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Ontario Craft Beer, Imports and Pumpkin Beers at the LCBO (Fall 2019)

This forum is for discussing everything beer retail: LCBO, Beer Store, Grocery Stores and Indie Stores.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

seangm
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Post by seangm »

midlife crisis wrote:It's probably the best beer at Loblaws. That is an interesting question, actually -- what is the best beer commonly on the shelf at Loblaws?

Other contenders: CA Life in the Clouds, Omnipollo Zodiak, BtP Aromatherapy. (I would have included Side Launch Mountain Lager, but it is extinct of course).

Any other nominations? Put another way, what beer do you tend to buy at Loblaws (i.e. "I'm here anyway, this is good enough")?
Definitely CA, they seem to be well represented- even found Guava Gose a couple weeks back. Agreed with Zodiak and BtP, I'll typically pick them up while I'm there. A few other Superstore finds I've been enjoying are Sons of Kent 8 Track, Goodlot Farmstead Ale, Left Field Greenwood and Bang Bang, and Silversmith Black Lager. I find the turnover is better at my Superstore than nearby LCBOs, so I load up on fresh GLB and Nickelbrook as well.

On the topic of Mountain Lager, they seem to still be brewing it according to their Instagram and I found it at the Beer Store. It's disappointing that they scaled back distribution, but thankfully it's still out there. A good thing since it really is one of my favourite all-rounders.

GtownRandy
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Post by GtownRandy »

I will second the Sons of Kent 8 Track at Superstore. New shipments are making it regularly from Chatham to Georgetown. It’s my new go to.

beerstodiscover
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Post by beerstodiscover »

midlife crisis wrote:I note FWIW that Clifford Porter seems to be available more or less all the time at Loblaws (at the least the one I frequent).
Ditto at my local Great Canadian Superstore. This is an inevitable purchase when I shop there.

sofakingdrunk
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Location: Guelph

Post by sofakingdrunk »

midlife crisis wrote:It's probably the best beer at Loblaws. That is an interesting question, actually -- what is the best beer commonly on the shelf at Loblaws?

Other contenders: CA Life in the Clouds, Omnipollo Zodiak, BtP Aromatherapy. (I would have included Side Launch Mountain Lager, but it is extinct of course).

Any other nominations? Put another way, what beer do you tend to buy at Loblaws (i.e. "I'm here anyway, this is good enough")?

Ransack/Greenwood

sofakingdrunk
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Location: Guelph

Post by sofakingdrunk »

midlife crisis wrote:It's probably the best beer at Loblaws. That is an interesting question, actually -- what is the best beer commonly on the shelf at Loblaws?

Other contenders: CA Life in the Clouds, Omnipollo Zodiak, BtP Aromatherapy. (I would have included Side Launch Mountain Lager, but it is extinct of course).

Any other nominations? Put another way, what beer do you tend to buy at Loblaws (i.e. "I'm here anyway, this is good enough")?

Ransack/Greenwood

Masterplan
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Post by Masterplan »

Definitely Life in the Clouds.

midlife crisis
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Post by midlife crisis »

Masterplan wrote:Definitely Life in the Clouds.
Yeah, it's probably my #1 Loblaws beer as well, at least in terms of total purchases. Much as I think Clifford Porter is an almost perfect expression of a quaffable plain Porter, the fact is that I don't really feel like Porter all that often compared to a nice, cloudy IPA.

sofakingdrunk
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Post by sofakingdrunk »

JaseWescott wrote:2019 Muskoka Harvest Ale now available at the LCBO
Hops: VQH Farms (Eden) & Pleasant Valley Hops - Ontario Grown (Hillier)
Specialty Malts: Barn Owl Malt (Belleville)
Base Malt: Canada Malting (Thunder Bay)
Yeast: Escarpment Laboratories (Guelph)
https://www.lcbo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... ctId=62412

Here’s to hoping they’re going back to the old version of this, as opposed to last years swill

midlife crisis
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2009
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Location: Toronto

Post by midlife crisis »

sofakingdrunk wrote:
JaseWescott wrote:2019 Muskoka Harvest Ale now available at the LCBO
Hops: VQH Farms (Eden) & Pleasant Valley Hops - Ontario Grown (Hillier)
Specialty Malts: Barn Owl Malt (Belleville)
Base Malt: Canada Malting (Thunder Bay)
Yeast: Escarpment Laboratories (Guelph)
https://www.lcbo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... ctId=62412

Here’s to hoping they’re going back to the old version of this, as opposed to last years swill
I have given up on this too. Unless one of you guys miraculously loves it this year!

seangm
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Post by seangm »

midlife crisis wrote:
sofakingdrunk wrote:
JaseWescott wrote:2019 Muskoka Harvest Ale now available at the LCBO

https://www.lcbo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ ... ctId=62412

Here’s to hoping they’re going back to the old version of this, as opposed to last years swill
I have given up on this too. Unless one of you guys miraculously loves it this year!
Every year I hold out hope that it's closer to the original recipe, been disappointed but I still try 1 can. This year's description on the website makes it sound like the original (grassy hops, or something to that effect) so I will take a bullet for the team and report back.

beerstodiscover
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Post by beerstodiscover »

Having Muskoka’s Harvest Ale right now. This is not the hoppy ale of years past. If I was blindfolded I’d probably guess it’s an imperial lager. Rich malt and grassy hops, as described on the can. Mediocre.

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Gleemer Imports
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Post by Gleemer Imports »

La Trappe Quad, i believe, is brewed at Brunswick in Ontario.
and it's Netherlands, not Belgian.
Visit us at http://www.gleemer.ca or follow Gleemer Imports on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

midlife crisis
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Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by midlife crisis »

Gleemer Imports wrote:La Trappe Quad, i believe, is brewed at Brunswick in Ontario.
and it's Netherlands, not Belgian.
Yes, correct, saw it in the fridge on my last visit to Brunswick.

portwood
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Post by portwood »

midlife crisis wrote:
Gleemer Imports wrote:La Trappe Quad, i believe, is brewed at Brunswick in Ontario.
and it's Netherlands, not Belgian.
Yes, correct, saw it in the fridge on my last visit to Brunswick.
Though it may still benefit the monks and their causes (in a small way), i guess that means the Ontario version is NOT a trappist beer ...
@markhamwhisky

seangm
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Post by seangm »

portwood wrote:
midlife crisis wrote:
Gleemer Imports wrote:La Trappe Quad, i believe, is brewed at Brunswick in Ontario.
and it's Netherlands, not Belgian.
Yes, correct, saw it in the fridge on my last visit to Brunswick.
Though it may still benefit the monks and their causes (in a small way), i guess that means the Ontario version is NOT a trappist beer ...
I have a feeling it might still be brewed in the Netherlands, when I was at Brunswick a while back they had a number of Weihenstephaner beers for sale that were the originals brewed in Germany. I'm not sure what kind of arrangement or licence they have, since I didn't think you could sell beers not brewed in your facility outside of the LCBO or TBS. For sure the La Trappe Ora et Labora is brewed locally, but to your point they wouldn't be able to sell La Trappe Quad as a Trappist beer if it's brewed here.
Last edited by seangm on Fri Sep 20, 2019 3:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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