Just moved to Ottawa about 7 weeks ago. I really like it, beautiful city. However, I have a question... or three.
I've been to about 6-7 different LCBOs and nobody carries any Unibroue beers except for Blanche De Chambly. I asked about them and apparently they don't sell well here so they don't carry them anymore. I also asked if there was an independent, specialty beer/wine shop in Ottawa that you can find Unibroue or more obscure/import beers and whatnot, and I was told that there is not. Is this true? Even Halifax has a really good shop for that and Halifax doesn't have a hell of a lot of anything. I have heard of Broue Ha Ha over in Gatineau, but seeing as I don't drive and live in Old Ottawa South, that's kind of a long trek. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I might find this stuff somewhat close to my area? I've checked online and it seems that all of the LCBOs carry pretty much the same inventory and little to no Unibroue.
Also, does anyone know of any pubs in the Old Ottawa South/Glebe area that serves Unibroue stuff? Or has a really good selection of hard to find/import beers? Thanks everyone. Have a great one!
Almost every beer store ive been to always had la fin du monde and la maudite. Infact its la blanche de chanblay that I usually have difficulty finding. But, yea, try the beer store instead of the LCBO.
Also, Pub Italia is a good place in Ottawa for beer.
I have roughly the same problem as you. I have Broue Ha Ha a couple blocks away but they really specialize in beer brewed in Quebec which I am indifferent to. It's a pretty small shop so the european/asian imports are limited, roughly equivalent to the typical grocery store selection.
I think Épicerie Jovi is the closest spot - it's still a bit of a trek (it's just south of boul. Taché and Promenade de la Gatineau), but it's a whole lot closer than Broue Ha Ha - if you're bussing, there are three or four STO buses you can take from downtown that'll get you there.
Yeah, you gotta find a way over to Gatineau. That's one of the great things about living in Ottawa compared to the rest of Ontario (hell, the rest of Canada).
I'm not too familiar with Quebec beers, but I could help with Ontario beers if you need recommendations.
I'm not too familiar with Quebec beers, but I could help with Ontario beers if you need recommendations.
I have a deep love for the Boréale line. They're generally about $8 for a 6-pack, and it's very good quality beer (this coming from a beer snob). Boréale Noire is one of my favourite beers.
Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time shopping around for beer this summer. My wife and I were buying a large quantity of beer for our wedding, and so we wanted to get the best price possible. Costco, of course, had the cheapest beer, but there's a limit on how much you can buy in a certain period of time. Suffice it to say we exceeded our limit, and had to get managerial approval to buy as much as we did. We can't buy more beer at Costco for another month yet.
For the nicer beers, we went to IGA. IGA has the best prices on beer amongst the grocery stores, and they have a pretty good selection too. Especially if you like Québécois beer, and especially if you go to one of the bigger ones. The prices at IGA are maybe a dollar or two higher than Costco, which isn't bad.
