Formerly Great Canadian Beer Thread
 

Well, how about it? Outside of Quebec (where Molson Export rules the roost) and the Maritimes (with Oland, Moosehead, etc.), our local mainstay beer companies do a lousy job of promoting Canadian beer. When was the last time you saw any sort of advertisement for a Labatt product (Blue/50, etc.) that was truly a Canadian Brand? You would never know that Labatt is based in London Ontario, as Labatt (INBEV) only promotes Yankee steer piss like Budwisser and Butt Light, or worse, Butt Lite Lyme-disease.


Anyone remember the good old days of HNIC when only Canadian beers were promoted?

Of course, we have a great craft beer industry. It is just sad to see our formerly popular Canadian mainstay brands fall to the sidelines.

Remember O'Keefe? Laurentide?
(here's a couple of funny ads, even if you are french-challenged)
• Video Link
• Video Link

Shacks and Biscuits are welcome.

I am truly baffled by this phenomenon. The only time you will see Labatt Blue advertised at a sports event is when it's in the US... there are rinkboard ads in places like Columbus, Buffalo, etc. Never in Canada. The parent company only pushes Budweiser here.

Molson still half-heartedly tries to sell Canadian, but that's it.

No marketing whatsoever for standbys like 50, Molson Dry, Labatt Lite, whatever.

I guess I sound like Acajack here, but I am hard pressed to think of another country I've ever visited where another country's beers are positioned front and centre they way they are here.

For what it's worth I am a dedicated drinker of the old school beers. In my fridge right now are Moosehead and Labatt Lite.

IIRC Moosehead is actually still an independent brewery. The rest are owned through AB Inbev or one of the other big multinationals and have ceased to be Canadian in anything but name as far as I'm concerned. It is weird they don't advertise the "Canadian" brands as much, but maybe figure it's not worth the return anymore. Pretty much all of the macro stuff is brewed here as that's just cheaper.

As it is I pretty much exclusively only drink craft beer, mostly from Ontario. This isn't to say I only have IPAs or imperial stouts, as there are plenty of good lagers/pilsers/"normal beers" to be had now. That being said I do have a soft spot for Labatt 50 and enjoy a quart or 5 in a certain setting, which is pretty much only the Dominion Tavern or Chateau Lafayette in Ottawa.

By far the number one advertised beer in South Africa was Carling Black Label, which always struck me as an odd one. It does taste significantly better than here for whatever reason.

^ I know that Moosehead is independent because their marketing loves to drive the point home. But I generally lump them in with the other old school lager type beers like Canadian, Blue, etc.

There was a time when if you went into a pub or tavern, the default beer on tap was usually Molson (Export, Golden, Dry), or Labatt (50/Blue) or O'Keefe, and out east, perhaps it was Moosehead.

Nowadays check out the beers sold on the menu of most restaurants. Budwisser and Coors-Fright are listed as "domestic" beers. For crying shame.

The old mainstay Canadian lagers/ales were perhaps not the greatest beers in the world but at least (a) they were Canadian beers, and (b) they were far better than the Yankee steerpiss that has usurped them.

WHAT HAPPENED TO BLUE
Coming soon: Labatt Blue, brewed by Molson

Do these beers still exist? Who even drinks this stuff?

Can't remember the last time I've seen any of these on a bar or restaurant menu (likewise for Bud Light, Coors, etc).

The alcohol (and beer in particular) industry is one of the biggest victims of mass consolidation over the past few decades. It just makes more sense now to push Coors Lights ad nauseam through every available channel.

I'm not really too fussed about the prevailing marketing though. I still have a better beer selection available to me than any generation before.

^Working class/poor people, alcoholics and men over 50.

I don't drink anymore but when I did I stayed clear of these lamestream brands.

The first beer I drank? Double Diamond.

The last beer I drank? Glutenberg Red Ale.

Carling is also one of the most popular beers in the UK.

I don't know why anyone would drink coors or bud. Unless you need to clean out your bowels. They are great laxatives.

Moosehead is from Saint John NB while the Halifax brewery is Oland and the most common generic beer in NS seems to be Keith's (which Oland acquired but was older). Moosehead in Saint John was started by a branch of the Oland family that relocated after the Halifax Explosion. All of these are subsidiaries of large multinational conglomerates now.

I think when it comes to this shift you must account for the bigger trend toward regional or local craft beer. The people who want good quality beer do not tend to buy mass market beers, and there are always people who buy whatever is cheapest. I am not sure there's much of a mid-range tier of connoisseur who goes for Molson instead of Budweiser (is there any difference in quality?). Some people still buy the old beers for historical reasons (e.g. Lucky Lager in parts of BC or maybe Kokanee is like this too?).

For some reason PBR had a hipstery reputation at one point.

What are you nostalgic for?

Local craft breweries do a better job on this, and pretty much everything else that a beer drinker would want, than macrobrews.

Maybe I am just nostalgic for the days when we had more Canadian brands, be it Beer, Chocolate Bars, retailers, etc. I drink very rarely these days.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5f/09...f802daf862.jpghttps://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/d2...30f069ac35.jpg

The only beer I ever barfed from, I was 18 or 19, was Lucky Lager. So repulsive, even to this day it hasn't changed.

I guess you were unlucky.

If you're talking about candy bars, I remember one I only found in Quebec: Caravan - that was my favourite. I also liked Pep Chews from Vancouver.

I personally really like how regionalized beer production has become in terms of craft beer. Every city in Canada now has at least one independent brewery, and many of them are developing staying power and quality consistency similar to that of our historic national brands. The industry is evolving in that many of these brewers have grown to the point where they are more consistent and are able to get their products on shelves in grocery and liquor stores, as well as in all sorts of local restaurants and venues.

In the Windsor region, we have 15 independent breweries, but 3 or 4 of them are really good and have gotten big enough to the point where they've hit the mainstream and have their products in grocery stores and the LCBO. I hope they end up staying independent as they continue to grow, and not give in to the large corporations, like how larger independents Sleeman and Mill Street did.

There always will be a demand for truly Canadian beer, and the former large brands can't really provide that anymore since they've all been bought out by the multinational corporations. As a member of the younger generation, the traditional brands aren't as appealing anymore (except for university drinking, where only quantity matters haha), and it feels nicer to grab a pint knowing the money is going to a local company down the street.

There isn't a single "big name" Canadian/American beer that I find appealing enough to buy. The Europeans have that covered and our micro breweries have the local/domestic offering covered infinitely better.

Yeah all of the big name stuff is just bad now that we know how good real beer tastes.