This is more of a public service announcement than a real blog post.

You probably already heard the news that the excellent Golden Beach Pale Ale from Sawdust City would soon become a permanent LCBO listing and, if you’re like me, you’ve been anxiously awaiting convenient, all-season access to this tasty little 4.5%, hazy, hoppy, fruity number. Well, today is the day, kids (probably).

Golden Beach has been shipped to stores and while some might get it sooner than others, you’ll see it on the shelf of your local LCBO this week.

For me Golden Beach on store shelves all season long is welcome news because a) It might just be one of my favourite beers. It’s a great example of the type of beer I always have stocked in my fridge: something low alcohol that still delivers a considerable amount of flavour, and b) Nickel Brook’s Naughty Neighbour just hasn’t been tasting the same to me lately so I might need a new beer in my stable for a little while until they figure out whatever issues they seem to be having on their new system. No offence to Nickel Brook, they’re still killing it, generally, but my Naughty Neighbour just ain’t been the same lately.

Golden Beach will be priced at a vaguely wallet-stinging $3.25 per 473mL can, but it’s a damn good beer and even at that price certainly worth occasionally rotating into your regular stock of low ABV, reasonably-priced Ontario pale ales (among which Great Lakes Canuck is still reigning champ to my mind, even though they quietly raised the price to $2.65 from $2.50 recently).

…Aaand somehow I’ve managed to be vaguely insulting to three breweries that I really like with what was supposed to be happy news. Sorry every one.

This is why I usually leave announcements to other people. Long live Greg Clow. I need a beer.