Reading Time: 6 minutes When Calgary beer maker Graham Sherman was told in 2012 that his plan to start a craft brewery didn’t conform to Alberta’s liquor laws, he got the law changed. Before 2013, Alberta wouldn’t provide a licence to a prospective brew house unless it could demonstrate the ability to produce 500,000 litres of beer a year. […] Read more
From backyard beer to big time brewing
How Tool Shed Brewing fought Alberta’s liquor laws and won
Calgary brewery gets $9.6 million shot in the arm
Banded Peak Brewing to expand with investment from owner Labatts
Reading Time: < 1 minute A one-time microbrewery in Calgary has announced a major expansion with plans to more than double its staff. A $9.6 million investment by Labatt Breweries of Canada will see the Banded Peak Brewing Co. expand its 4,800 square foot brewery by an additional 7,000 square feet. The company is also increasing staff by 68 […] Read more
Carlsberg to buy Ontario’s Waterloo Brewing
Danish brewing giant paying $144 million to scale up Canadian business
One of the world’s biggest beer companies is moving to expand its brewing capacity on Canadian soil with a $144 million deal for Kitchener-based Waterloo Brewing. Carlsberg Group on Wednesday announced an all-cash deal worth $4 per share for all shares of Waterloo Brewing, which bills itself as the largest Canadian-owned brewery in Ontario and […] Read more
Denmark’s Royal Unibrew to buy Toronto’s Amsterdam Brewery
Brewer seeks new capacity in North America
Corrected, July 18 — Copenhagen | Reuters –– Danish brewer and beverage maker Royal Unibrew will acquire Toronto craft brewer Amsterdam Brewery in a deal valued at around 250 million Danish crowns (C$44 million), Royal Unibrew said in a statement on Friday. “The acquisition we are doing today is very important for the future growth […] Read more
Wastewater regulation eased for Nova Scotia on-farm processing
Nova Scotia has introduced regulatory changes that allow on-farm processing operations to better manage wastewater on their smaller scale. The changes, which took effect May 11, come at the request of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) — which has said that owners of small farm-level processing facilities shouldn’t be treated the same as […] Read more
Malt barley academy kicks off next week
Reading Time: < 1 minute For the first time ever, the well-respected Producer Malt Academy is being held in Alberta. The two-day course (to be held March 23-24 in Red Deer) is being put on by the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in collaboration with Alberta Barley. The event features a number of presentations by well-known experts on barley selection […] Read more
Canada’s small, high-protein malt barley crop poses challenges
MarketsFarm — The hot and dry 2021 growing season cut significantly into Canada’s barley production, with the weather also leading to higher protein levels for what was harvested. “It will be an extremely tight and difficult year for the malt processors and ultimately for the brewers as well,” said Peter Watts, managing director of the […] Read more
Hops gaining ground here — and craft brewers couldn’t be happier
Alberta isn’t known for hops but that’s changing fast as growers master the tricky crop
Reading Time: 5 minutes It might not be the Yakima Valley — the hops capital of the world — but Alberta is no slouch when it comes to producing high-quality hops for the craft beer market. “The markets are definitely getting more prominent for Alberta hops,” said Jenelle Bjarnason, who owns Hop To It with husband Shayne. “It’s still […] Read more
Calgary beer lovers create business to bring craft beer to the world
Along with great malt and fresh water, brewers here have quickly become elite at their craft
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta has seen its craft beer industry boom in the last 10 years — and now a trio of three entrepreneurs want the world to know what provincial craft brewers have to offer. “Canada has a global reputation for its clear skies and clean water,” said Don Tse, a beer writer and consultant who operates […] Read more
Lacombe brewer closes its own carbon loop
Blindman Brewing in Lacombe will be capturing up to 100 tonnes of CO2 every year
Reading Time: 3 minutes An Alberta craft brewery is turning its carbon emissions into cash, thanks to a grant that will allow it to capture and reuse carbon in its brewing process. “We paid $60,000 last year just buying CO2 in bulk,” said Kirk Zembal, co-owner of Blindman Brewing in Lacombe. “If you’re using that much CO2 and producing […] Read more
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