The LCBO’s Social Responsibility group is in the news again, this time for the rejection of the Flying Monkeys Smashbomb Atomic IPA.  Torontoist has an article posted today about the story, with examples of some of the past controversies of other products that aren’t on LCBO shelves due to similar issues.  Over at The Bar […]

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There is a story in the National Post that Tim Hudak, leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party, was discussing how pricey beer was, referring to the minimum retail price that the LCBO sets for beer in the province. What isn’t discussed in the article, however, is that the LCBO has in fact released in the […]

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We often bemoan the state of drinking in Ontario – the selection, the policies, etc.  In fact, this site is dedicated to presenting arguments why the retail system does not suit the beer connoisseur.  However, I recently came across a fascinating web site that shows that things in Ontario were much stranger for drinkers. The […]

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It’s been a little while since our last post at Free Our Beer, but it isn’t due to lack of things happening. There’s lots going on and some interesting news will be announced soon.  But I thought I’d post up some quick tidbits of things on the radar in the Free Our Beer world across […]

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As reported on The Bar Towel, Garrison Imperial I.P.A. has at long last hit the shelves!  After a slight snag with getting it released due to a pricing discrepancy with the LCBO, things were worked out and the bottles have been shipped to the participating stores.  At the link above you can find some kind […]

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For those who have been following the Free Our Beer project, you know that Garrison Imperial IPA was accepted into the LCBO’s upcoming Autumn seasonal release program at the beginning of the year.  Well, it’s about to finally hit the shelves! It’s been a long road to get here – from the initial submission, to […]

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The LCBO seasonal product call process has been documented numerous times at Free Our Beer – we have been successful with Garrison’s submission into the Autumn 2010 release but unsuccessful with the Winter Warmers release. The basic process was pretty straightforward.  An agent or brewery would submit to the LCBO beers for consideration along with […]

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Yesterday at the Session beer festival, for the first time at a festival in Ontario we poured Garrison, both the IIPA and Hop Yard Pale Ale.  For many of the patrons there, Garrison was an unfamiliar brewery, and we described the beers to interested drinkers who seemed to quite enjoy both beers. And often we […]

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The latest private order for Garrison Brewing, many months in the works and not without a few hiccups, finally made it to Ontario at the end of March.  This order was different from the last one as it also featured a couple of licensees getting in on the action, with Bar Volo in Toronto and […]

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Last year we set up a 2nd private order of Garrison beers to follow on the heels of the successful first one.  We would offer basically everything that Garrison had to offer, and it took a while to get all the orders in.  We had about 2 pallets of beer ordered by customers – the […]

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