Canadian beer

Canada has a rich tradition of beer brewing.Fact|date=August 2008 While the Canadian beer industry is massive and plays an important role in Canadian identity, globalization of the brewing industry has seen the major players in Canada acquired by or merged with foreign companies, notably its three largest beer producers, Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. The result is that Moosehead has become the largest fully-Canadian-owned brewer.

History

Beer was first introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century, as Canada had an ideal climate for making beer before refrigeration was introduced. The first commercial brewery was built by Jean Talon in Quebec City, in the year 1668. Over a century later 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, and Eugene O'Keefe in Toronto in 1891. The very first patent to be issued by the Canadian government on July 6, 1842, was to one G. Riley for "an improved method of brewing ale, beer, porter, and other maltliquors."

Prohibition in Canada did not last as long as in the U.S. and was largely over by the mid 1920s (apart from Prince Edward Island, where it ran from 1901 to 1948). Nevertheless, it had a similar effect of leaving very few brewers, and it was only in the late twentieth century that there has been a revival and microbreweries have started. Brewpubs are still illegal in some provinces, however.

Economy

With the purchase of Sleemans in 2006 by the Japanese owned Sapporo Brewery, Canada’s beer production has been mainly under the control of foreign multinationals. By the end of 2006, nearly 90% of beer sales was from non-domestic producers. [cite web
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Regulations

Government regulations require that all beer sold in Canada show the alcohol by volume on the label. A standard bottle of beer (12 imperial fl oz/341 mL and five percent alcohol by volume) contains 17.05 millilitres of alcohol. In most nations, the labelled alcohol percentage is either the average or maximum percentage allowed. However, as of 1927, most Canadian provinces require the minimum alcohol percentage to be labelled rather than the average. This move was meant to eliminate inaccurate nonalcoholic labelling as well as fraudulent advertisement. [ [http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/decisions/alcoe.shtml Decisions: Alcohol] - Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

The rationale for standardizing alcohol content (since loosened and disproved) is that consumers would tend to select only high alcohol beers and the breweries would have a war with ever escalating alcohol content. In the USA this was solved by keeping the alcohol content a mystery to the consumer who does not make an extra effort. When alcohol content is shown on U.S. beer, it is often labelled by "weight". Since alcohol is lighter than water, this can leave the mistaken impression that U.S. beer has much less alcohol, on average, than Canadian beer. A 3.2% beer in the U.S. (by weight) would be equivalent to a 4% beer in Canada (by volume). However, U.S. beer is labelled according to state laws, which unanimously dictate that the maximum alcohol percentage be labelled. As such, a 5.4% beer in the U.S. (by weight) may legally contain as little as 1% alcohol by weight. Nevertheless, many U.S. beers often label their alcohol content by volume. [ [http://www.realbeer.com/library/beerbreak/archives/beerbreak20001005.php "How strong is that beer - realbeer.com] ]

Labatt and Molson

The market in Canada for domestic beer is dominated by Labatt and Molson. Both breweries aggressively market their flagship brands (Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian, respectively) as well as produce niche brands and market American and other imports. Molson and Labatt beers are very popular in many American markets.

Types

In English Canada the most popular types are American-style lagers like Molson Canadian and pilsners like Labatt Blue. In Quebec ales such as Molson Export and Labatt 50 are also popular. Foreign and more exotic types of beers are becoming increasingly popular.

Ice beer

Ice beer (in name) originated in Canada, though it is essentially based on the German Eisbock style of beer. The first ice beer marketed in North America was Molson Ice [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2DD1E38F930A3575BC0A965958260] which was introduced in April 1993, although the process was patented earlier by Labatt, instigating the so-called "Ice Beer Wars" of the 1990s. [http://archives.cbc.ca/economy_business/business/clip/8736/]

The process of icing beer is done by bringing the temperature of a batch of beer down to or just below the freezing point of water (32°F or 0°C), the greatest constituent of beer. Because water freezes at a higher temperature than does alcohol, the water becomes frozen and the alcohol stays a liquid. Because of this, a layer of ice can be skimmed from the surface of beer (hence the name "ice" beer). This creates a concoction with a higher volume ratio of alcohol to water and therefore creating a beer with a higher alcohol content by volume.

Magazines

Canadian Beer has become a growing part of the national culture with the addition of a number of microbreweries and craft brewers. Canadian beer is becoming more recognized as a standard of quality on a world wide level. As part of this recognition, Taps Magazine was launched first as a beer and wine magazine, but in 2007 focused solely on beer.

Microbreweries

As with the United States, a microbrewery industry has arisen in Canada, satisfying niche tastes and providing localized offerings. However, most microbreweries only supply local markets and nationally, generally only beer produced by large breweries is available. The microbrewery explosion that has occurred in the United States has not been duplicated in Canadian markets.

In British Columbia, craft brewers such as Spinnaker's Brew Pub, Swan's Brew Pub, Vancouver Island Brewery, Phillips, Lighthouse, Tree, Nelson, Raven, Storm, R+B and Howe Sound, amongst others, provide a wide variety of craft brews in various styles, while in Eastern Canada, brewers like MacAuslan, Unibroue, Cameron's Brewing Company and Wellington do the same. Central Canada and the prairies have a few very high quality craft brewers such as Wild Rose Brewing in Calgary and Alley Kat in Edmonton. However, there are quality brew pubs and a few microbrewers (like Saskatoon's Padockwood, who produce risky, high gravity IPAs and ales) to be found. Many Canadian craft brews are high quality products, in terms of their ingredients and preparation. Of the Canadian craft brewers, Unibroue in the East (a Sleeman's owned brewery specializing in Belgian style ales) and Phillips in the West (a true micro whose beer most resembles that being produced by the innovative West Coast American craft brewers like Stone, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada, Bear Republic and North Coast) are the most acclaimed.

The stubby bottle

Prior to 1961, Canadian beer was sold, and served, in two sizes, colloquially known as "quarts" and "pints," or, more accurately, "large" and "small." In fact, the larger bottle held less than twice the capacity of the "small" and was just 10% larger than an actual "pint." They were 22 and 12 Imperial fluid ounces (625 and 341 mL), respectively, whereas a true Imperial quart was 40 fluid ounces Over the years, some provinces banned the sale of beer in the larger bottle. For example, in Ontario in the 1950s only the pint could be sold, but in Quebec both sizes were about equally common. In 1961, both sizes were replaced, nationwide, by the standardized bottle, equal in volume to the "small" and affectionately known as the "Stubby."
Stubbies are a type of bottle which is shorter and with a slightly larger diameter than the now predominant longneck bottle. Starting in 1962 almost all beer in Canada was sold in stubbies until the beer companies chose to switch to the American-style longneck bottle, between 1982 and 1986. The last major label to be available in the stubby was Labatt's Crystal which switched to the longneck in the summer of 1986. The reason for the switch was because surveys showed that women did not like the stubby bottle, and to attract more female beer drinkers a bottle that appealed to them was developed. Proponents of "the stubby" note that its smaller shape (while retaining the same volume) means that it is easier to ship and store, and is less likely to break. Waterloo, Ontario's Brick Brewing Company and Phillips Brewing Company of Esquimalt, BC, have revived the use of the stubby as a marketing strategy, though they face higher production costs as a result. Brewers (manufacturing facilities) in general prefer the stubby bottle because the lower center of gravity makes the filling and handling of the bottle easier.

Breweries and brewpubs

* See:

See also

* American beer
* Quebec beer

References

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ontariocraftbrewers.ca Ontario Craft Brewers]
* [http://www.realbeer.com/canada/ The Canadian Beer Index] - at the Real Beer Page
* [http://www.thebeerstore.ca/ultimate/beer-history.html History of Beer in Canada] - at the Beer Store
* [http://www.stubby.ca/index.php Stubby.ca] - The history and images of the Stubby beer bottle
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-73-1395/politics_economy/beer/ CBC Digital Archives - Selling Suds: The Beer Industry in Canada]
* [http://www.realbeer.com/library/beerbreak/archives/beerbreak20001005.php Alcohol labelling variations between the U.S. and Canada]
* [http://www.tapsmedia.ca TAPS Magazine - Celebrating The World of Canadian Beer and Beyond]
* [http://www.drafthorsebrewery.ca] - Beer History Canada