do manufacture their own wort (i.e. the aforementioned brewery).

I feel like despite the rise in diversity of brewing and beers available it's almost harder than ever to educate folks or steer people towards the proper stuff; there's just so much more "noise" now in beer. But, that doesn't mean true beer fans are going to stop anytime soon. I do wish more pubs would play a role by selecting beers that are truly good rather than just putting on whatever crap the latest sales rep dropped off. Someone start a consulting business and go around to all the pubs and make them pour better beer, wouldja?

Todd, do you know if these fement-on-premise places can sell kegs? That'd be funny.

[sheanhiggins]

I'm pretty sure they can. Full microbrewery license. I'd love to be the fly on the wall if/when the sales person shows up at Stilly.
I can already see Taylor's face turning red with rage.

[NASH]

I'm pretty sure they can. Full microbrewery license. I'd love to be the fly on the wall if/when the sales person shows up at Stilly.
I can already see Taylor's face turning red with rage.

They (FOPs) are indeed granted full brewpub or microbrewery licensing, just like real breweries. It's pretty fucking sad. These places do nothing but hurt the industry as a whole.

There is some lobbying going on to to have them placed into a special category of their very own however. Fingers crossed!

[toddthebeerdude]

I'm pretty sure they can. Full microbrewery license. I'd love to be the fly on the wall if/when the sales person shows up at Stilly.
I can already see Taylor's face turning red with rage.

Chill Street told me they have no plans to sell outside of their store, kegs or cans. Salty dog has taps around Truro

[toddthebeerdude]

Should be something like the wine vqa for Nova Scotia beer to ensure quality and authenticate origin of the brewing process