These amazing, hilarious, and pathetic comments in response to Martin Cohn’s article in The Star. Yikes….where does one even begin?

(Source: Toronto star comments)

The Ongoing, Anti-Climatic, Passive Aggressive Battle over Beer and Wine Sales in Canada’s Nanny State

Womp womp womp, Mcguinty fizzles from hero to zero faster than you can finish your beer.

The title couldn’t be closer to the truth. The author points out, innovation is stifled due to Ontario’s beer oligopoly. This is not the only downside, as we have seen time and time again small brewers and other beer businesses not only weathering the recession in the United States, but also creating jobs and promoting tourism.

To me, the most disheartening is Molson’s complete ownership of the phrase “I am Canadian.” Being Canadian shouldn’t equate drinking watered down mass produced garbage that is created by a publicly traded multinational. The industry, and phrase, need to be reclaimed.

- article submitted via @mattfinlin

Though I thoroughly appreciate this list of best beer bars as curated by @blogTO, readers be warned: the food at Victory Cafe is appalling, and they forgot my favorite @bellwoods beer. Other critical points include myself questioning their thesis that Ontario’s craft beer scene “has exploded.” 30 breweries in the most heavily populated province would leave me to believe that we aren’t quite there yet.

- article submitted by mr. right

So here we have it, a local beer advocate in the pages of this weeks NOW Toronto. He contrasts the 30 breweries in Ontario to the 49 breweries in Portland Oregon alone, and explains the stifling of the craft beer movement in Ontario as a result of the corporate owned Brewers’ Retail.

I have some questions. 1) Are there any channels for changing the dreaded brewers retail? Maybe small breweries need a Canadian content law that pertains to beer production.

2) How to circumvent the dreaded “beer store.” Following Portland’s model of the brew pub and selling beer directly to customers could be a good first step. What are the opportunities for other non-traditional channels of distribution in Toronto, such as growler filling stations?

Ontario’s Craft Beer Scene Is Budding in an Unfriendly Climate

A beautiful video made by my favorite human.

Beer and Ice Cream

CC Family Restaurant is an establishment in Cambridge, Ontario. Countless folks drive by this place daily, and ask themselves “what’s with the beer and ice cream?”

Well, let me tell you that going out for beer and a fancy ice cream dessert is the thing to do among the trendy in China. Walk into any popular cafe, and you will see couples, families, and groups of friends ordering large sundaes and big bottles of Budweiser. Obviously, CC is trying to bring the trend over to Canada. I think next time I will go in and check to see if it’s catching on.