Last year, I had the pleasure of sitting beside Chris Elliot (District Manager for the LCBO) at a Beer Guys & Gals training session. The LCBO “Beer Guys & Gals” are the brilliant group of people that the LCBO employs and trains to help and to empower YOU beer lovers to explore the ever-expanding beer section at the LCBO. When Chris and I met, we talked about having some of his store managers ‘live in the shoes of an OCB brewer for a day’….. well…. as we all know – time fly’s by and we pulled the day together just last week!

The OCB hosted the Chris Elliot and 15 of his managers from District 11 (Mississauga/Oakville/Burlington). The group visited 5 OCB breweries: Cameron’s Brewing Company, Black Oak Brewing Company, Great Lakes Brewery, Nickel Brook Beers, and Trafalgar Brewing Company.

Attendees spent the morning at these breweries and enjoyed a brewery tour, a quick sampling of some of OCB beer… and then it was time to work!! Though not all the breweries were brewing that day…. there’s never a shortage of work to be done! Attendees were put to work doing quality checks (with some sampling of beer in the early stages of ‘brewing’ cycle), Kettles were scrubbed… and so much more. Not to worry though – fun was had by all!

Following a morning of work, the group were invited by Mike Arnold of Trafalgar brewing to enjoy chef George’s great food at The Tide House! Everyone enjoyed a fantastic meal, with food made with beer (the chilli is my personal favourite!) along with a beer matching (who can resist the Maple Beer?!).  The OCB shared some insight as to all the exciting things happening this summer – including the OCB’s Discovery Pack re-launch!
 

The OCB was really pleased to have Chris and his team visit a few of our breweries for the day! I always say that the best way to experience the OCB is to visit the brewery first hand! Thank you Chris for your enthusiasm and for your continued support as the OCB builds our partnership with the LCBO!

Enjoy a couple of photo’s from the day – we hope to see some of Chris’s team ‘jump on this blog’ and share some of their experiences from the day!
Cheers!

Relaxing after a day’s work at an OCB Brewery!

Trafalgar Chef: George

LCBO’s Chris Elliot

Posted by Lisa in Brewmasters, Great Lakes, Ontario Craft Brewers, OCB, Black Oak, Trafalgar Brewing, Nickel Brook, Cameron's