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.