UPI has a funny story that happened Saturday night — where else but in Canada — in which a woman was saved from serious injury by beer. At an NHL match between the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks, Glennis Bradshaw felt beer splatter on her head, which understandably caused her to bolt upright in her seat and look up. As she did, a man fell from the balcony above, landing on her lap instead of her head as would have happened only a split second before. Apparently two men in the upper level both slipped while carrying beer back to their seats and fell over the railing. One landed on Bradshaw, breaking an ankle and knocking himself unconscious, while the other landed two rows ahead without injury. Glennis Bradshaw’s thigh was bruised but was otherwise okay, noting “it’s not often young men fall in my lap. Thing is, normally I’d like them conscious.”
Faux Canada
According to an article in today’s Montreal Gazette, Canadians are increasingly looking to buy better tasting beer. And like their American cousins, the big Canadian breweries are flooding the market with faux or stealth microbrews in order to compete with craft brewers. With these faux craft beers, they’re trying to fool customers into thinking they’re getting just want they want, a beer that’s been hand-crafted to taste great.
Labatt has a line called Alexander Keith, named for an early brewer in Nova Scotia. MolsonCoors, likewise, has Rickard’s family of brands. Both Rickard’s and Keith’s are listed on their respective company websites and acknowledged as their brands. Alexander Keith’s own website does disclose that it’s a Labatt brand, but only in the legal stuff like “terms of use.” They certainly don’t go out of their way to associate themselves with the parent company.
An interesting parallel, though the article goes on to discuss tarrifs between provinces and what their removal will mean for small players. I don.t know enough about the market to form an opinion, but it’s an interesting read.
Alexander Keith’s IPA, owned by Labatt; and Rickard’s Red, owned by MolsonCoors.
Canadian Brewery to Donate Beer to Compatriots in Afghanistan
The Steam Whistle Brewery, of Toronto, Canada, has announced its employees have decided to send a week’s worth of their beer rations, an employee benefit, to Candian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. The company has stated that they’ll match the employee donations. According to the The Canadian Press, “troops are allowed to have liquor on the base three times during the year, including Christmas,” even though as a Muslim nation beer is hard to come by.
Canadian troops will receive limited edition Steam Whistle pilsner holiday twelve-packs like the one pictured here.
Health Claims for Beer Forbidden in Canada
There was an interesting rant in today’s Canada Free Press by a Dr. W. Gifford Jones who was incensed about a Canadian brewer who was told he could not inform his customers about any health claims about his beer whatsoever under Canadian law. Dr. Jones used that incident as a jumping off place to question the hypocrisy in this aspect of Canadian society, which undoubtedly parallels that of the U.S., at least with respect to this issue.
Sapporo to Buy Canadian Sleeman
Sleeman Breweries, of course, has had a for sale sign around it since May so this announcement came as no surprise. Only who had an element of surprise to it. Late Friday, the Japanese company Sapporo announced it has offered $17.50 a share in cash, which works out to $400 million (though some reports say $300 million), for the purchase of Sleeman Breweries.
If the sale is approved and completed, the three largest Canadian breweries will be owned by foreign companies. Molson Coors in number one and number two, Labatt’s, is owned by the Belgian company InBev. Sleeman is currently in the number three spot.
John Sleeman, CEO of Sleeman Breweries, holding a bottle of Trois Pistoles from Unibroue, the best brewery in Sleeman’s portfolio.
Canadian Cans a Hit in Hamilton
Not being a Canuck, I wasn’t too familiar with the Ontario-based Lakeport Brewing, whose full name is the scary-sounding Lakeport Brewing Income Fund. Based on what I’ve read today and from looking at their website, they appear to be a regional brewery that makes primarily industrial light lagers, in other words not a craft brewery. But what I found interesting is that they added canned beer to their portfolio this spring and, according to several stories today in the Canadian press, apparently it’s exceeding their wildest expectations. There are articles in today’s Toronto Star and the Hamilton Spectator. Three of their styles were made available in 355 ml cans — Pilsner, Honey Lager and Lakeport Light.
Canadian Craft Beer Mirroring U.S. Market
According to an article in today’s Toronto Star, craft beer in Ontario is mirroring what’s going on in the U.S. After sales of macro beers have slowed and declined, craft beer sales have risen to take up the slack. Thirty Ontario craft brewers now account for 5% of total beer sales in the province, which represents $100 million and a 17% increase in jobs. That’s an increase of 100 basis points over last year when craft beer in Ontario was at 4% of the total, which is a huge increase in one year.