The Bar Towel

I was at Queen's Quay recently and I saw signs on the shelf next to that new British import, "Sold as 4-packs only". I got a chuckle and thought if Bar Towel was the cause of that...

I was at Queens Quay yesterday and saw a handwritten sign in front of the Boneshaker 6's that said, "Sold as 6 packs only"

Iceman wrote:I was at Queens Quay yesterday and saw a handwritten sign in front of the Boneshaker 6's that said, "Sold as 6 packs only"

They're going to have single tall cans of this available soon.

awesome!

TheBeeraholic wrote:

Iceman wrote:I was at Queens Quay yesterday and saw a handwritten sign in front of the Boneshaker 6's that said, "Sold as 6 packs only"

They're going to have single tall cans of this available soon.

spinrsx wrote:awesome!

TheBeeraholic wrote:

Iceman wrote:I was at Queens Quay yesterday and saw a handwritten sign in front of the Boneshaker 6's that said, "Sold as 6 packs only"

They're going to have single tall cans of this available soon.

Very good news indeed! I buy Mad Tom and Headstock far more often than Boneshaker just because more often than not I prefer the can format for these beers. This will bring Boneshaker in line with the other two.

after being denied by multiple stores on the elyssian and latitude I went to Liberty Village armed w/ the codes.

Turns out I didn't need them as the cashier had no problems putting them through w/o codes. I don't know what they do but each time I've seen them do it, it appears they're pressing a key on the register while scanning it. I've never seen them ever enter a single bottle code.

Anyways, curiosity got the better of me so I asked why she was able to ring it through, when other locations can't.

Her answer? Technically we're not supposed to sell single bottles as it messes up inventory/sku's. However, she understands that customers want to try a beer before committing to a full 6 pack. Hence she's willing to do it within reason.

I doubt that's official lcbo policy but I understand her reasoning.

I don't doubt you for a second and I've heard that from others too, but ... if that is true why are there single bottle codes for these beers? Is official policy to sell them as singles, or not?

Sometimes, even if the cashier is willing to sell you the single, hitting the "single" sku button won't do anything. It's like the actual single sku isn't linked to the product in the system, so when they specify that it's only a single bottle, the register thinks it can't do that. But if you have the actual sku they can manually enter it and you're off to the races. That being said, as many others have noted, good luck finding an LCBO cashier who cares enough to try......

Yes, understood. But if "official government policy" is to not break open sixes, why do they generate these single bottle codes, which facilitate doing just that? (If you're lucky enough to draw a better than average LCBO employee).

It's almost as if, as you say, the system is smart enough to say "no, we don't sell that beer in singles" (which seems to be head office policy as well) but then there is a subversive work-around if you know the secret code.

midlife crisis wrote:Yes, understood. But if "official government policy" is to not break open sixes, why do they generate these single bottle codes, which facilitate doing just that? (If you're lucky enough to draw a better than average LCBO employee).

It's almost as if, as you say, the system is smart enough to say "no, we don't sell that beer in singles" (which seems to be head office policy as well) but then there is a subversive work-around if you know the secret code.

I would assume that the answer is breakage. If they have one bottle break, they can still the other 5.

mol_son wrote:I would assume that the answer is breakage. If they have one bottle break, they can still the other 5.

I'm not sure a still would be legal in-store, even if they wanted to make their own spirits out of unsold beer.

Although it would make their lunch breaks interesting I'm sure.

Belgian wrote:

mol_son wrote:I would assume that the answer is breakage. If they have one bottle break, they can still the other 5.

I'm not sure a still would be legal in-store, even if they wanted to make their own spirits out of unsold beer.

Although it would make their lunch breaks interesting I'm sure.

Ha, Ha, still SELL the other 5.

Yeah, when I worked there, there was a SKU called a domestic breaker (as well as something else, premium/internation/something) which was a generic code for closed-top sixes where a single bottle had broken. If you've ever seen that grab-bag basket of beers (generally macro) at the LCBO, those are "breaker bottles". As I understand it, the only beers that get single-sku codes are ones in open-top packaging. Which would point to them having a policy that they ought to be sold as such. But many employees violate more important policies regularly.

Is there a single bottle code for Nickle Brook Naughty Neighbor? I was at the LCBO today and the same old story. There was a six pack holding 4 bottles. I figured if they sold two already they must be able to sell me one. But when I tried to buy one the woman at the counter scanned it and it came up as a 6 pack. I told her it was from a pack with 2 bottles missing but she told me that she could only sell the six pack. Even though I explained that someone else must have bought two bottles, she couldn't do it.

I like the "try before you buy" option too, but trust me, the Naughty Neighbour is worth getting a full sixer of.