Buying beer in Ontario

It seems everywhere I go these days, I am followed by the same question - 'What do you think about privatizing beer in Ontario?" Until now, I have kept fairly quiet on this topic but feel the necessity to pipe in. It seems that some well meaning people believe that by opening up retail avenues such as convenience stores and gas stations to distribution by brewers will bring us both lower prices and better selection. You can kiss that thought goodbye! Approximately 52 cents of every dollar spent on beer is tax and we must be kidding ourselves if we think that the price will drop significantly with corner stores. Comparing our system to Quebec is not really a fair fight. Secondly, consider this...if we go to convenience stores as a vehicle of distribution, that will carve the way for the major brewers to buy and own this channel. All you have to do is look into the U.S.A The big brewers have tons of shelf space at gas stations and corner stores. The small brewers in Ontario do not have the ability to get their beers to thousands of vendors. This will be very expensive and time consuming and we need them to continue the great brewing industry in Ontario.

NOW - I've heard this suggestion and it makes tons of sense to me. Give the craft and micro brewers in Ontario some boutique stores similar to the wine stores (Wine Rack etc). This will expand our selection and provide a great avenue for the small brewer to showcase their stuff.

Cheers and here's to the holidays

Roger

The Best Job in the World

Whenever I conduct one of my beer appreciation events or beer school classes, I am inevitably told that I have the best job in the world. Do I agree? Absolutely! It really doesn't feel like work when I get to travel the country, meet a lot of interesting people in a variety of different situations, partake in some great food and obviously share my passion for beer. Aside from all of those benefits, the thing that really turns my crank happened again last night at a Beer School session at Amsterdam Brewery. It was a small group but we had a great time trying a variety of different dark beers and wheat beers. The thing that makes me smile all the way home is the knowledge that they got it. The light bulb went off and I can see in their eyes that they are truly on the way to a journey of beer epiphany. The world of beer opened up to me more than 10 years ago and it is my goal to bring passion and knowledge to the consumer who have loved beer all their life and also to those who are somewhat hesitant to take that fledgling step forward.

So, here's my challenge to you......Open your eyes, mind and throat and let beer take you on a journey of magnificent proportions.

Feel free to contact me with questions or concerns at
rmittag@thirstforknowledge.ca