Last time this issue came up I was against it. Even praising Dalton McGuinty for declining the thought of selling in corner stores. But after some discussion on A Good Beer Blog I’m pulling off my best impression of a politician and doing a flip-flop.

My first reaction almost a year ago was to think that sellers of cigarettes are already doing a piss poor job of keeping THEM out of the hands of minors and that would just pass on to beer and wine. But I’ve had almost a year to think it over and think over the arguments posed to me by my readers and the readers of A Good Beer Blog and I’m thinking now that it wouldn’t necessarily be easier for kiddies to acquire alcohol in all cases and that the deregulation would end up to be good for the industry little guys.

I’m still somewhat on the fence though. I would like to see beer in my local convenience store but I do still think it would sometimes be easier for kids to get their hands on it. BUT that being said I never really had troubles getting my hands on a beer or 12 when I was under age either and that beer had to come from The Beer Store.

I’m sure if deregulation did occur though that the govt. would surely police it quite strictly for a long time to come.

Here’s what Randy thinks:

“Beer distribution in this province is currently controlled by foreign companies.” Hillier said. “In these tough times we need to give struggling small Canadian businesses like corner stores, restaurants and hotels more opportunities.”

“Dalton McGuinty is costing local Ontario businesses millions of dollars, to the benefit of foreign-owned breweries.”

Hillier proposes to allow corner stores to be able to sell wine and beer. As well restaurants, bars and hotels would be able to sell off-sales to further help their businesses.

I think he’s got a point or two that are quite valid. I for one would certainly take advantage of closer beer and wine (although now I mostly make my own). But I will still have that twinge in the back of my head about some dick-head shop keeper being too lazy to check an ID and some kid ruining or ending someone’s life. We’ve all seen it before though coming from the current system as well. So why am I afraid of this change?

Let’s start with the beer gifts.

I got so many beer related gifts for Christmas! It was great! I kept opening more and more beer and bar stuff. Here’s just a few things (I’m sure I’ll miss one or two of them).

• First off I got a home brewing kit from Mrs.Thirstymates. it’s just a beginners kit but I’m really looking forward to brewing some of my own stuff.
• A pilsner Brew kit from The Brew House
• Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels
• How to Brew by John J. Palmer
• New Brewing Lager Beer by Gregory J. Noonan
• Beers Of The Word by David Kenning

On top of all this I got so many nice things for my bar at home. Including bottles of Crown Royal, Tanqueray, and Sheridan’s Liquor (I can’t seem to find a website for them).

I also received bar paraphernalia like six beautiful lead crystal glasses from my brother and his girlfriend along with some wine stoppers that match our decor beautifully. A silver platter and Scotch bottle hanger from my mother and father and an LCBO Canadian whiskey glass from Santa in my stocking.

All in all a good booze related haul for Christmas!

But my birthday is just around the corner (April’s not that far away is it?) Let’s see if the fam can top this Christmas booty.

It’s that time again! Well… this blog hasn’t been around long enough to announce any previous but The Golden Tap Awards are upon us and internet voting has commenced!

In its second year now The Golden Tap Awards are a series of acknowledgements for Ontario brewers. The Categories this year are:

• Best microbrewery in the GTA
• Best microbrewery in Ontario (outside of the GTA)
• Best beer brewed in the GTA
• Best beer brewed in Ontario (outside of the GTA)
• Best bar in the GTA in terms of draught beer selection
• Best bar in the GTA in terms of bottled beer selection
• Best bar in Ontario (outside of the GTA)
• Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario

Head over to the Site and vote now.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has made comment on the recent pressure from certain groups to change the way you and I in Ontario buy beer.

There has been some pressure to remove the monopoly that is held by The Beer Store on Ontario beer buyers. When asked is the system should change at a news conference McGuinty said “No, I like the system as it’s found at present,” he said “I don’t think consumers would tell us that. Certainly, Ontarians are not delivering that kind of a message to me.”

Some think The Beer Store is not good for Canada being a foreign-owned operation, it’s a joint venture by American-owned Molson, Belgian-owned Labatt, and Japanese-owned Sleeman. But let’s not forget that all of those were Canadian companies before they were bought by bigger breweries. The Beer Store is also one of Ontario’s rightest supporters and contributors to recycling in Ontario.

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory also defended The Beer Store but said he’s willing to see change in the area of micro or local breweries. “I’m open to looking at ways in which we can give a fair chance to the craft brewers” by allowing them to sell in corner stores.

Personally I think this is a bad idea. There’s enough underage kids getting cigarettes as it is there’s no need to allow them to get beer as well. There is a better way to help craft brewers. Mandate The Beer Store to drop their prices for entry. Breweries are forced to pay to have thier beers supported in thier local beer store or LCBO. Lower that fee and more Craft beers will be eligible.

Personally I call it UTTERLY LUDICROUS!

How can something that takes so many lives in to it’s hands daily even consider NOT having mandatory drug and alcohol screening for it’s workers?

Just last week on Tuesday June 3rd the passengers of a TTC buss called police because they suspected that their driver was under the influence. Upon being pulled over the driver a 48 year old male was charged with one count of driving over the legal limit. Is this something that’s acceptable in our community? Drinking and driving is never okay but it’s especially ridiculous when you are carrying 100’s of passengers within a shift all over a city!

A TTC spokesman said that the union deals with about six cases a year of alcohol or drugs on the job from within 9,000 members. I say that’s six too many!

1.5 million people ride the TTC every day. 1.5 million. If one of the many TTC workers is impaired how many of those people are in danger?

Mandatory drug testing is sometimes considered discriminatory under the Canadian Human Rights Commission guidelines unless it’s in “safety-critical” occupations. Trucking is considered to be one of the “safety-critical” occupations. Yeah hauling blue jeans along the 401 is “safety-critical” but hauling myself, all my friends, and the elderly and young of Toronto isn’t “safety-critical”.

Click for the extremely large version.

Image originally found on BrewPoll and hosted on BcLiquorStores.com.

The John St. roundhouse was built in 1929 and was previously the home of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s steam engine repair and cleaning facility. It operated from 1929 to May 13th 1988 and is currently owned by the city of Toronto due to it’s historic status. Steam Whistle operates out of bays 1-14. The roundhouse is located just a short walk from Union Station, The Rogers Centre and The Air Canada Centre.

Steam Whistle is also very very GREEN!

• In winter 2008 they installed brand new state of the art equipment that cuts their energy consumption by almost 33% compared to their old brewhouse.
• During the summer months since 2008 Steam Whistle has used Enwave’s Deep Lake Water Cooling system to cool the air in their factory and conference rooms. Deep water pipes draw icy cold water from lake Ontario in order to cool the air. Reducing energy use and CFC’s.
• Even off site they’re green! Using biodegradable cups made of cornstarch resin that is completely compostable within 50 days! (That’s faster than it takes the city to clean up some of the garbage form the Toronto Grand Prix!)
• Keeping with the out of office theme Steamy (as some of the ThirstyMates call it) uses B20 Bio Fuel in their delivery trucks. The fuel contains Soya oils and recycled restaurant grease.
• You may have noticed after finishing a bottle or two of their delicious brew that the bottles are a little heavy. That’s because the glass is 33% thicker than the bottles used by the big boys. This ensures that less bottles get broken or chipped and allows them to be used up to 35 times. That’s about twice as much as a regular beer bottle. Yet another plan by those crafty guys at SW to keep it green is using custom bottles with painted labels they reduce the paper waste headed to the landfill and down the drain.

So next time you sit down to enjoy a box of the good green stuff remember that the company making it is doing its part to keep your world clean.

(As a side note please try to return those special bottles. In the summer of 2006 the crew at Steam Whistle had to slow production due to a lack of returned bottles.)

Molson has announced that they have been chosen as the official supplier of beer of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic games!

I feel sorry for the athletes in from Europe (and even Canada) when all they’ll be able to crack open after stepping up to the podium (if we let them that is) is a Molson Canadian.

In a deal worth between $3 and $15 million dollars Molson is securing it’s place as an official supporter along with the official diamond, bakery and heating insulation.

Multimillion dollar deals like this help take fundraising pressure off of the federal and provincial governments and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (also known as VANOC).

It’s good to see the major labels contributing to our country’s tourism and the Olympic spirit.