To comprehend the unrivalled influence of The Beer Store, it’s not enough to follow the money — although there’s plenty of that .

One must also connect the dots that link the best-connected lobbyists.

The Beer Store doesn’t so much buy influence as it hires influencers — people who often play key roles for the party machines at campaign time, and then open doors for their big beer clients between elections.

The giant foreign-owned brewers that control The Beer Store also provide their private beer salons in downtown Toronto for campaign fundraisers — typically at no cost to selected politicians for the venue or beer.

What follows is a snapshot of how politicians interact with big beer and a survey of who’s who among industry influencers:

Labatt House is the spacious, well-appointed beer salon in Queen’s Quay Terminal made available to politicians by Labatt Breweries, one of The Beer Store’s foreign-owned corporate parents.

Liberal cabinet ministers who have booked Labatt House for their political fundraisers over the years include: Culture Minister Michael Coteau (now responsible for the Pan Am Games); Natural Resources Minister Bill Mauro ; Jim Bradley, now minister without portfolio; Ted McMeekin , now minister of municipal affairs; former government services minister Harinder Takhar; former education minister Leona Dombrowski ; and former agriculture minister Carol Mitchell .

Government Services Minister David Orazietti confirmed that he “held two fundraisers at Labatt House with the most recent being on October 22, 2014.”

Liberal MPP Dave Levac, the Speaker of the Legislature, also holds his annual fundraisers at Labatt House. Liberal MPP Lou Rinaldi also booked an event.

The Beer Academy is a similar beer salon — controlled by Molson Coors (another of The Beer Store’s corporate parents) — that is provided to politicians for their fundraisers. (It is scheduled to close for renovations at year end, with a relaunch next year).

While Molson Coors did not respond to questions, its former head of corporate affairs, Ferg Devins, told me that the Beer Academy serves as an ideal venue for politicians: “If people are looking for places to do fundraising, that place is it.”

Among the Liberal cabinet ministers who have also booked their fundraisers at the Molson-controlled facility: Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca ; Culture Minister Michael Coteau ; Dipika Damerla , now the associate health minister; Mitzie Hunter , now the associate finance minister; John Gerretsen, the former attorney general; and MPP Mike Colle (a former cabinet minister).

Apart from Orazietti, none of the other sitting Liberal cabinet ministers and MPPs who booked the brewery facilities responded to questions about their events, specifically how the venues and beer were documented for campaign financing purposes. (Orazietti responded before the premier’s office issued a collective response and did not answer follow-up questions. The former cabinet ministers could not be reached.)

Of the 58 Liberal MPPs contacted, only a handful even acknowledged the questions. Finance Minister Charles Sousa — who has responsibility for the LCBO, which regulates the beer industry — has attended several Liberal fundraisers at both venues as a keynote speaker but has not hosted an event of his own, his office said.

Tim Hudak, who was Progressive Conservative leader until July — and was once thought likely to be Ontario’s next premier — has also held fundraising events at Labatt House . He did not comment.

Other Tory MPPs who have booked fundraisers at Labatt House include Jack MacLaren and Bill Walker (annually); Bob Bailey and Jim McDonell confirmed their fundraisers but did not discuss the arrangements.

Tory MPP Jeff Yurek confirmed two fundraisers, adding that the beer and facilities were donated at no cost by Labatt. Before becoming interim PC leader, Jim Wilson held a fundraiser at The Beer Academy, where the venue and beer were donated by Molson Coors and a tax receipt was issued by his PC riding association to record it, his spokesperson said.

PC leadership candidate Monte McNaughton also held a fundraiser on the premises, with Molson Coors clearly identified as “corporate sponsor” on the invitations and the brewery’s corporate logo featured prominently. McNaughton’s office did not respond to questions.

Michael Prue, for many years the NDP’s finance critic (until his defeat in the 2014 election), also used Labatt House for his fundraiser, although the invitation he sent out made it sound more down-market — by dubbing it the “Labatt Pub.” Prue confirmed Labatt made the hall available and supplied free beer — provided they were Labatt brands consumed on the premises.

The annual caucus Christmas party for the opposition Progressive Conservatives has been held since 2009 at Labatt House, but the donated venue and free beer are not reported to Elections Ontario, according to the PCs.

“This wouldn’t be considered a campaign donation as it is (a) party for caucus,” said a spokesperson for the Opposition Leader’s office. “It’s no different than the multiple receptions for MPPs at Queen’s Park that provide free food and drinks to Members and their staff.”

Labatt did not respond to questions about this arrangement or its other lobbying and donating activities.

Multiple sources say Premier Kathleen Wynne also held an event at The Beer Academy to celebrate her victory in the 2013 Liberal leadership campaign. But it’s difficult to know the extent of Wynne’s involvement, or those of her other Liberal Party colleagues, because her office refused to answer detailed questions about lobbying and donations by The Beer Store and its owners.

After all Liberal MPPs were contacted individually by the Toronto Star to discuss their interactions with the big beer lobby, the premier’s press office issued a statement on their behalf proclaiming the “important role transparency plays” in Wynne’s government.

“Individuals, unions and businesses across Ontario regularly contribute to and meet with all three parties,” the press office added, without responding to additional questions.

If Labatt House is a virtual clearinghouse for political fundraisers, and The Beer Academy is a case study in symbiosis, direct lobbying remains the name of the game. After more than a decade in power, the Liberals’ linkages to lobbyists far exceed those of the other parties, with the players moving back and forth from the Liberal inner sanctum at campaign time:

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Bob Lopinski, who ran the Liberal campaign “war room” in the 2014 election, is now registered as a lobbyist for Labatt Breweries, according to the Office of the Integrity Commissioner .

Warren Kinsella, who spearheaded the Liberal war room in the 2011 election, was also listed as a Labatt lobbyist in 2011 and 2007, as were other employees of Kinsella’s Daisy Consulting Group who served in Liberal governments as political staffers over the past decade: Declan Doyle (registered lobbyist for Labatt 2006-7) and Martha Murray (2011).

Another registered Labatt lobbyist is Emma Breen, a staffer for the Progressive Conservative government prior to 2003. A close family friend of Hudak (then PC leader), she was hired a couple of years ago as vice-president, Ontario, at Canada’s National Breweries, the association of three big brewers that owns The Beer Store.

Jeff Newton, President of Canada’s National Brewers, is also a registered lobbyist for the big brewers. Newton and Breen are frequent visitors to politicians’ offices at Queen’s Park, where they hosted an annual Christmas party for cabinet ministers and MPPs in a large legislative committee room earlier this month.

Newton did not respond to questions. The Beer Store’s hired spokesperson, former Toronto Star reporter Bill Walker of MidtownPR — whose contact details are listed on its latest press releases for any media inquiries — did not acknowledge several messages this month.

Bob Richardson, who once served as chief of staff to former Liberal leader Lyn Mcleod, and as a senior political staffer in government, is registered as a lobbyist for Canada’s National Brewers.

Several lobbyists from the Earnscliffe group, including former federal PC staffer Tom Trbovich, have also registered on behalf of Canada’s National Brewers.

Various lobbyists associated with The Capital Hill Group have also registered on behalf of Molson in the past, including longtime Conservatives David Angus and Kelly Mitchell, a Hudak loyalist, and a “J. Pengelly,” according to the lobbyist registry. (J. Steve Pengelly, who was chief of staff to Ernie Eves as premier and before that as finance minister, did not respond to inquiries about any work for Capital Hill Group.) Molson Coors did not respond to questions about its lobbying activities.

Bob Chant, a former campaign aide for ex-PC leader Mike Harris, worked as vice-president of corporate affairs at Labatt, later hopscotching back to work as chief of staff to then-PC leader John Tory.

Charlie Angelakos, who has worked on several Liberal campaigns, succeeded Chant in the Labatt job. As communications chief in the 2011 Liberal campaign, he collaborated closely with Dalton McGuinty’s then chief of staff, Chris Morley, and Liberal campaign director Don Guy. Morley later joined Angelakos at Labatt as senior director of corporate affairs.

Multiple sources say that Guy, who previously served as a McGuinty chief of staff (and later as the influential director of his provincial election campaigns) has also consulted for The Beer Store’s ownership. Guy, who has responded to past messages with alacrity — notably to clarify any information he considered erroneous — did not reply to several emailed questions this month. Nor did Angelakos or Morley.

The Beer Store is 49-per-cent owned by Labatt Brewing Company Ltd., a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev of Belgium. Another 49 per cent stake is held by Molson Coors Canada, controlled by Molson Coors Brewing Co., incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Colorado (it also keeps corporate offices in Montreal). Japanese-owned Sleeman holds the remainder.

In recent years, The Beer Store’s private quasi-monopoly has maintained a nearly 80-per-cent share of the market, with just over 20 per cent held by the government-owned LCBO.

Martin Regg Cohn’s Ontario politics column normally appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. mcohn@thestar.ca , Twitter: @reggcohn