dbd33

Actually, now that I think about it, it's only in urban areas that government employees deal with alcohol sales in Ontario. Once you get away from cities petrol stations and grocery stores are licensed.

BristolUK

I have heard of someone who makes tea bag wine among other kinds.

She probably means it doesn't taste too bad by the time you're on your third bottle.

bats

Your local Emerge department would disagree with the not rowdy and itching for a fight part,

On highdays and holydays the only place to buy booze is from the gas station on the reserve.

geedee

I don't think I've ever seen alcohol in a petrol station or grocer's in Ontario, and I've been to a few "out of the way" places.... I'll have to look harder next time I'm there!

iaink

There are a few about, but even then they are the only game in town.

BristolUK

So for all the restrictions on where you can buy, the higher age before one can buy legally and the TV ads telling us to drink responsibly, are there fewer problems regarding alcoholism and drunk driving than other countries where it's more freely accessible?

Former Lancastrian

From my experiences all countries have alcohol related problems.
UK binge drinking makes the headlines but not as prevelant over here.
Drink driving happens in all countries though Canada has some pretty stiff laws IF caught.
People under the legal age will always find a way to get booze.
Does it really matter how easy or hard it is to get booze its when the individual gets the booze and what they do is the problem.
We can all go to the pub and drink 6 pints some will be shit faced after 6 pints others not. Some will choose to drive home after 6 pints others wont.
Some will want to fight after 6 pints others want to break into song.
The 6 pints is till 6 pints but its how those 6 pints affect an individual which is the big problem.

dbd33

I used to go to one in Stanton, Ontario (just north of Orangeville) also one out near Iaink, in Cobourg. I couldn't say if those two towns have more young people who are drunk than other small towns; underage drinking is a small town pastime so you'd have to count and compare the sober teens. Anywhere that the licensed petrol station is on a reserve wouldn't be worth looking at!

Partially discharged

It is true that you can't return empties to the LCBO but my local Brewers Retail sells Camerons and Flying Monkeys and Upper Canada and a whole slew of micros.

On a related note, I find myself going more and more to Ontario micros either at the beer store, LCBO or pubs. In all honesty, many of them are equal to the offerings that make it here from the UK and are much fresher and usually cheaper.

Hoptical Illusion, Mad Tom IPA (Muskoka brewery), Church Key beers, Beau's, some of the Toronto micros, Wellington, etc are all good in my opinion.

iaink

If you are pissed after 4 pints then the server should legally then refuse you anymore, so maybe we cant ALL go and have 6 pints.

What matters is how serious the authorities are about enforcing the rules. If its a joke the sellers wont pay any attention, but if they pull your license, and therefore your livelyhood then they wont take that chance of selling to the underage or those already too far gone. If alcohol is only 10 or 20% of your business then why would you care as much as if it your entire business.

There was a tragic case near me last year where someone left a bar pissed and drove the wrong way down the 401, killing themselves and an innocent woman going the other way.

That bar was closed, its license pulled within a few days when the facts came out, AND the other bar that those people owned had its licensed pulled and was closed down. No messing.

Its thats sort of approach that makes me think that the single source school of off-license sales in Ontario does work because the licencees have a lot to lose. Kids will still drink of course, but perhaps less longterm damage is done.

Partially discharged

Your closest spot to Fredericton in quebec is cabano, quebec..nice setting, but not the sort of place to get quality plonk. Costco in Quebec City may be better. Here in Ottawa, people go to Gatineau for cheap beer but most people stick with the LCBO in Ontario for wine and many people in Gatineau do the same.

I would think that a trip to Calais would be better $ wise.

dbd33

I suppose it's possible that they do here. They only list Molson and Labatt products, no products are displayed, but, perhaps, if you know what you want and ask nicely, they'll bring out Sam Adam's or Cameron's or Pride. I don't think it likely but will try it.

Flying Monkeys is dreadful, I'm not putting that near my mouth again.

bats

One in Keene which is only 15mins from Peterborough so not very out of the way. Others at Young's Point north of Lakefield, Alderville,
oh, what the heck, here's the list of LCBO agencies
http://www.doingbusinesswithlcbo.com...yStoreList.pdf

Oink

Four pints? That's a lunchtime tipple. How many pints would you consider a decent session?

HSJones

We don't brew our own with jars ingredients fermenting in the basement. We do however go to a 'Make your own wine' place - there are several in fact in the city and some that brew beer too.

You order the wine, drop the yeast in, then in 6 weeks go back and bottle it. Saves a ton of money and we've not had an undrinkable batch yet. You do have to buy 30 bottles at a time though - we got 4 lots done this year!

You avoid paying the taxes so it works out a lot less. For 30 bottles you'd pay between $180 and $280. The red tastes like juice when it's first bottled so you have to leave it a while but the white is good to go on bottling. The Amerone and Cab Sauv/Shiraz mix we made both turned out delicious, as did the Gewurztraminer and Reisling. The Apple White we bought on offer was ridiculously cheap - something like $50 - and in the summer on the deck it's great!!

We tried beer once, it wasn't great. Rather flat.