For a number of years now, Alberta liquor stores have had a a good selection of craft beer from B.C. (Howe Sound, Central City, Cannery, Nelson and, recently, Phillips) and Quebec (Dieu Du Ciel, Charlevoix, Trois Mousquetaires). Of course there are lots of breweries in those provinces Albertans would love to have as well. My pesonal wish list includes Driftwood and Crannog in B.C. (yes, I know Crannog doesn’t package, but still…), and Hopfenstark and Brasseurs Illimites from Quebec.
In contrast, Ontario has been only sparsely represented. I know Wellington, Steam Whistle and Mill Street are available, but considering that Ontario has 57 craft brewers, by my latest tally, that is a pretty sparse list. I could never really figure it out. Maybe they all their production goes to meeting demand from local consumers, which would be fair. Maybe they didn’t think it was worth the hassle to expand to Alberta when the largest market in the country is in their backyard, giving lots of opportunity for growth without the added hassle of shipping thousands of kilometres. I can’t read their minds, and I haven’t asked any of them, so I am left to guess as to their reasons.
However, in releases clustered just a few days apart, two Alberta beer agents announced that they will soon be importing a number of Ontario craft brewers into Alberta. 49th Parallel Group, the agent that brought Phillip’s into the province, has announced that in April they will be importing Flying Monkeys Brewing, including their Hoptical Illusion, Smashbomb Atomic IPA and Netherworld Cascadian Dark. Flying Monkeys, from Barrie, is known for their assertive, hop-forward beer and their outlandish labels. The Group also says they will also be bringing in Hops and Robbers IPA from a brand new brewery called Double Trouble out of Toronto. I know very little about the brewery and even less about the beer as it has been on the market for only a few weeks. I feel a bit of trepidation about them. The beer might be great, but there is such a steep learning curve to opening a brewery and many mistakes get made along the way; exporting half way across the country seems ambitious. However, who am I to judge – I have never run a brewery.
In a second release just days later, Craft Beer Importers launched its new company and in their European-heavy portfolio, they also include six beer from Black Oak Brewing (Etobicoke), four from Better Bitters Brewing (Burlington), and two from Denison’s Brewing (Toronto) – all slated to arrive sometime between mid-spring and summer. Of this list, I am most excited by the addition of Denison’s, which produces a Weizen and a Dunkelweizen that are regarded as world class wheat beer. I tried them last summer while in Toronto and loved them.
So in one week (at least in terms of announcements) we almost triple the number of Ontario-based breweries available in the province. I am not sure whether this is the result of push or pull forces – meaning whether these two agents worked to persuade these breweries to give Alberta a shot, or if the breweries are in a phase of their planning where they were looking to export. Either way it is good to see representation from Canada’s largest province to round out the roster of Canadian craft beer.
February 17, 2012 at 11:50 PM
Double Trouble is contract brewed not a brewery but plans to be some what of a nationwide brand brewed at different locations across Canada. From the information I heard at Beau’s in Ontario is presently brewing it and soon to be at Paddock Wood in Saskatchewan or maybe already has batches in the tanks for parts of Western Canada. Sure Steve from 49th Parallel will correct this but the Hops and Robbers is reviewed a bunch of times on Ratebeer.com for those wanting some information on the beer.
February 18, 2012 at 8:18 PM
So happy to see Black Oak & Dennison’s finally making it out west. I have sorely missed Michael’s Weissbier!
February 19, 2012 at 12:51 AM
I went to the Toronto Festival of Beer last August, and the Flying Monkeys booth pretty much made the experience worthwhile by itself. While BC and Quebec microbrews are well known for being good, the good ones tend to do that by not following convention i.e. trying to compete against the “big man” with a fizzy yellow beverage. Ontario is much different in that they have a big craft scene, but many of the craft offerings are “mainstream” such as lagers, blonde ales, cream ales, and other beers that taste “cold”. Flying Monkeys certainly bucks that trend, and that is probably why they have stood out against a sea of mediocrity, which in turn has allowed themselves the position to expand. Good for them, and I look forward to trying their beers again here in Alberta.
February 19, 2012 at 1:41 AM
FYI Flying Monkeys re-branded after brewing for a few years as “Robert Simpson”. Like the name, the initial offering followed what many Ontario brands offered…safe but bland beers. I do like that people choose to drink local “bland” over mass-produced “bland” like they are starting to in Ontario, but it’s even better to see a brewery take off when they stray away from what commercials tell people to like.
February 19, 2012 at 11:33 AM
Just Black Oak & Denison’s for me. Flying Monkeys are too erratic with their bottlings and their Smashbomb was undrinkable on tap, IMO. Flying Monkey’s have great marketing but their beers lack that something to make them great.
February 21, 2012 at 1:48 PM
Small correction to Hoser’s comment: Double Trouble is having their beer – which is called Hops & Robbers IPA – contract brewed at Wellington in Ontario, not Beau’s. He’s right about their plans to work with several breweries across Canada to build a nationwide brand, though.
It’s quite a good beer (which is to be expected given that the brewmaster in Paul Dickey, one of the best brewers of UK-style ales in Canada) – but being a well-hopped by not super-aggressively bitter IPA, it’s also in a segment of the craft brewing market that’s getting pretty crowded. So it’ll be interesting to see how it does.
February 21, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Having tried a lot of Paul Dickey’s beers, I am looking forward to the Hops & Robbers IPA.
February 21, 2012 at 7:20 PM
Greg,
Thanks for the correction. I have to admit I don’t know Paul Dickey (probably because I am a westerner). Could you give us a quick sense of his track record? Thanks.
Cheers.
Jason
March 31, 2012 at 7:06 PM
Just rereading to refresh my memory, but I notice that you didn’t mention an Ontario brewery I’ve become quite fond of. That’s Hockley Valley Brewing. I’ve developed the habit of ‘going mild’ oh, every 3 months or so(this evening being such an evening, 2 cans of Hockley Dark warming a bit right now) A wonderfully mild English style session ale(at least I’ll be making it so imho;-) ).
http://www.hockleybeer.ca/hockleydark.html