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General LCBO Debate & Discussion Thread

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

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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Napalm Frog
Posts: 223
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 10:01 am
Location: Toronto

Post by Napalm Frog »

Haven't been in a few weeks, but looks like the Summerhill location opened up a refrigerated beer section on the north side.

Unfortunately, it's the same macro/Euro stuff that was in that same spot before. All the local/prime stuff is near the sampling/growler taps with one less shelf, but there is no system as to what is fridged or warm-shelved on that side. One lady I spoke to today said that they didn't bother fridging Robohop cause they knew it would move fast. I'm curious, if they know what beer geeks are into (I know at least three of the Summerhill employees are beer geeks), why not stock the fridge section with the nicer/seasonal beers, rather than the bottom shelf contract brews?

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darmokandjalad
Posts: 262
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 8:04 pm
Location: Ridgetown, ON

Post by darmokandjalad »

Napalm Frog wrote:One lady I spoke to today said that they didn't bother fridging Robohop cause they knew it would move fast.
The problem with that line of thought is that if they're wrong and it doesn't move fast, then now they've got a bunch of stale shelf turds with muddy, off-hop flavours that no one with a clue is ever going to buy, at least not for full price. I have always felt that the LCBO should prioritize certain types of beer with regard to cold storage (specifically, anything hop-centric such as pale ales or IPAs).
I'm curious, if they know what beer geeks are into (I know at least three of the Summerhill employees are beer geeks), why not stock the fridge section with the nicer/seasonal beers, rather than the bottom shelf contract brews?
I have no inside knowledge whatsoever of the LCBO's floorspace managing strategies, but I'll lob out a few unsubstantiated guesses:
a) a combination of the limited fridge space available in most stores, together with good ol' managerial incompetence/indifference.

b) the drunks who buy those imported/macro lagers have in the past complained to staff that their favourite crappy beer isn't cold and now they have to wait an hour to chill them at home before they can drink them and this is an indefensible outrage, sir.

Let's not also forget that macro lagers still comprise a huge portion of overall beer sales in this province. The LCBO might be inclined to keep that stuff on the cold shelves simply because it encourages the typical TBS customer (who is driving directly home to pound cheap lager in front of the HNIC broadcast or whatever) to pop into the LCBO for a six-pack of cold beer once in a while. I doubt these people would ever bother spending their beer money at the LCBO if their favourite brands were always at room temperature.

I suppose it's also possible that macro brewers who can afford to pay for the privilege are simply paying to have their beers stocked on refrigerated shelves, but again, I don't work in the industry and have no proof of this. I do think it's suspicious that every LCBO - from huge urban stores to tiny outlets in rural Crumbum County - will ALWAYS have at least some, if not all, of their Bud/Molson/etc. stocked in their refrigerated space, regardless of how limited said space is. I suppose b) also adequately explains this phenomenon, but it still smells fishy to me.

Either way, their handling of macro stuff is clearly in stark contrast to the shelves full of unrefrigerated craft beer that you will see in almost every LCBO. I say "almost" because there are a handful of newer stores (built or renovated within the last few years) that do seem to keep 90% of their beer SKUs refrigerated. But these outlets always feature a huge cold room near the back, which mostly eliminates "limited fridge space" as a factor. Thankfully, the one near me falls into this category.

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Blasphomet
Posts: 446
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:07 am

Post by Blasphomet »

Octopus and Robohop are superior this year compared to last. Specifically Octopus, which seems to have a much fuller mouthfeel reminiscent of a beer brewed with oats. Really, really enjoying the Octopus this year.

Automatic
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu May 09, 2013 5:09 pm

Post by Automatic »

Blasphomet wrote:Octopus and Robohop are superior this year compared to last. Specifically Octopus, which seems to have a much fuller mouthfeel reminiscent of a beer brewed with oats. Really, really enjoying the Octopus this year.
Agree with you on Octopus. It's markedly better this year.

I tried Robo on tap at BarHop a few nights ago and it wasn't nearly as good as I remember from last spring. In fact, I dropped it 0.5 points. Now this could be due to my changing tastes and preferences of course. I picked up a can today to try, and hope the mediocre pint I had at BarHop was just an aberration.

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Blasphomet
Posts: 446
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:07 am

Post by Blasphomet »

Ball's Falls really is a great beer. In a sea of haze, it's nice to have a clean, crisp, flavourful pale like this to suck back. Great stuff. Top 5 LC purchase right now. Maybe Top 2 behind Clutch.

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jeremyg
Posts: 316
Joined: Wed May 06, 2015 4:57 pm

Post by jeremyg »

Blasphomet wrote:Octopus and Robohop are superior this year compared to last. Specifically Octopus, which seems to have a much fuller mouthfeel reminiscent of a beer brewed with oats. Really, really enjoying the Octopus this year.
agree 100%. honestly kind of felt like GLB was mailing it in the past couple years but everything they've dropped this year has been great.

sofakingdrunk
Bar Fly
Posts: 925
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2014 7:55 am
Location: Guelph

Post by sofakingdrunk »

I think
The sunny side is better than last year as wrll

Masterplan
Bar Fly
Posts: 509
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:00 am

Post by Masterplan »

sofakingdrunk wrote:I think
The sunny side is better than last year as wrll
Does it still lean toward lemon citrus?

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Blasphomet
Posts: 446
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:07 am

Post by Blasphomet »

Having a Sunny right now and it leads towards the righteous. Very pleased.

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spinrsx
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2267
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 12:27 pm
Location: Ottawa

Post by spinrsx »

One of the lcbo beers that got me into craft 8 years ago (when it was in 6 packs) is gone now.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale (650 mL bottle) was discontinued

cfrancis
Bar Fly
Posts: 857
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:26 am
Location: Ottawa

Post by cfrancis »

I believe they are transitioning to cans.

JeffPorter
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2552
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:39 am
Location: Brampton, ON

Post by JeffPorter »

Hi everyone,

LCBO pricing rant on whisky coming up...

I generally go along with LCBO pricing when it comes to whisky and other spirits - we often get hosed, but there's sometimes we have a real winner for often the same as or sometimes less than the US.

Been waiting for Canadian Rockies 21 year old for quite some time. Heard great things about it, etc. Every where else in Canada it's about 69 bucks, often less..here?

114 bucks! At least a 63% mark up...that can't all be tax! I know Roland and Russel reps this whisky so maybe they can chime in for clarity.

So angry. So wanted to buy this bottle...what gives... by comprison, Century 21 Reserve which is essentially the same whisky but bottles at 40% is 48 bucks...

I can't...even!
"What can you say about Pabst Blue Ribbon that Dennis Hopper hasn’t screamed in the middle of an ether binge?" - Jordan St. John

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Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
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Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Sounds like you should freeze distill some of the water out of the diluted for sheep 40% version, figure out the volume ratio and remove that much ice.
In Beerum Veritas

JeffPorter
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2552
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:39 am
Location: Brampton, ON

Post by JeffPorter »

Belgian wrote:Sounds like you should freeze distill some of the water out of the diluted for sheep 40% version, figure out the volume ratio and remove that much ice.
I actually thought of that but figured I couldn't get it cold enough in my freezer.
"What can you say about Pabst Blue Ribbon that Dennis Hopper hasn’t screamed in the middle of an ether binge?" - Jordan St. John

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Blasphomet
Posts: 446
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 11:07 am

Post by Blasphomet »

Aromatherapy finally showed up locally in Oshawa. $4.50 a can eh? Fucking joke. But I still bought three. It better be great otherwise I'll never buy it again at that price.

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