Four local grocery stores now selling six-packs of beer

A man purchases a four-pack of beer at the Real Canadian Superstore in Newmarket, Ont. on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. (Rob Cooper/ CTV Barrie)

People looking to pick up a six-pack of beer with their groceries can now do so at four local stores.

On Tuesday, shoppers walking into the Food Basics on West Ridge Boulevard in Orillia will notice a new item that hasn’t been legal in Ontario grocery stores since prohibition – beer.

The Orillia store joins the Bayview Avenue Sobeys in Aurora, along with two stores in Newmarket – the Yonge Street Real Canadian Superstore and Metro.

“It's a pretty good selection, actually. I saw Creemore there, which I didn't expect to see,” Katie Armitage said while shopping at the Superstore. “I thought it was going to be more the bigger brands like Coors and Molson.”The goal is to have six-packs of beer available at 60 grocery stores by the end of this year, eventually expanding to 450 grocery retailers – large and small – by 2017.

Last month, the Liberal government announced 13 grocery stores and chains that were chosen to sell beer in the first round, including retail giant Walmart Canada, Metro Ontario and Sobeys, which all have stores across the province.

“We’re really committed to the craft brewery, as a company,” says Ryan Campbell store manager of the Superstore. “Fifty per cent of our selection will be craft brewery.”

Of the 60 beer licences, 12 were reserved for small grocers including Starsky Fine Foods in Hamilton, Pino's Get Fresh in Sault Ste. Marie and J-&-B La Mantia in Lindsay.

Loblaws announced beer is now available in 19 of its outlets, including some Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocery and Fortinios locations.

For a list of every store now approved to sell six-packs of beer you can click here.

With files from The Canadian Press.