Hey all! Going to Toronto in mid May and wanted to see if anyone can recommend any bottle shops that have Cantillon. Also, if anyone knows any good beer bars to hit up, that would be much appreciated as well. Thanks!
Based on my knowledge Toronto and Ontario do not have bottle "shops". They have a provincially run and macro brewer(s) owned retail chain that close to never has Cantillon. I've been to Toronto a few times and you can buy a bottle of Cantillon to drink at Beer Bistro. I've also been to Bar Volo which I think also regularly has loons, and Bar Hop which doesn't but has an otherwise great selection.
Here are two great threads discussing great beer bars in Toronto: Tread One and Thread Two. @Plead4D is correct (unfortunately), we do not have your typical bottle shop per se. We have the Beer Store which is shit (owned by InBev & Molson Coors) and the LCBO, government run. The LCBO's are are a much better bet and some are better than others. They are all not created equally, and there is usually a couple that have a much better selection than other. Maybe someone from TO can weigh in on which LCBO to hit. As for Cantillon on shelves, you are going to drive a bit further and hit the bottle shops in Vancouver; they might be the closest Canadian stores. Much of the Cantillon coming into this area are through private orders through the Quebec SAQ. You may find it on tap at a beer bar, for example, here in Ottawa we have L'Autre Oeil, but don't overlook some of the great sours coming out of Quebec and BC.
If you're looking for Cantillon in Toronto, you're either going to have to sit down and enjoy a bottle at a bar (barVolo, Beer Bistro or otherwise) or trade with someone here if you want to take a bottle home. These are the only two options.
To echo the other replies here - beer bistro has bottles of 2007 sticker LP Framboise for sale on site for 32 bucks. They had 4 last week (well, 3 after I left).
Or save yourselves a thousand miles or so, and stop off a 'bit' earlier in Alberta, where dusty Cantillons litter the local bottleshop shelves. Really - I love seeing visiting American beer geeks' eyes pop out when they espy our bounty.
Now look, check it, it's simple, it's simple. See this? This the Cantillon a'ight? And he the man. You get the other dude's Cantillon, you got the game. But he trying to get your Cantillon too, so you gotta protect it.