Beer in Grocery Stores

[darmokandjalad]

Hopefully this means the LCBO can expand SKU count though.

Hopefully, but I seem to recall reading on these very forums that this is actually the exact opposite of what they intend to do.

[Craig]

That's the 'BO thing to do, isn't it?

[DBN]

Looks like the title of this section of the forum will need a change at the end of the week:

http://bensbeerblog.com/2015/12/11/lobl ... eer-sales/

[Craig]

Farm Boy's got beer in a fridge now. Looks like a similar selection to what Loblaws had.

[Belgian]

Farm Boy's got beer in a fridge now. Looks like a similar selection to what Loblaws had.

Way to start a conspiracy theory man!

[saints_gambit]

Farm Boy's got beer in a fridge now. Looks like a similar selection to what Loblaws had.

Way to start a conspiracy theory man!

There's no conspiracy. There are only so many breweries that are able to operate a supply chain and manufacture the volume those stores are moving.

I know I keep saying this over and over, but this is not as easy as changing the law. There are all manner of logistical concerns that make this difficult. Consider someone like Left Field. I've seen complaints that they're not in grocery stores. They don't make enough beer to be anywhere near grocery stores. They aren't even taking new draft accounts.

To be in a number of grocery stores you need to be able to make like... 30,000 HL of beer annually? The good news is that small breweries now have the ability to expand into an expanding market. You want to invest and grow to 30,000 HL, you're going to be able to move your product. It's just that it's not going to happen immediately and never was.

[zane9]

...

To be in a number of grocery stores you need to be able to make like... 30,000 HL of beer annually? The good news is that small breweries now have the ability to expand into an expanding market...

Last week I was in the IGA at the Alexis Nihon Plaza in Montreal. This is an ultra-modern grocery store with a decent selection of local/Quebec brewers. I bought several different Trou du Diable ales.

I'd love to know if this Microbrasserie,Boutique & Salon in Shawinigan produces 30,000HL+ annually.

[saints_gambit]

...

To be in a number of grocery stores you need to be able to make like... 30,000 HL of beer annually? The good news is that small breweries now have the ability to expand into an expanding market...

Last week I was in the IGA at the Alexis Nihon Plaza in Montreal. This is an ultra-modern grocery store with a decent selection of local/Quebec brewers. I bought several different Trou du Diable ales.

I'd love to know if this Microbrasserie,Boutique & Salon in Shawinigan produces 30,000HL+ annually.

I take your point. They probably do not. I sort of mean it as a guideline. The brewery needs to be a certain size (which I'm estimating for the sake of expedience) in order to be able to manage volume and delivery.

I'm going to ask you to go with me on this: Do you think that they would have been included during the first three months of the program? Do you think they would have been everywhere? Most places in Montreal you're lucky to get 50 and Boreale and Heineken. The IGA you're talking about, I'm betting they've had time to get used to the idea. That's what Ontario's going to need for more elaborate selections.

[zane9]

...I'm going to ask you to go with me on this: Do you think that they would have been included during the first three months of the program? Do you think they would have been everywhere? Most places in Montreal you're lucky to get 50 and Boreale and Heineken. The IGA you're talking about, I'm betting they've had time to get used to the idea. That's what Ontario's going to need for more elaborate selections.

Definitely going with you on this! I don't how much of the Quebec retail beer market share is from their grocery chains. The dépanneurs may have been into Quebec beer retail long before the grocery stores. I don't know the history. But your point is well taken: I'm sure the Quebec brewers had similar issues to those in Ontario when considering their entrance into the high-volume game of the grocery chains.

[zane9]

...
I'm going to ask you to go with me on this: Do you think that they would have been included during the first three months of the program? Do you think they would have been everywhere? Most places in Montreal you're lucky to get 50 and Boreale and Heineken.

Here is a very timely article from The Star on the morass that is Quebec alcohol sales! Ontario is a paradise in comparison.

"Quebec opening market for local beer, wine " http://on.thestar.com/1RcpuqL

[saints_gambit]

...I'm going to ask you to go with me on this: Do you think that they would have been included during the first three months of the program? Do you think they would have been everywhere? Most places in Montreal you're lucky to get 50 and Boreale and Heineken. The IGA you're talking about, I'm betting they've had time to get used to the idea. That's what Ontario's going to need for more elaborate selections.

Definitely going with you on this! I don't how much of the Quebec retail beer market share is from their grocery chains. The dépanneurs may have been into Quebec beer retail long before the grocery stores. I don't know the history. But your point is well taken: I'm sure the Quebec brewers had similar issues to those in Ontario when considering their entrance into the high-volume game of the grocery chains.

Apologies if I get a little stroppy about it. It's a huge industry and societal change whose most frequent criticism is that it's not working perfectly a month in. I've gotten to the point where I find the short sightedness and desire for immediate gratification on the part of some critics bizarrely willful. I think we're all just used to fighting against the thing so much that we sometimes refuse to see a good thing coming.

[Masterplan]

Who supplies the grocery stores with the beer? The LCBO, the beer store, or the individual breweries?

[saints_gambit]

Who supplies the grocery stores with the beer? The LCBO, the beer store, or the individual breweries?

Depends on what the brewery decides to do.

[Belgian]

Who supplies the grocery stores with the beer? The LCBO, the beer store, or the individual breweries?

Depends on what the brewery decides to do.

… OR the evil robot overlords controlling the breweries… hmm?

[zane9]

...Apologies if I get a little stroppy about it. It's a huge industry and societal change whose most frequent criticism is that it's not working perfectly a month in...

No apologies needed. I think there was, for decades, a lot of pent-up anger at the "Nanny State" of Ontario, most recently targeted at Dear Leader Wynne. Most of us were entirely fed up with a system that ignored everything but its perceived controllers ( a combination of the macro-brewery cartel and the stale-dated moral finger-wagging of "government" telling us how to behave). Impatience for change has its roots, and I think we can forgive the criticism to some degree.

Over time, the baby-steps changes brought in will become the new normal. Hopefully we'll see even more change that benefits the consumer/public.