Beer goes on sale in Ontario groceries

Ontario’s provincial premier made history last week when she bought a six-pack of beer in a Toronto supermarket.

‘Rhyme & Reason’ from Collective Arts Brewing in Toronto; the first beer bought in an Ontario supermarket.

Kathleen Wynne became the first Ontarian to buy alcohol in a non Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) or Beer Store-run outlet last Tuesday (15 December).

Until that time all liquor sales in the province were tightly controlled by the LCBO monopoly or foreign owned Beer Store – a monopoly now somewhat curtailed by the rollout of beer sales in 58 selected groceries across Ontario.

“Today the wait is over. Beer is here, in grocery stores, just in time for the holidays,” said Wynne.

The province joins Quebec and Newfoundland & Labrador in allowing beer sales in supermarkets although a limited number of stores have been allowed to sell wine made in Ontario for some time.

By the end of this year 58 stores will be stocking beer and that number is set to rise to 450 by the end of 2017.

Wynne said the move was “the biggest shakeup to alcohol sales since the end of Prohibition,” referencing the often forgotten period of Canadian prohibition that ended in the 1920s; the legacy of which is still much evident in the country’s arcane alcohol laws.

The premier added that the plan was partly aimed to make life easier for busy Ontarians but also to further bolster the province’s craft beer producers. Under the new laws at least 20% of a grocer’s shelf space for beer must be given over to smaller brewers.

One of the grocery chains that has been granted several licenses and is in line for many more is Loblaw’s.

The group COO, Grant Froese, commented: “As our display space expands into the new year, we anticipate we’ll offer over 200 varieties of domestic, imported and local beers in our stores. And we have the opportunity for regional favourites on a store by store basis.”

Plans to sell beer in supermarkets have been mooted for decades but usually dropped in the face of warnings of the dangers of increased drunkenness and rising beer prices.

Supermarkets granted a licence will only be able to sell beer in six packs. As for the half dozen bought by Wynne last week: ‘Rhyme & Reason’ from Toronto’s Collective Arts Brewing.