Front page ad for Beer Store offers misleading take on Ontario’s beer war

If you’ve followed the coverage of recent changes announced in The Beer Store’s ownership structure in Ontario, you’d get the sense that craft brewers remain frustrated by the conglomerate.

If you saw today’s Metro newspaper in Toronto, however, it would seem to be another story.

A full-page advertisement, paid for by The Beer Store, appears at first glance to be a front-page story in the daily commuter newspaper, with the headline “Poll: Beer Store Change Wins Approval.”

The ad comes at a time when the province’s beer retail system is facing its harshest demands for change and ongoing accusations of monopolistic tendencies.

The message in question is the result of a public opinion survey on recent changes to The Beer Store’s ownership structure, announced amid outrage following the release of documents detailing a cherry deal the group secured from the government.

According to the survey, commissioned by The Beer Store and conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights, 84 per cent of Ontarians support the group’s decision to open up ownership of the corporation to Ontario-based brewers.

"This is what we set out to do. We wanted to provide more local and craft beer selection, to offer more support for small Ontario brewers and to open up ownership to all Ontario brewers," Beer Store President Ted Moroz said in a statement. "We listened and we acted, so we are pleased to see these results."

The poll was conducted on the evening of January 7, when 526 randomly-selected Ontarians of legal drinking age were surveyed by "telephone using live, professionally-trained survey interviewers." (Emphasis was included in the Pollara press release.)

Respondents were asked about their general impression of the Beer Store (68 per cent gave a positive response).

They were then told about the changes – specifically: “The Beer Store issued an open invitation to all Ontario-based brewers of all sizes – including micro and craft brewers – to become co-owners of The Beer Store, with seats on the Board of Directors.”

They were then asked several questions about the benefit of the changes.

Those who have followed the controversy, documented largely in The Toronto Star,have doubts about the relevancy of the poll. The Toronto Star’s parent company, TorStar, also owns Metro.

Asking the wrong question

Kole McRae, who writes the Toronto Booze Hound blog, says it was never up for debate whether the change was good.

"Of course they are good. Everyone has said they are good. Opening up ownership to small brewers is obviously going to help them. But none of us were arguing that," he wrote on Friday, then pointing out that critics say the changes don’t go far enough.

"The Beer Store is trying to change the conversation and focus on the fact that the change is positive. In reality, we need a much more substantial change to the entire system."

The Toronto Star has recently released a series of reports on The Beer Store’s ownership structure – specifically the details of a deal it reached with the Ontario government 14 years ago, which secured them “its effective retail monopoly” and limited the government-run LCBO from competing on certain products.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has recently said that changes will be coming to the way the system works.

The Beer Store has also faced complaints about the way it handles product from local craft breweries.

The group, run by three foreign-owned breweries, recently offered craft brewers the opportunity to join the ownership structure. Big breweries would maintain 12 of 15 seats on the board of directors and craft brewers would receive cost concessions to stock their supply in Beer Store locations near their breweries.

Ontario breweries, meantime, have been critical that the announcement doesn’t actually solve the problem.

If you were to pick up the Metro on Friday, you’d get the sense that finally everything is right in the Ontario beer retail world.

Dig a little deeper and you’ll find it as divided as ever.