Great American Beers...

But you are definitely right that my list was not a representation of a whole American craft spectrum. It was more a few classic examples of the main styles.

 

I actually think your choices were great regardless. I'm just bustin' your chops.

 

How far to drive for 6 beers? Surely a good amount is distro in Canada.

 

And I am hopping for the same as regards the State owned liquor stores in Pennsylvania. There was a reform bill passed by the legislators a couple of years ago but Gov. Wolf vetoed that bill. He did not want the state owned liquor stores privatized.

Oh well!?!

Cheers!

 

Actually, New Brunswick is pretty crappy for US distro. The government is a little crooked in its dealings with beer and provincial liquor (and beer) stores. Since Moosehead is based in NB, the government tends to listen to every complaint they come up with...and one of their beefs is having American craft in the stores as it "takes away from Moosehead sales" which is a pile of shite because those who drink craft are not going to drink the dreck that Moosehead sells.

I live in Ontario and we get some better distro here, including Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, Stone and Goose Island. My sister lives in Fredericton NB and every time I visit, I bring a carload of beer to her because access to the good stuff is zero in NB.

It should be noted, that in traveling from any province to NB, that NB has a dumb ass law (which is being challenged in the supreme court...it will likely be struck down) that prohibits the transport of more than 24 pints of beer into the province. The government enforces this quite firmly, again following whining from Moosehead.

So unfortunately, New Brunswick is left in the cold, living with archaic and protectionist laws.

 

Wow, that is really kind of crazy. Does NB actually have border crossing stops on the roads in from other provinces? Or is it enforced in a more 'spot check' sort of way?

I've been meaning to take a road trip up through the maritimes at some point so this is all useful (and disappointing) information.

 

There are no crossings at provincial borders, simply a sign telling you you have entered a new province.

The police are pretty busy with spot checks, especially along the Quebec border. I haven't recently heard of any real activity near NS.

But I can tell you they have still fined/confiscated beer from people for violating the rules.

It's asinine

 

In that area I'd look for smuttynose and Cisco Brewing. Of course you'll hear about tree house and night shift but the latter are great brewers.

 

What are your thoughts on the LCBO (Liquor Control Board Ontario)? Have there been any moves in the legislature to reform this?

Cheers!

 

As a monopoly, the LCBO (provincially controled) has total control over liquor sales in Ontario. The Beer Store sells beer. The Beer Store used to be a monopoly, but the Provincial Government recently made changes to allow some beers to be sold in grocery stores. That "some beer" is dominated by Ontario craft, and also includes the plonk that Molson, AB Inbev and Sleeman sell.

The LCBO is where we BAs would get most of our craft beer in Ontario. The LCBO has not been reformed, though recently it has started a home delivery program and an exclusives program that allows for a greater variety of craft beer. The downside is that every new beer in Ontario has to be quality control tested before hitting the shelves. This process is long and drawn out, and means that much of the new (American) stock is not fresh by the time it hits shelves.

As the sole source for liquor in the province, the powers that be have no intention of reform as they get waaay too much tax and sales revenue from the LCBO. It is a multi billion dollar enterprise.

Ontarians have been clamoring for reform, but it is essentially a no go.

 

The same in Pennsylvania where most of the constituents would prefer that the sale of liquor would be privatized vs. the current PLCB system.

We sort of got close to reform a couple of years ago but the legislation was vetoed by Gov. Wolf. Since the state owned stores are employed by union workers, the unions pressure the Democrat legislators (and the Democrat Governor) to maintain the status quo as regards liquor sales.

There has been some liberalization as regards wine and beer stores. This permits the politicians to claim they support alcohol sale reform while ignoring the broader issue of liquor sales.

Politicians are the same everywhere.

Non-cheers to this stuff.

 

Do you happen to know what kind of testing they're doing? Isn't one of beers many positive attributes the fact that it's nearly impossible for it to "go bad" in the traditional sense? Perhaps they're just very concerned with their citizens encountering unnecessary diacetyl flavors.

Thanks again for all the info. This has been really interesting though I can only imagine how frustrating it is for you guys. At least on the plus side it seemed like Montreal's local beer scene was really impressive when I was up there.

 

I think the concern on part of the LCBO is just ensuring the beer does not contain any "prohibited" ingredients, that no infection is found, and that they are labeled properly. Trust me, they don't care much about diacetyl flavors, there are beers lingering in stores that definitely have them.

As for Montreal, yeah it is a great scene. I have heard that Peche Day at Dieu du Ciel is an amazing experience. I have only been to a local bar for this, but friends have been and said it was sublime.

 

I believe their testing is what initially revealed that one of the high alcohol Dogfish Head beers (120 Minute or World Wide Stout?) was nowhere near the claimed ABV.