Beer in Canada
The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668.
[9][10] Industry statistics indicated that in 2015, beer was the country's most popular alcoholic beverage and the products brewed in Canada held an 85 per cent share of the domestic market.
Jean Talon, the first appointed Intendant of New France put limits on the amount of wine and spirits that could be imported and established the La brasserie de Roy in Quebec City, in the year 1668.
[23] During those centuries and into the nineteenth, a number of commercial brewers thrived, including some that became the staple of the Canadian industry: John Molson founded a brewery in Montreal in 1786, Alexander Keith in Halifax in 1820, Thomas Carling in London in 1840, John Kinder Labatt in 1847, also in London, Susannah Oland in Halifax in 1867, and Eugene O'Keefe in Toronto in 1891.
[26] The relatively large and powerful beer manufacturing sector - and the huge working class that purchased their products - failed to convince any of the provincial governments to reverse their stance on prohibition.
[27] After the ending of prohibition, the sale of alcoholic beverages remained heavily controlled by government liquor boards and publicly owned stores in each of the provinces.
[30] A period of consolidation occurred after the ending of prohibition and the brewing industry became extremely concentrated in Canada by the 1960s, dominated by just three companies ( Canadian Breweries, Molson and Labatt).
[41] The factors included an article in May/June 1978 issue of Harrowsmith magazine by a former O'Keefe employee decrying the state of the business, the creation of the Campaign for Real Ale in the United Kingdom, the revival of smaller brewers in the United States beginning with Anchor Brewing in 1965, the 1981 deregulation of beer prices in British Columbia by minister Peter Hyndman and the resulting price hikes by the "Big Three".
[49] On a Canada-wide basis, demand for craft beer is steadily increasing and the maturity point (peak) for this industry is still a long way off, according to Taps magazine, published by the parent of the Canadian Brewing Awards.
The resultant brew has the unchallenging crisp characteristics of a light pale lager, but is endowed with a hint of the aromatic complexities that ales provide.
[59] Muskoka describes its product as "... with its rich amber colour and inviting floral tones, ... a Cascade hoppiness and fuller body of flavour, ...".
The wort is boiled cooled and fermented and the beer is subjected to a finishing stage, which includes ageing, to produce the final beverage.
"[65] The company provides the following explanation for the layman: "During this unique process, the temperature is reduced until fine ice crystals form in the beer.
The Huron and other First Nations groups living along the St. Lawrence were likely the first people to brew it; their recipes were later combined with the settlers' fermenting and yeasting practices.
The primary benefit of spruce beer or 'epinette' was to prevent scurvy; it was used for that purpose by Jacques Cartier and his explorers when they arrived in Stadacona in what is now Quebec in 1535.
[69] Within a few decades of settlement, it had evolved into a formal style of beer, more commonly consumed by Canadians than any ale or lager, or indeed any kind of wine or spirit in Canada.
The commercial versions are alcohol-free but spruce beer is often home-brewed in bathtubs and bottled on rooftops in order to allow the sunlight to aid with natural fermentation.
[72] Although commercial production of this non-alcoholic style has grown in recent years, the main provider is still famed casse-croute restaurant Paul Patates in Montreal - using a recipe dating from 1896.
In addition to its unique main ingredient of spruce tips, epinette is also distinguished from other styles of beer from its use of a top-fermented yeast with no malt whatsoever, the addition of toasted bread as well as roasted grain in stages during the brewing process, for its short, in-barrel fermentation period of 24 hours, and for the use of maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses or birch syrup as flavouring agents.
For example, reviews generally consider Molson Canadian 67 to be too light in taste, without the rich beer flavour of more highly rated products.
[85][86] Nonetheless, consumers who prefer not to give up beer while on a diet can certainly find several options that get at least acceptable ratings, especially in the moderately low calorie/carb category.
For example, Ottawa's Beyond The Pale Brewing Co. once used only bottles, including one- and two-litre growlers, but the company added a canning system in 2015.
announced CA$10 million in support to their breweries through a 25 per cent reduction in the provincial liquor distribution board's mark-up for local beers.
Brands like Molson Export, Moosehead and Sleeman, for example, led the way in crafting a softer and more palatable style of ale and lager for North American audiences, while still retaining strength.
[96] The Mondial de la Bière was founded in 1994 in Montreal and attracts around 80,000 people,[99] while Quebec City held its first beer festival, the Festibière,[100] in 2009.
The chain is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev (of Belgium), Molson Coors (incorporated in the United States[103]), and Sapporo Brewery (of Japan).
The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbrew beer scene.
The recipients included Beau's, Bellwoods, Hockley Valley, Haliburton Highlands, Oast House, Toboggan Brewing, StoneHammer, and Wellington.
[129] The opening of the Olds College Brewmaster program means that a large number of domestically trained brewers will be added to Canada's brewing industry.
The ten-day 2017 event (May 26 to June 4) expects a similar number of breweries, plus four stages with live music and DJs, food trucks, market stalls, brewing demonstrations, a games area and other attractions.
