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You think we have it bad

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

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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Tapsucker
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You think we have it bad

Post by Tapsucker »

Interesting article about the beer scene in Thailand.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... onian-laws

I've heard a lot about how their oligarchs control the economy, but I wasn't aware that it applied to beer as well.
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S. St. Jeb
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Post by S. St. Jeb »

Interesting story. But as for your thread title, I don't in the least think we have it bad. Yes, beer is expensive here compared to some other places, and yes, I know some don't like the control the LCBO has. But I was just talking today with one of my young (mid 20s) co-workers who is very into beer, and I told him he has no idea how good it is right now to be a beer drinker in Ontario. The variety and quality of available beers is tremendous. You can get beer delivered to your home! In the mid 80s, the average LCBO probably had less than 10 beer brands on their shelves, typically one each from Labatts, Molsons, and Carling-O'Keefe, and a small number of imports. Craft beer (then known as micro-breweries) didn't exist in Ontario until Brick opened in late 1984 (thank you Jim Brickman for paving the way).

OK, I guess I got on a bit of a rant, and I know your thread title was only meant to highlight the situation in Thailand, so I'm not intending any criticism. Thanks for posting this.

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Belgian
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Post by Belgian »

S. St. Jeb wrote: Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:15 am Interesting story. But as for your thread title, I don't in the least think we have it bad.
It's 'not' bad for an oligarchy and better than even a decade ago. Was still pretty Soviet-esque around 15 years ago when we had to scramble for every decent IPA and BSA and RIS that briefly became available - and which we here often hoarded and traded among us. Sometimes we special-ordered and split cases for 'regular' beers like that, not just the more exotic ones. Cross-border hauls to acquire a 'beer stash' not uncommon.

All that madness of scarcity has long passed.

We can 'in the least' claim the system is still far too controlling for no reason other than to control (and reputedly to make misery for companies the LC contract with.) It's only relatively better, to the point where the brokenness and the lack is less apparent - this is because the LC can't stop the floodgates of Ontario Craft beer production & an explostion of beer literacy and importation that has all imposed itself on the way the LCBO has to function, whether they'd like it or not.

This is really a thread for "LCBO Debate and Discussion".
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Post by Belgian »

S. St. Jeb wrote: Sat Mar 05, 2022 2:15 am Interesting story. But as for your thread title, I don't in the least think we have it bad.
It's 'not bad' for an oligarchy and better than even less than a decade ago. Was still pretty Soviet-esque around 15 years ago when we had to scramble for every decent IPA and BSA and RIS that briefly became available - and which we here often hoarded and traded among us. Sometimes we special-ordered and split cases for 'regular' beers like that, not just the more exotic ones. Cross-border hauls to acquire a 'beer stash' were not uncommon.

All that madness of scarcity has long passed.

We can 'in the least' claim the system is still far too controlling for no reason other than to control (and reputedly to make misery for companies the LC contract with.) It's only relatively better, to the point where the brokenness and the lack is less apparent - this is because the LC can't stop the floodgates of Ontario Craft beer production & an explostion of beer literacy and importation that has all imposed itself on the way the LCBO has to function, whether they'd like it this way or not.

This is really a thread for "LCBO Debate and Discussion".
In Beerum Veritas

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Cass
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Post by Cass »

Moved the thread to the LCBO forum.

I'm seen over the years how Ontario has improved dramatically around alcohol, so much so that I'd say we're more liberal than some other jurisdictions. We still have the LCBO control (but the beer pricing there is undoubtedly great on premium imports - see Trappists) and TBS, but we've got local breweries everywhere, grocery sales, bar off-sales, online ordering, etc. There's obviously many things I'd still like to see improved, but I don't think we have it bad anymore.

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shintriad
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Post by shintriad »

Things have gotten significantly better, and it's funny that we can thank a pandemic for that. The insular nature of the Ontario beer market has contributed to the rise of several excellent breweries. If it were its own country, Ontario would be considered a great scene.

My main complaint is still the difficulty of exporting and importing goods between provinces. What craft lover wouldn't want to get their hands on the best from BC, Quebec, Nova Scotia and beyond?

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S. St. Jeb
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Post by S. St. Jeb »

shintriad wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 6:39 pmMy main complaint is still the difficulty of exporting and importing goods between provinces. What craft lover wouldn't want to get their hands on the best from BC, Quebec, Nova Scotia and beyond?
Agree!!

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Cass
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Post by Cass »

S. St. Jeb wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:59 pm
shintriad wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 6:39 pmMy main complaint is still the difficulty of exporting and importing goods between provinces. What craft lover wouldn't want to get their hands on the best from BC, Quebec, Nova Scotia and beyond?
Agree!!
While I totally agree having more stuff from other provinces would be great, I can't help but think that the realities of shipping, freshness and local demand priority would cause us to ultimately be unsatisfied with pricing and/or selection if cross-border shipping were easier. Look at the U.S....go to a place like Premier Gourmet in Buffalo and there's lots of stuff, but not always what you want and it's often pricy or old.

That all being said, I had heard that some breweries in Nova Scotia would ship to you out of province, and looking at North's website they state it clearly that they will:

https://www.northbrewing.ca/shipping

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S. St. Jeb
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Post by S. St. Jeb »

Cass wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 10:15 am
S. St. Jeb wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:59 pm
shintriad wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 6:39 pmMy main complaint is still the difficulty of exporting and importing goods between provinces. What craft lover wouldn't want to get their hands on the best from BC, Quebec, Nova Scotia and beyond?
Agree!!
While I totally agree having more stuff from other provinces would be great, I can't help but think that the realities of shipping, freshness and local demand priority would cause us to ultimately be unsatisfied with pricing and/or selection if cross-border shipping were easier. Look at the U.S....go to a place like Premier Gourmet in Buffalo and there's lots of stuff, but not always what you want and it's often pricy or old.

That all being said, I had heard that some breweries in Nova Scotia would ship to you out of province, and looking at North's website they state it clearly that they will:

https://www.northbrewing.ca/shipping
I was thinking it would be nice to order beer from across Canada just like we can do from many Ontario breweries. But yes, the cost of shipping might make that prohibitive.

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S. St. Jeb
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Post by S. St. Jeb »

Cass wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 10:15 amThat all being said, I had heard that some breweries in Nova Scotia would ship to you out of province, and looking at North's website they state it clearly that they will:
https://www.northbrewing.ca/shipping
Just checked out North's website and not only does it say they will ship here, it says free with a $150 order. I thought there were legal barriers to cross-provincial shipping. I might have to try this out sometime.

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Cass
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Post by Cass »

S. St. Jeb wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 1:22 pm Just checked out North's website and not only does it say they will ship here, it says free with a $150 order. I thought there were legal barriers to cross-provincial shipping. I might have to try this out sometime.
Well, I think that technically any alcohol that crosses into the province has to have tax & stuff paid to the LCBO. But, that doesn't stop people from doing it anyway. I had heard that NS breweries would ship to ON but this is the first time I'd seen it explicitly said on a website. I honestly don't know if the rules changed, but I guess it's working for them (for now).

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shintriad
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Post by shintriad »

Wow, today I learned! Sounds like the laws changed a couple years ago and left for the provinces to figure out. Here's a resource: https://canadabeermap.com/canada-wide-c ... -delivery/

Anyone wanna go in on a shipment or two?

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northyorksammy
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Post by northyorksammy »

Superflux is worth a look come early May weather if you want to split some 4-paks that are supefresh and supernew
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S. St. Jeb
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Post by S. St. Jeb »

I found this resource too.

https://www.crafttapp.ca/shop/

I emailed them to inquire about shipping fees and it came back undeliverable.

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Cass
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Post by Cass »

S. St. Jeb wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:09 pm I found this resource too.

https://www.crafttapp.ca/shop/

I emailed them to inquire about shipping fees and it came back undeliverable.
Yeah that seems a bit fishy. No social posts since May '21, plus this on their Twitter. Feels like whatever they were doing has faded a bit.


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