Buffalo!
I mean: LCBO!
Looks like they're pushing beer as of today.
http://www.lcbo.com/main/en.shtml
Does the flipbook run incredibly slowly for anyone else?
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341 beers. 42 countries. 1 destination.
Definitely noticed this today. Got way excited by the giant display of Mill Street Organic and Stock Ale.
I actually saw a couple young-ish guys going through the store with the flyer and picking up whatever they saw from it. Nice to see people interested at least. Here's hoping they like Creemore Kellerbier more than Estrella.
I actually saw a couple young-ish guys going through the store with the flyer and picking up whatever they saw from it. Nice to see people interested at least. Here's hoping they like Creemore Kellerbier more than Estrella.
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SteelbackGuy
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SteelbackGuy
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mintjellie wrote:Pushing a product works. It's why gas stations ask customers if they would like a car wash. It's why chain restaurant servers ask if you would like a bowl of gravy to dip those fries in.
Well, we can't all be intelligent consumers. Let the sheep be sheep.
If you`re reading this, there`s a 15% chance you`ve got a significant drinking problem. Get it fixed, get recovered!
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I have the weird feeling that it doesn't matter if you can get them to prefer the craft options initially. Getting their attention is the first step.mintjellie wrote:That full page plug for Czechvar looks awesome.
The back page with Mill St. Lemon Tea right beside Miller Chill is interesting. Maybe people will prefer the craft option when it comes to citrus flavoured beer.
saintjohnswort.ca
It's a step up from last year's Beer Selector (which they seem to have dropped from their site altogether) and there's a fairly decent representation of Ontario craft stuff, so hopefully they'll benefit from this push a little.
The tasting events are a real mixed bag. On the one hand you've got some Muskoka, Beau's and the taste of Belgium 6 pack, etc., and then you've got a lot of Rickard's, Keith's and Budweiser type stuff which, really...how has anyone who drinks beer not tried those at some point? And why does Tiger Beer seem to show up repeatedly?
The tasting events are a real mixed bag. On the one hand you've got some Muskoka, Beau's and the taste of Belgium 6 pack, etc., and then you've got a lot of Rickard's, Keith's and Budweiser type stuff which, really...how has anyone who drinks beer not tried those at some point? And why does Tiger Beer seem to show up repeatedly?
All I get is this when I try to view a flipbook:
"Please register "www.lcbo.ca" domain, publish and re-upload your files. The domain name must be registered before publishing your book"
EDIT: working now.
"Please register "www.lcbo.ca" domain, publish and re-upload your files. The domain name must be registered before publishing your book"
EDIT: working now.
It certainly is THE destination if you want a wide variety of 2nd world welfare lagers sold at import prices or emasculated tinned EU or Mol-coor-Batt beer products in the cooler while local unpasteurized craft beer festers in the aisle 
The seasonal releases have been decent but the quantities of the better seasonals are insufficient....as is the selection
It takes too much BS for agents to get an new import on the shelves and many great import brewers are just not interested in the hassle.
Other than that It's all beer promo by the BO.
BTW: Yes I do have a right to bitch:
A) it's a forced unionized state retail monopoly which I resent dealing with
B) I pay the tab for this government import-retail ineptitude.
Why must I drive to the US to get Micros and imports I want unless the real purpose of the retail/import monopoly is to be a form of bureaucratic protectionism for the 3 corporate brewers operating in their jurisdiction?
The seasonal releases have been decent but the quantities of the better seasonals are insufficient....as is the selection
It takes too much BS for agents to get an new import on the shelves and many great import brewers are just not interested in the hassle.
Other than that It's all beer promo by the BO.
BTW: Yes I do have a right to bitch:
A) it's a forced unionized state retail monopoly which I resent dealing with
B) I pay the tab for this government import-retail ineptitude.
Why must I drive to the US to get Micros and imports I want unless the real purpose of the retail/import monopoly is to be a form of bureaucratic protectionism for the 3 corporate brewers operating in their jurisdiction?
Last edited by pootz on Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Aventinus rules!
Not if you like the boozy sting of candi sugar.Gedge wrote:That Taste of Belgium 6-pack is a real letdown.
Then again the BO has poor customer feed back loops and just get in a rut ordering the same crap time after time. For the Province's number one retailer of craft, micro and import beers they have ZERO interface with the wider craft beer community which they presume they service.
Aventinus rules!
Having just heard an advertisement for this on the radio, I noticed something very positive and promising about it all: the extent to which they promote mixing and matching singles.
We're quick to blame the LCBO for not believing there's a market for craft and niche beers but, realistically, that is more reflective of the problem than it is the cause of it. It wasn't long ago that The Beer Store was the only game in town for beer. It has for years peddled a small core of similar brands and, until relatively recently, never gave consumers the ability to mix and match (or even buy in small quantity). Couple that with the old-fashioned stores where you couldn't actually see the product, but had to order off the board, and it's clear that the Ontario system of sale and distribution has supported and ingrained branding, discouraged experimenting with new beers and promoted a culture of drinking that is not conducive to the kinds of products, marketing and values that craft brewers endorse.
For the average Ontario beer drinker, the concept of mixing and matching, of going out and, for the affordable cost of $2/can or whatever, being able to experiment and try different products, products that maybe he's been curious about but didn't want to plop down the $40 for a stale 2-4 of before. The LCBO is encouraging people to go out and expand their palates and educated themselves about different styles. While the products they offer are still, generally speaking, pretty lackluster, this is a very positive development - and it's precisely the kind of systemic change that is needed to alter the culture of beer and the mentality of beer drinkers in the province. These changes, in turn, are what will likely support of local brewers and the LCBOs seasonal releases. If anything, they are imperative if the latter are to succeed.
At least now the horses are being led to water...
We're quick to blame the LCBO for not believing there's a market for craft and niche beers but, realistically, that is more reflective of the problem than it is the cause of it. It wasn't long ago that The Beer Store was the only game in town for beer. It has for years peddled a small core of similar brands and, until relatively recently, never gave consumers the ability to mix and match (or even buy in small quantity). Couple that with the old-fashioned stores where you couldn't actually see the product, but had to order off the board, and it's clear that the Ontario system of sale and distribution has supported and ingrained branding, discouraged experimenting with new beers and promoted a culture of drinking that is not conducive to the kinds of products, marketing and values that craft brewers endorse.
For the average Ontario beer drinker, the concept of mixing and matching, of going out and, for the affordable cost of $2/can or whatever, being able to experiment and try different products, products that maybe he's been curious about but didn't want to plop down the $40 for a stale 2-4 of before. The LCBO is encouraging people to go out and expand their palates and educated themselves about different styles. While the products they offer are still, generally speaking, pretty lackluster, this is a very positive development - and it's precisely the kind of systemic change that is needed to alter the culture of beer and the mentality of beer drinkers in the province. These changes, in turn, are what will likely support of local brewers and the LCBOs seasonal releases. If anything, they are imperative if the latter are to succeed.
At least now the horses are being led to water...
What annoys me the most is they claim "341 Beers" but how many stores have that many? Or even half that many? I was in an LCBO on the weekend in Morrisburg, and they, no word of a lie, had ten brands of beer, the most exoitc of them being Heineken. It was pathetic. There was a Beer Store in the same plaza, so I went there, and much to my surprise, got a nine pack of Camerons Amber Ale. It was bottled on May 30th (yes, 2010), so was even reasonably fresh (and at least I know it was kept cool).