The Ontario Craft Brewers and LCBO have created a new initiative, which allows LCBO Beer Ambassadors to travel across Ontario to different breweries, learning more about the individual breweries, their beer and the expertise behind the craft beer brewing process. This OCB opportunity is designed to help educate Beer Ambassadors on Ontario’s local craft beer.
“Our member breweries will give the LCBO Beer Ambassadors a chance to get to know the province’s local craft beer and bring that education in store to share with their customers,” says Scott Simmons, President of Ontario Craft Brewers. “The central goal of this program is to provide them with a broader understanding of what goes into the craft beer process.”
How does the program work?
For the month of June & July, the LCBO Beer Ambassadors will be visiting different Ontario craft brewers and participating in the OCB experience at these various breweries. The program itself has several components:
Get to Know the Brewery – To begin the experience, the brewery will tell their story and educate the ambassadors about their history, main styles of beer and interesting brewery facts.
Brewery Tour – The brewmasters introduce some of the roles and responsibilities of working in the brewery and discuss a day in the life of the brewers.
Craft Beer – The ambassadors learn about what craft beer “means” and how it is made.
Beer & Food Tasting – The brewers talk about their different products and ambassadors sample various beers. They develop their own tasting notes and are educated on different beer & food pairings.
Share the Knowledge – The ambassadors take what they have learned at the different breweries and pass it on to their fellow colleagues and LCBO customers. This includes conducting educational staff tastings and in-store samplings, using products tasted at breweries and sharing the product’s unique story.
What is a Beer Ambassador?
A LCBO Beer Ambassador promotes products and shares the excitement of all things beer with customers and colleagues. The ambassadors are involved with beer marketing programs within stores and participate in trainings and in-store tasting programs. Their goal is to engage and educate customers to increase awareness of new/featured products.
Did you know?
LCBO In-Store Trade Tasting Program – LCBO has updated their in-store tasting program so employees can now conduct the tastings. This concept will enhance the customer experience by providing friendly and knowledgeable staff who can help guide shoppers based on preferences. Staff can suggest products, serving sizes and food pairings. This will result in better-informed customers who are inclined to explore new products, creating a more engaging shopping experience.
myLCBO Program – The LCBO offers an email-based subscription newsletter for customers, who sign-up and receive personalized bi-weekly emails based on their purchases. The program features products in beer and spirits along with wine. As well, emails will showcase seasonal products, events occurring in stores and an educational section with links to LCBO.com. Anyone interested in joining the program and is currently an Air Miles collector can visit mylcbo.com to sign-up. Customers can sign up for both Air Miles and myLCBO by visiting the website.