The Bar Towel

At first I was thinking of two beers that I tried on vacation recently that I really liked, either Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, or Magic Hat Circus Boy. Then I relized there is great beer in Canada and I had to go with the beer that made University a lot easier to deal with, Hermann's Dark Lager from ...

Good points. Perhaps the best baby steps would be to at least allow breweries their own off-site stores. Forget the whole distribution thing (for now) and let the brewer sell in locations where they don't brew. It might not be economically perfect, but in spirit (pardon the pun) a business could gr...

Good points. Perhaps the best baby steps would be to at least allow breweries their own off-site stores. Forget the whole distribution thing (for now) and let the brewer sell in locations where they don't brew. It might not be economically perfect, but in spirit (pardon the pun) a business could gr...

I take exception to the perceived nirvana of depaneurs. In a big city like Montreal there are huge tracts of town where you cannot find any retailers selling any decent beer. I think the same can be said for the United States. I think people in Ontario might be a bit spoiled since New York State ha...

I do believe we saw an earlier article about Scotland looking at the LCBO model for inspiration, poor bastards Well every time I drive to Buffalo, and I witness the gang-bangs and public orgies and mass-murders in the Wegman's parking lot, I am SO glad we do not have America's easy access to good b...

That was one of my favorite things about pubs in England. Every time you ordered a beer it came in a pint glass with a little line at the top and a certification so you knew exactly how much beer you were paying for. There is at least a couple of bars in Ottawa where if you order a pint, it comes in...

We should all write our MPP's and ask them to pass a law forbiding all government monopolies to waste taxpayer money advertizing. Places like the LCBO and OLG should be forced to take their entire advertizing and marketing budget and dump it directily into healthcare. Or roads. Or parks. Or reduce ...

I don't think anyone is going to want to handle bottle returns, and the beer store probably wouldn't want to handle returns from everyone else either. I think they'd have to setup return depots, just as BC has done (they have deposits on non-alcohol drink containers as well). It's a serious PITA (c...

I'm headed out to Victoria next week, but not Vancouver, unfortuneately. I'm planning on hitting up Driftwood and Spinnakers for sure. Does anyone have any good nuggets of wisdom regarding other must-visit stops in Victoria? The Vancouver Island Brewery is always worth a visit. http://vanislandbrew...

The new PC leader says: 15. Will you commit to reforming the LCBO’s government monopoly? If so, please explain. Yes. I believe we must have more choice and competition in Ontario’s wine, beer and liquor sales. That’s why I have introduced Bill 7, the VQA Wine Stores Act, which would allow Ontario w...

I am amazed at the union bashing going on in this forum. Let's remember that private sector and/or non union employees enjoy many rights and freedoms on the coat tails of unionized employees. Our society as a whole benefits from a 5 day work week (some only working 37.5 hours a week), benefits for ...