Garrison beer available in Ontario

TORONTO—Award winning Halifax craft beer producer Garrison Brewing is trying to build share in the Ontario market.

It has hired Cecktor Limited, the brewery agent division of the The Bar Towel, a website devoted to beer, to sell Garrison beer in Ontario.

The labels available in Ontario are Imperial Pale Ale and Sugar Moon Maple Ale, plus a mixed six-pack containing different beers.

Garrison has recently installed two more distilling tanks to increase its brewing capacity by 50 per cent. General manager Brian Titus said last month that sales are up by 35 per cent so far this year, in a period where beer sales are struggling.

“Beer consumption now is flat and will remain flat. Craft beer is where the excitement is,” said Titus.

This is the fifth straight year of double-digit growth for the company. Titus and Cecktor owner Cass Enright will watch Garrison’s sales in Ontario to see which brand is the most popular before considering a move into the LCBO and The Beer Store.

In Ontario, Cecktor sold 80 cases of Garrison beer in three days. Interested buyers won’t find Garrison on the shelves of the Beer Store or LCBO. Instead, they must place private orders for full cases through The Bar Towel.

And although Cecktor is trying to get Garrison beer on the shelves of the LCBO, its owner is taking a poke at the provincial retailer at the same time. On his website freeourbeer.org, Enright documents the sometimes head-scratching experiences of working through the bureaucracy.

“We believe that Ontarians deserve the best that the beer world has to offer,” Enright said in a statement.  “And we intend on shedding some light, from the inside, what it’s like to be in the beer business in Ontario.”

All dealings with the LCBO and other provincial regulatory bodies are posted on the website to let craft beer drinkers in on the hurdles an agent needs to overcome.

“This represents a big leap forward not only for The Bar Towel, but for beer lovers of Ontario as well,” Enright said.  “Hopefully passionate beer fans will be able to try some new beers as a result of this.”

On the freeourbeer website, Enright writes that once he has proven himself to the LCBO, he will be able to apply for consignment space in the agency’s warehouse, but that does not mean Garrison product will for sale on the shelf at the LCBO.