For the most part, finding your favourite beer, wine or spirit is a cinch. You know which liquor stores in your ‘hood carry your favourites.
But let’s face it, no one likes a lengthy, fruitless hunt when they’re looking for something specific. When it comes to products produced in limited quantities, if your local is out, you want an easy search to find what you’re looking for.
I’ve long been a fan of Liquor Connect, formerly known as the Alberta Liquor Guide. It’s run by Connect Logistics, the province’s liquor distributor, and gives users the ability to search where they can pick up product ordered by a store from Connect.
It’s a great resource, but it’s not a perfect system.
LiquorConnect.com looks at which liquor stores ordered from Connect Logistics. A product will show as being available at a liquor store if it has received the product in a certain time frame. Here are the criteria:
Received in the last 3 months if the wholesale price is
Received in the last 12 months if the wholesale price is > or = $ 30.00 and
Received in the last 24 months if the wholesale price is = or > $90.00.
Obviously, a store could be sold out of a product listed on the site, and searches don’t always show results, like a search for Rolling Rock beer I did while typing this post.
And while it appears like the ultimate goal is to be a one-stop shop for consumers, with a “Product Notes” tab on every result and the ability to share searches through social media, the site isn’t complete. Yet. But I’m still a fan.
Beyond the big searches, I’m happy to see some breweries giving their fans the ability to search favourite products right from the companies’ websites.
Want to quaff the elusive McNally’s Reserve in downtown Calgary before grabbing some bottles of Magpie to take home in Mckenzie Lake? Big Rock’s got your Beer Goggles.
Molson-owned brewery Granville Island, maker of this scoundrel’s favourite winter beer, also offers a handy search function on its website, although it isn’t clear which varieties are available at which stores.
Tree Brewing out of Kelowna is in the process of setting this up as well.
Any others I’m missing?
