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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Free Our Beer is hitting the road again tomorrow for the annual Craft Brewers Conference, this year taking place in San Francisco, California. California is one of the great brewing states and San Francisco is one of the great beer cities, with a diverse selection from within the state, across the country and abroad.  Private […]

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As we reach the end of 2010 I’d like to discuss what I called the best event I attended this year – the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Chicago, Illinois. In April I went for the first time to the CBC, the annual conference of the Brewers Association (BA), a U.S. organization comprised of over […]

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As we mentioned earlier in December, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) strangely and for no apparent logical reason banned beers for sale in the province that exceeded 11.9% alcohol.  This quickly led to an outcry from many in the beer community – from drinkers and importers alike.  It certainly was a ridiculous policy […]

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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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Free Our Beer and The Bar Towel are hitting the road tomorrow evening to travel down to the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago.  The conference, organized by the US-based Brewers Association, is one of the largest of its kind, attracting over 2,600 industry professionals according to the web site.  It has been sold out for […]

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From Troy Burtch, an interesting article by Craig Pinhey in the Telegraph-Journal about bringing in different kinds of beer through the system in New Brunswick.

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Nova Scotia has a provincial liquor commission that operates retail stores similar to Ontario, called the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, or NSLC.  Their stores do a fine job of providing a range of wine, spirits and beer to consumers.  For a province of about 1 million, there isn’t a huge market for specialty products, or […]

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It’s been a little while since my last post, so it’s good to be back.  This one is about a little place you might have heard of called California. California is the most populous state in the U.S. and home to much glamourous American culture – Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco, Napa Valley, etc.  I […]

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Oftentimes it’s easy to believe that if something is a certain way here, it must be that way everywhere else.  But we all know this is certainly not the case with local customs and cultures.  However, sometimes we fall into this trap when it comes to alcohol in Ontario.  Today I’m writing a new article […]

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