| | | | | and Coors Light. Canadians appear to be thoroughly |
| There are hundreds of different beers available in | | | | unconcerned about the decline of the home-grown |
| Canada. Yet, somehow I keep hearing the same | | | | brewing industry, and have even pushed US brews |
| beers ordered over and over at local bars. An easy | | | | Budweiser and Coors Light to the top of the sales |
| top 5 would look like this: | | | | chart. Perhaps as a reaction to this, and due to |
| 1. Alexander Keith’s | | | | beneficial legislation, made-in-Canada beers have been |
| 2. Labatt Blue | | | | rising in sales in the premium segment, and although |
| 3. Molson Canadian | | | | sales are limited, consumers are growing more |
| 4. Sleeman Etc | | | | appreciative of microbrews and local beers. |
| 5. Moosehead | | | | In that perspective, Canadian beer buyers are buying |
| An honorable mention could go to Heineken, | | | | a lot beer (8.4 Billions worth in 2005) but mostly from |
| Budweiser or Carling. But do we really know what is | | | | foreign breweries. Sleeman’s alone holds a near |
| going on in Canada’s beer industry? We seem to | | | | 90% market share in Ontario through the |
| think it’s still the same old blue vs. red fight going | | | | province’s LCBO. They say the clear bottles let |
| on between Labatt and Molson. But an interesting | | | | the sun shine through. It’s obvious beer drinkers |
| publication on EuroMonitor reads: | | | | love their beer, and get used to their favorites, but |
| With the buyout of Sleeman’s in 2006, | | | | it’s also true that variety is the spice of life. |
| Canada’s beer production is firmly in the hands | | | | So when was the last time you had an Ice Beer? |
| of foreign multinationals. By the end of 2006, nearly | | | | Salivating no? Did you know Budweiser is made with |
| 90% of beer sales was from non-domestic | | | | a little rice? Perhaps we need to give a little helping |
| producers. This has resulted in a distinct decline in | | | | hand to our local industry by acquiring a little bit more |
| made-in-Canada products in the mass market, and a | | | | knowledge on the origins and the variety of beers |
| stronger emphasis on foreign, world-spanning brands, | | | | available. Know thy beers. Try local breweries, or |
| such as Stella Artois, Heineken, Budweiser, Brahma | | | | make your own brew! |
