The Bar Towel

Imported and out-of-province beers have been sold at depaneurs for years in Quebec. It was part of the brokered deal after the FTA challenge, same as when the BeerStore had to change policies. Any brewery selling in corner stores, however, must maintain an office in the province, which not a lot can...

It's all about access to retail. The original challenge was over opening up the province and country to unencumbered competition, which as funny as it sounds today was much more restrictive back then. Among the results from the various challenges were the end of the off-site winery stores, except fo...

Wine Racks are individual winery-owned stores. There is no way to get beer into them unless one of the wineries opens a brewery. And they were grandfathered in after an FTA (pre-NAFTA) challenge, so there aren't going to be any movements forward in that regard, period. An OCB only store would be a N...

My take from last night:

http://worldofbeer.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... -boutique/

I just discovered via The Brew Site that Keith's is making a push into the American market with a "Nova Scotia Style Lager," "Nova Scotia Style Pale Ale" and "Nova Scotia Style Brown Ale," all brewed south of the border. I'd be curious to know if any of them correspond ...

Draught beer list is not bad from a craft perspective, in that it at least has Mill St Sout, Beau's Lug Tread and Hoptical Illusion, though ideally one would hope for more from 16 taps.. My goal was to offer a range of styles and origins, which of course had to be blended with certain corporate imp...

Interesting responses, all. Thanks for the diversion. I found fascinating the number of qualifications in your responses, ie: "assuming that," if such-and-such", "does it have so-and-so." The essence of my question was, of course, beer selection or atmosphere. I chose a spor...

This is the kind of situation I think can only happen in beer. Molson Coors may be partnering up with Modelo to buy Fosters. In the US, Molson Coors has a partnership with SABMiller, which results in Miller Coors. Modelo is 50% owned by AB InBev. So technically, assuming this sale actually happens, ...

Just because I'm procrastinating right now, here's a query of pure curiosity for you all. Which would you rather patronize, assuming it had to be one or the other: A mediocre sports bar with a great selection of 40+ taps or a wonderful, historic and incredibly atmospheric pub boasting only one decen...

A few Mill Street, Konig Ludwig Weisse, Hop-It, King Pilsner, Stella (not my pick), Rolling Rock (ditto), Fuller's ESB, Palm, Blanche de Chambly, Hoptical, Grimbergen Dubbel, some others that escape my memory. (We had several versions of the draught list as the concept developed.)

Went to the preview dinner of Against the Grain last night and it's looking pretty good! (Disclosure: I worked as beer/cocktail consultant for them.) The food was very good tavern fare and the drink prices are most reasonable! Sixteen taps, a bunch of bottles and a good -- if I do say so myself -- c...

I'll FB you, Jordan. Thanks.

Hey all, I have two or three bottles being transported for me from Brazil to the Mondial. Problem is, I won't be attending this year, so I need a volunteer mule to pick them up from the visiting Brazilian and carry them back for me. A liquid reward will be offered.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If I want to pour my own drinks, I'll just stay at home. Sure, like everyone else I've had moments of frustration in a bar or restaurant trying to get another beer from the server or bartender, but those are overwhelmingly overshadowed by the great experien...

If you're looking to spend just a specific amount, then you'd be wise to get a couple of bottles instead of just one. I'd suggest one of the best values in single malt at the LCBO, the nicely peaty Bowmore 12 Year Old from Islay, at a bargain $46.10. Not as smoky as Ardbeg, but less than half the pr...