unibroue sleeman

Post by Michal Palczewski
Perhaps slightly offtopic.
In case you haven't heard. Unibroue got bought out by sleeman. Just
wondering what you guys think of this.
Personally I always thought I'll take just about any Belgian over
Unibroue so I don't really care, but I do know that they have alot of fans.

I'm always against losing choice in the marketplace, and get upset
with the larger Canadian breweries buying up the smaller, successful
ones in order to take away their market share. Personally I'm
starting to find that I don't enjoy the stronger Belgian abbey &
trappist ales as much as the lambics & sour red ales, but still it's
sad to see Unibroue's unique beers at risk. To me Sleeman & some of
the other really large former regionals that do this are even more
offensive than the Molsons & Labatts, because they are preying on the
small craft brewers & then dumbing down the product in the end. I
view this just as bad as large engineering firms who buy out the small
guys in order to land their clients & eliminate obstacles for their
existing clientele.

Kelvin

Alan McKay

2004-04-20 23:48:26 UTC

Post by Kelvin Kundert
trappist ales as much as the lambics & sour red ales, but still it's
sad to see Unibroue's unique beers at risk.

yup. i do not like many of their beers as they just are not
my thing, but they sure are unique and this sure is a sad day

Michal Palczewski

2004-04-21 00:45:47 UTC

I've never heard of sleeman. Are they like a Canadian Henry Weinhards?

Post by Alan McKay

Post by Kelvin Kundert
trappist ales as much as the lambics & sour red ales, but still it's
sad to see Unibroue's unique beers at risk.

yup. i do not like many of their beers as they just are not
my thing, but they sure are unique and this sure is a sad day

Alan McKay

2004-04-21 01:07:06 UTC

Post by Michal Palczewski
I've never heard of sleeman. Are they like a Canadian Henry Weinhards?

Sleeman *may* have been the origin of the Cream Ale style.
But they went out of business shortly after prohibition, and the great grandson
started it up again about 15 years ago. They started out as a pretty decent
craft brewer, but John Sleeman is also a pretty shrewd business man and
has been buying up other micros left-right and center. Very profitable.
But he marginalizes just about all the beers he buys, and has also dumbed-down
his own beers.

From my site :

http://www.bodensatz.com/article.php?story=20040420095311122

After weeks of speculation that popular brewery Unibroue was being courted by
the likes of Sleeman, Moosehead and even Black Rock from Alberta, a shockwave
is rippling through Quebec today as Sleeman made it official by announcing they are
paying $31 million dollars for the company, as well as assuming over $5 million in
debt. This represents a 34 percent premium on Unibroue's 20 day average on the
TSE. Sleeman chairman and CEO John Sleeman says "The acquisition of Unibroue
and its premium brands will complement Sleeman's current portfolio, in addition to
providing the required infrastructure to expand our presence in Quebec."

Unibroue is well-known globally for it's award-winning Belgian-style beers.

Unibroue CEO André Dion will act as a consultant for one year, as part of the deal.

Sleeman expects to see $5 million to $6 million in earnings in the first full year of the
deal. Their combined operations in Quebec should generate more than $90 million
in revenue in that province, according to a company spokesperson.

Beer afficionados are already worrying about what this might do to the beers. Sleeman
recently bought Maritime Brewing (note: not the US one), and stopped production of all
but 1 of their brands. And it is well known that the beers of Upper Canada Brewing
have changed considerably since being acquired by Sleeman almost a decade ago. Only
time will tell, but this beer drinker is not optimistic. Perhaps Sleeman will have the sense
to not mess with success, or perhaps they will try to squeeze every possible penny out
of the brands, altering recipes and procedures to improve the bottom line.

Popular beer writer Stephen Beaumont commented when asked by Bodensatz "I am
hopeful that Sleeman will adhere to the mandate adopted by Unibroue in the past and
present." I think he speaks for all beer lovers who have come to enjoy these exceptional
brews. Let us hope that the success of Unibroue will be reason enough for Sleeman not
to change the formula from something which makes both money and great beer, to
something which makes only money.

Is it finally La Fin du Monde? Only time will tell ...

Ezekiel's Alehouse

2004-04-21 01:37:33 UTC

Maybe force-carbonation is forthcoming!

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 07:16:48 UTC

Alan McKay wrote in message ...

Post by Alan McKay

Post by Kelvin Kundert
trappist ales as much as the lambics & sour red ales, but still it's
sad to see Unibroue's unique beers at risk.

yup. i do not like many of their beers as they just are not
my thing, but they sure are unique and this sure is a sad day

Maybe the ephemeres, Alan? Have you tried all of those?

Alan McKay

2004-04-21 11:25:24 UTC

Post by John D. Misrahi
Maybe the ephemeres, Alan? Have you tried all of those?

oh i absolutely love those

Tony Verhulst

2004-04-21 15:39:04 UTC

...... much as the lambics & sour red ales,

Speaking of which... What's the deal with Rodenbach? I truly miss their
Grand Cru.

Tony V.

Kelvin Kundert

2004-04-21 16:21:48 UTC

...... much as the lambics & sour red ales,

Speaking of which... What's the deal with Rodenbach? I truly miss their
Grand Cru.

I believe that you can read their silly nonstandard language ;-)

http://rodenbach.be/

Looking at the popup of Rodenbach in a can, I'd guess that they've
dumbed down the beer. Sad indeed. On my recent drive through the
PNW, I failed to find any Rodenbach product at all.

Kelvin

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 21:33:29 UTC

Post by Kelvin Kundert
I believe that you can read their silly nonstandard language ;-)

French, yes. That Flemish gibberish, sadly, no :-(

Tony Verhulst

2004-04-21 18:36:41 UTC

Post by Kelvin Kundert
I believe that you can read their silly nonstandard language ;-)

French, yes. That Flemish gibberish, sadly, no :-(

French, sadly, no. That Flemish gibberish, yes :-). It's the first
language I learned.

Tony V.
aka. Anton Hendrik Verhulst

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 21:42:04 UTC

Post by Tony Verhulst
French, sadly, no. That Flemish gibberish, yes :-). It's the first
language I learned.
Tony V.
aka. Anton Hendrik Verhulst

Want to trade? I want to make a trip to Belgium one day :-)

john

Tony Verhulst

2004-04-21 18:55:28 UTC

Post by Tony Verhulst
French, sadly, no. That Flemish gibberish, yes :-). It's the first
language I learned.
Tony V.
aka. Anton Hendrik Verhulst

Want to trade? I want to make a trip to Belgium one day :-)

You might want to. If you wander into that part of Belgium speaking
French you'll not receive a warm welcome. The reverse is true in the
south. Rather unfortunate, I think. Of course, the Dutch make fun
(friendly, I think) of all Belgians. Like the Belgian coffee cup for
sale in a gift shop - with the handle on the inside :-).

Tony V.

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 21:42:24 UTC

Post by Tony Verhulst
Tony V.
aka. Anton Hendrik Verhulst

Did they ever call you Straffe Hendrik?

:-)

Tony Verhulst

2004-04-21 18:56:10 UTC

Post by Tony Verhulst
Tony V.
aka. Anton Hendrik Verhulst

Did they ever call you Straffe Hendrik? :-)

Not yet :-)

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 22:17:42 UTC

Post by Tony Verhulst
Tony V.
aka. Anton Hendrik Verhulst

Did they ever call you Straffe Hendrik? :-)

Not yet :-)

You could get a t-shirt /

Kelvin Kundert

2004-04-21 18:45:34 UTC

Post by Kelvin Kundert
I believe that you can read their silly nonstandard language ;-)

French, yes. That Flemish gibberish, sadly, no :-(

French, sadly, no. That Flemish gibberish, yes :-). It's the first
language I learned.

I remembered you saying something to that effect before, hence my
post. The only bit of Flemish I can read is what I've figured out by
reading bottles of lambic, and from eight days of wobbling around in
Belgium ten years ago.

Kelvin

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 21:50:06 UTC

Kelvin Kundert wrote in message ...

Post by Kelvin Kundert

Post by Kelvin Kundert
I believe that you can read their silly nonstandard language ;-)

French, yes. That Flemish gibberish, sadly, no :-(

French, sadly, no. That Flemish gibberish, yes :-). It's the first
language I learned.

One day I will spent a few weeks wobbling around Belgium...It's my little
dream :-)
My knowledge of Flemish is beer bottle label related as well.

john

Tony Verhulst

2004-04-21 18:59:51 UTC

Post by John D. Misrahi
One day I will spent a few weeks wobbling around Belgium...It's my little
dream :-)
My knowledge of Flemish is beer bottle label related as well.

Well, what more do you really need? Besides "is your sister over 18", I
mean :-).

Tony V.

Kelvin Kundert

2004-04-21 19:48:58 UTC

Post by John D. Misrahi
One day I will spent a few weeks wobbling around Belgium...It's my little
dream :-)
My knowledge of Flemish is beer bottle label related as well.

Well, what more do you really need? Besides "is your sister over 18", I
mean :-).

As with any language, all you need to get by is:
- one (two, three...) beer(s) please
- where is the toilet?
- thank you

Kelvin

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 07:07:30 UTC

Post by Kelvin Kundert
sad to see Unibroue's unique beers at risk. To me Sleeman & some of
the other really large former regionals that do this are even more
offensive than the Molsons & Labatts, because they are preying on the
small craft brewers & then dumbing down the product in the end. I
view this just as bad as large engineering firms who buy out the small
guys in order to land their clients & eliminate obstacles for their
existing clientele.
Kelvin

Yeah, I am really worried. A few years ago Sleeman bought another QC micro
called seigneuriale...made some good beers..they dumbed them down, made and
sold less and less, adn then finally stopped the line

john

Kelvin Kundert

2004-04-21 14:07:00 UTC

Yep, I enjoyed all but one of Seigneurale's beers. Can't remember
which one I found objectionable, but the bottle I tried was likely
mishandled anyways.

Sleeman has bought & dumbed down a few previously good microbreweries
in B.C. as well.

Kelvin

Brian Lundeen

2004-04-21 19:25:25 UTC

I'm just the opposite. I don't go for a lot of Belgian stuff, except maybe
the sour and fruit beers, but I will generally buy Unibroue over a
corresponding Belgian product (except hoegaarden) just because I expect them
to be in better condition. That is almost always the case where I am. They
might be a little less "Belgiany" than the Belgian version, but that's OK
with me, too.

As I commented elsewhere, I think they did it just to acquire the rights to
all those really cool names. La Maudite Honey Brown Lager anyone? ;-)

Brian

John D. Misrahi

2004-04-21 22:35:39 UTC

Post by Brian Lundeen
As I commented elsewhere, I think they did it just to acquire the rights to
all those really cool names. La Maudite Honey Brown Lager anyone? ;-)
Brian

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

k***@gmail.com

2018-02-13 13:54:48 UTC