Then again Glenn is right too, the first barrel of Dirty Horse was sold, The Cuvée Delphine was also sold at The Alvinne Proefzolder, so technically speaking, those small batches were commercially available, but then again, I do not care who is right, our goal was to check on quality. So, I do not want to argue, one should do whatever he feels is right!
I was not very happy either when Earthmonk was retired this year, a new batch was bottled and launched within due time. There is not a day Earthmonk doesn’t get rated, but in the meantime it stays Retired. I am not happy, but who cares...
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Seems to me that some people define "commercially available" as being a beer they can go get at the store, or at their favourite killer beer bar. Not so. Anywhere is anywhere and if that place happens to be in Belgium at some pub then so be it. There’s lots of equally rare beers out there, but they aren’t from hot, sexy breweries so nobody cares. You missed a beer, you can’t trade for it...guys, get over it. It’s just a beer and the top 50 is just a pointless list for entertainment purposes only. Sheesh.
Retirement is another issue altogether, to be debated if and when the need arises.
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That is why we launched a web shop two weeks ago, so everybody could get the chance to buy whatever beer we produce... maybe not in big quantities, but at least he will get some, and at a reasonable price.
It seems now a lot of people buy by crate or pallet and stash away, for what purposes I do not know, but I can guess!
cheers, Urbain
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Commercially available=available for public consumption. Not available at the brewery for a few select friends to try if you ask really nicely. That is called homebrew or an experiment.
How is the beer in question commercially available? What did I miss that makes this beer a ratable beer? I am curious since to the best of my knowledge, this beer has not been made available to the public. Not even at some local Belgian pub in the middle of nowhere.
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Then you have to delete 80% of our beers because none whatsoever is available in a Belgium pub, even the most deserted one. Most of our production is sold abroad. If Glenn talks about the White horse, that is one of the most popular pubs in London. You will find more of our beer in Tokyo than in Belgium, am I to blame?
We cannot help it that Belgian pubs or distributors do not want to buy our beers. Well, there are some exceptions like Kulminator, Beertje, Erasmus, Cambrinus, Visscherie, Dendyver, etc... but that’s it.
Gentlemen, we just are more appreciated abroad, that’s it... in the meantime we try to be creative every single day. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don’t, but at least we try, just for the sake of bringing you good artisan beer. Cheers, Urbain
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I did not ask you nicely to rate four of our beers! You were able to buy or receive them from somebody, somewhere. You rated Earthmonk! It took more than 2 years to get it to the USA. Brewing beer is one thing, getting it everywhere over the globe is another... patience is a virtue!
We produced 2.400.000 bottles of different brands in 2008. 2007 was good for 900.000 bottles only. I am very proud to state that due to your wishes, we were able to almost triple last years production, and most important, production at Struise is still a one man job... merely done by myself. Always at your service, Cheers Urbain
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Do it to it.
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Lets not consider this top 50 until someone other than a European has rated it. I smell homefield advantage here........ISO!
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I believe the same thing is true for Dirty Horse.
For that matter, if Mikkeller Black hadn’t made it to the states it would probably be Top 50 also.
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All of your beers except for this 1 new beer is somehow distributed to the public, somewhere, correct? That makes them all commercially available. This new beer you admit has not been made available to the public only to a few friends. That is not commercially available.
And yes, it is awesome that you guys like to experiment. Keep it up!
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