The Great Canadian Beer Thread

[middeljohn]

Really fallen in love with Big Rock Traditional Ale since I got to Alberta.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Cyro

It seems to be the case.

But let's look at The Number of Breweries compared to population size, with a comparison to some of the US major markets.



http://www.onbeer.org/2011/04/maybe-...all-after-all/

Up until this year, Alberta had crazy minimum capacity rules on microbreweries making it impossible to start one without a serious amount of capital. Going the brewpub route was the only way to go but that also required restaurant knowhow and a large amount of capital as well. Nanobreweries were an impossibility.

In that short time Olds College started Canada's second Brewmaster and Brewery Management program and new nano and micros are starting up.

The scene has only recently started and is picking up steam:
Wildcraft - Lethbridge 2015
Dandy Brewing Company - Calgary 2014?
Tool Shed - Calgary 2013
Hogs Head - Edmonton 2012
Ribstone Creek - Edgerton 2011
Village - Calgary 2011
Yellowhead - Edmonton 2010
Grizzly Paw - Canmore 2007
Wild Rose - 1996
Alley Kat - Edmonton 1996
Big Rock - Calgary 1985

That's literally the entire Ab micro scene.
This is it excluding the brewpubs (and Minhas brewing for obvious reasons).

[isaidso]

Just curious, but does anyone drink Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian any more? It may come as a surprise to some, but they used to be the Coke and Pepsi of the beer industry accounting for a majority of the national beer market. They were iconic Canadian brands that Canadians were fiercely loyal to. People thought their dominance was so massive that they would never be toppled.

It's shocking how far they could fall in just one generation. I guess that's what happens when you get bought by foreigners and they promote their own brands instead.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Cyro

It seems to be the case.

But let's look at The Number of Breweries compared to population size, with a comparison to some of the US major markets.



http://www.onbeer.org/2011/04/maybe-...all-after-all/

I'd like to see Nova Scotia's place in there. The province only lags Ontario and B.C—and not per capita, just in raw quantity and quality of breweries. per capita, we might be number one. Add in the other Atlantic provinces and it's a pretty robust scene.

In NS there's:

Garrison
Propeller
Boxing Rock
Bad Apple
Sea Level
Big Spruce
Tatamagouche Brewing Co.
Hell Bay
Uncle Leo's
Meander River
Schoolhouse Brewing
Granite
North Brewing
Authentic Seacoast (Rare Bird)

Plus a bunch of brewpubs including Rogue's Roost, Rock Bottom, Townhouse, Paddy's, and Rudder's.

A lot of these have opened in the past 12-36 months, and the hit-to-miss ratio is pretty incredible—most are good to great, and the worst of them is still worth a try.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Just curious, but does anyone drink Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian any more? It may come as a surprise to some, but they used to be the Coke and Pepsi of the beer industry accounting for a majority of the national beer market. They were iconic Canadian brands that Canadians were fiercely loyal to. People thought their dominance was so massive that they would never be toppled.

It's shocking how far they could fall in just one generation. I guess that's what happens when you get bought by foreigners and they promote their own brands instead.

Molson Canadian is easily the most popular beer around. At any parties, camping trips or just small get togethers I go to, it's definitely the beer I see the most of.

The only time I hear about Labatt is on here. Never seen any promotion for it nor have I seen it in stores.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Just curious, but does anyone drink Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian any more? It may come as a surprise to some, but they used to be the Coke and Pepsi of the beer industry accounting for a majority of the national beer market. They were iconic Canadian brands that Canadians were fiercely loyal to. People thought their dominance was so massive that they would never be toppled.

It's shocking how far they could fall in just one generation. I guess that's what happens when you get bought by foreigners and they promote their own brands instead.

Never liked Canadian much but I still buy Blue from time to time. It is getting much harder to find, though.

The reason it has dropped off is because their manufacturers basically stopped selling them. 20 years ago Canadian and Blue were marketed the way that Bud and Coors are now. That stopped - particularly with Blue, and now consumption has fallen off a cliff. It has nothing to do with changing tastes and everything to do with marketing.

There are other beers that walk around like the undead, no longer selling in significant quantities but with enough devotees that the breweries won't kill them off completely. OV was a big deal on the Prairies right up through the late 80s, now it is seemingly only found in small town beverage rooms. Club was big in Manitoba up until the 80s too. Extra Old Stock, Standard Lager and Labatt 50 are other such beer anachronisms.

These trends make it pretty clear that most beer consumers prefer whatever the major breweries tell them to prefer.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Just curious, but does anyone drink Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian any more? It may come as a surprise to some, but they used to be the Coke and Pepsi of the beer industry accounting for a majority of the national beer market. They were iconic Canadian brands that Canadians were fiercely loyal to. People thought their dominance was so massive that they would never be toppled.

It's shocking how far they could fall in just one generation. I guess that's what happens when you get bought by foreigners and they promote their own brands instead.

I'll drink Canadian if I'm in the need for something drinkable and easy to find. Brand loyalties in NL seem to highly favour Bud Light and Coors Light, which is probably based on marketing alone. There's no distinguishable taste difference between 90% of these macrobrews anyway, so I've never understood brand loyalty.

In St. John's itself, there are more people who are loyal to more local macros (India, Blue Star), but they're just like Bud/Labatt (and brewed by them too, so)

I think small craft brews are really starting to take over the beer scene, especially in the younger drinkers. I just know very few people who've actually jumped on board.

[Denscity]

Just checked out the Canadian Brewing Awards website and found all of this years winners. There are tons of categories but the two overall winners for 2014 are:

Best overall beer: Sasquatch Stout - Old Yale Brewery from BC

Best overall brewery: Great Lakes Brewery from Ontario

[matt602]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Just curious, but does anyone drink Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian any more? It may come as a surprise to some, but they used to be the Coke and Pepsi of the beer industry accounting for a majority of the national beer market. They were iconic Canadian brands that Canadians were fiercely loyal to. People thought their dominance was so massive that they would never be toppled.

It's shocking how far they could fall in just one generation. I guess that's what happens when you get bought by foreigners and they promote their own brands instead.

I'll drink Canadian at a bar if my choices are limited to crappy domestic beers or I can't afford a better one but if I go to the LCBO or Beer Store to buy for myself, I'll always opt for something better. I don't even like the taste of Canadian and Bud and Blue come very close to making me puke.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by esquire

Never liked Canadian much but I still buy Blue from time to time. It is getting much harder to find, though.

The reason it has dropped off is because their manufacturers basically stopped selling them. 20 years ago Canadian and Blue were marketed the way that Bud and Coors are now. That stopped - particularly with Blue, and now consumption has fallen off a cliff. It has nothing to do with changing tastes and everything to do with marketing.

There are other beers that walk around like the undead, no longer selling in significant quantities but with enough devotees that the breweries won't kill them off completely. OV was a big deal on the Prairies right up through the late 80s, now it is seemingly only found in small town beverage rooms. Club was big in Manitoba up until the 80s too. Extra Old Stock, Standard Lager and Labatt 50 are other such beer anachronisms.

These trends make it pretty clear that most beer consumers prefer whatever the major breweries tell them to prefer.

Yes, Canadians used to buy Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian almost out of national duty. That's how wrapped in the flag they were. It was either one or the other. When Interbrew bought Labatts, they stopped promoting Labatt Blue and marketed their own Stella Artois brand instead. When Interbrew merged with a Brazilian brewer, we got Brazilan brands added. With each new merger, the Canadian brands got pushed further and further into the gutter.

You hit the nail on the head that it's because of marketing, or a lack of it in this case. For Molson Canadian the merger with Coors has shifted marketing efforts to the US brand over the Canadian with similar results. I remember when I was young, no one would be caught dead drinking US beer. You were either a Labatt Blue person or a Molson Canadian person, unless you drank Keiths. That meant you were from the Maritimes.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by matt602

I'll drink Canadian at a bar if my choices are limited to crappy domestic beers or I can't afford a better one but if I go to the LCBO or Beer Store to buy for myself, I'll always opt for something better. I don't even like the taste of Canadian and Bud and Blue come very close to making me puke.

There's the magic of marketing right there. Drinking dad's beer makes him come close to puking!

[waterloowarrior]

Beyond the Pale in Ottawa will have to close their Hintonburg location in order to open up in City Centre because of Ontario regulations limiting the number of stores a microbrewery can have unless they produce a certain volume of beer...crazy that there are laws like this out there.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...sure-1.2785400

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario literally does not even know where the regulation comes from or what the purpose is

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle20815762/

[1overcosc]

^ Ontario really needs to get rid of its fascist anti-liquor laws. And it's Catholic school system. Any Premier who does both (heck even TALKS about both) will get a giant statue of them built in my apartment which I will bow down to every day as my holy god/goddess.

[SignalHillHiker]

Do it. It's not nearly as painful as you expect. It's like... universal healthcare in Switzerland. Everyone loves it so much once it's done that they forget they were ever opposed.

[Cyro]

Manitoban's like their Canadian Brew...No surprise

Beer

Canadian-made beer accounts for almost 90 per cent of beer bought in Manitoba
U.S. beer accounts for about seven per cent
Foreign beer is about five per cent

Source--Manitoba Liquor Control Commission 2013-14 annual report

[esquire]

^ I'd wager that much of that Canadian brew is now being sold in the form of pseudo-imports (Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, etc.) or pseudo-craft beers (Shock Top, etc.). Mainstream Canadian brands that dominated the market 20 years ago like Canadian, Blue, Moosehead, OV, etc. are becoming hard to find around here.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I'd wager that much of that Canadian brew is now being sold in the form of pseudo-imports (Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, etc.) or pseudo-craft beers (Shock Top, etc.). Mainstream Canadian brands that dominated the market 20 years ago like Canadian, Blue, Moosehead, OV, etc. are becoming hard to find around here.

I'd assume that this is a Cross Country trend,without getting stats from the other provinces or territories? But it should be quite obvious to me, I can't remember the last time a brew such as OV was highly visible in a local liquor mart or vendor, maybe I'm not even looking anymore...

[SignalHillHiker]

I don't know OV. And Moosehead I haven't seen in ages. But Canadian and Blue (Labatt Blue, I assume?) are still huge here. The Labatt products are all local. Not sure about the Canadian.

But the Canadian 67 or whatever it's called is doing extremely well here. Most gas stations and corner stores even carry it (and they only have a small selection of big sellers).

In a place where the girls drink beer, but still want to be hot, it's the perfect product. Umbrella mixed drinks just don't cut it.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Cyro

I'd assume that this is a Cross Country trend,without getting stats from the other provinces or territories? But it should be quite obvious to me, I can't remember the last time a brew such as OV was highly visible in a local liquor mart or vendor, maybe I'm not even looking anymore...

It's true. Just as an anecdote, I tried to buy a case of Standard Lager at the largest MLCC in Manitoba, Grant Park. No dice. I was floored by the fact that they carry trendy beers only. Bud is the only exception and that's no doubt because of the massive volumes that beer sells. I had to go to the Cambridge to find it.

(To the others, sorry for threadjacking this discussion just to lament the passing of olde-time beers from Manitoba Liquor Marts with cyro... )

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I don't know OV. And Moosehead I haven't seen in ages. But Canadian and Blue (Labatt Blue, I assume?) are still huge here. The Labatt products are all local. Not sure about the Canadian.

But the Canadian 67 or whatever it's called is doing extremely well here. Most gas stations and corner stores even carry it (and they only have a small selection of big sellers).

In a place where the girls drink beer, but still want to be hot, it's the perfect product. Umbrella mixed drinks just don't cut it.

Maybe, just maybe, or fellow beer drinkers in the maritimes are more patriotic and supportive of our true Canadian identity?

67 + girls, you do live in a unique part of the country.