Photo courtesy of Canadian Beer News
Okay, I have been in a bit of a dilemma. A week or so ago the Calgary Herald reported that Minhas Brewing had an invitation-only Grand Opening for its new Calgary brewery (well, it sounded like an Almost Opening Party). I have been sitting on the story, wondering if I should let it pass or make mention of it. Finally, after some thought, I decided I should write up a post. This is a blog about beer on the prairies. And Alberta getting its 10th brewery is something that should rate a mention on these e-pages.
So, Minhas Brewing is set to open in Calgary in the coming weeks. They won’t be producing any of their main line of discount beer – Mountain Crest, Boxer and so on – but instead focus on a new line of what they call craft styles. Some of the beer include Chocolate Bunny Stout, Mystical Jack Traditional Ale, and Imperial Jack Double IPA. They also won’t be producing huge buckets of the stuff either, predicting to brew about 1,300 hectolitres in the first year -a tiny fraction of their overall production (they were the 14th largest brewery in the United States last year).
Minhas has become fairly infamous in the province, mostly for its marketing strategies, loose claims to be craft and their eligibility for the lower transitional mark-up rate despite their production being in Wisconsin. In the past I took them to task for their cloak-and-dagger approach (at the time) to branding their beer (here), and reported the controversy around the location of their brewery (here). Minhas also figured prominently in a piece I did recently for Alberta Venture Magazine (here). What is particularly interesting about the Alberta Venture article is that Minhas ackowledges that his priorities are different than most craft brewers, and that his overall business strategy is dissimilar to craft breweries.
Fair enough. Drummond’s approach is also quite different than Wildrose or Alley Kat. There is room for many in the beer industry. I won’t speculate on WHY Minhas is choosing now to open a smallish brewery in Calgary. I will just note that it is doing so in the months following a fair bit of public controversy over their Wisconsin operations. The two actions could be entirely disconnected.
I think what has rankled many beer aficionados about Minhas is not the quality or authenticity of their beer, but their strategy to over-sell their product, to try to make it seem more craft than the microbrewery next door. This is a complex area, but from my vantage point, those who are rankled may have a point. Take, for example, the sign on their Calgary brewery (pictured above). “Minhas Micro Brewery”. Micro?? Minhas is one of the largest breweries in the United States! That is a far cry from any definition of micro I have ever seen. Yes, that specific brewery is small-scale. But to peg it as a microbrewery is to hide the corporate reality behind a big white washed wall.
If Minhas quietly went about its business of selling discount beer and entry-level ales, I would quickly say “more power to ya!” and wish them the best of luck. What I find hard to swallow is their never-ending attempts to appear to be something different than they are. And now I am rankled.
So what does this all mean? It means I need to update my Prairie Beer page, for one. It also means Alberta has one more brewery option. But it also means Alberta beer consumers need to be a little more wary of what they pick off the store shelves. It may not be as advertised. Not that that is anything new (right, Alexander Keith?), but it is real.
July 11, 2012 at 3:10 PM
I wonder if Firestone Walker could take a play from Bear Republic and sue minhas over their ‘double IPA’? ‘Double Jack Imperial IPA’ vs ‘Imperial Jack Double IPA’?
July 11, 2012 at 3:28 PM
Granville Island completely hides the fact they are owned by Miller Coors. Not quite the same, since they were bought, but still similar since they call themselves a micro (although not quite as much since the buyout). Thinking about it a bit more the GIB situation is more of a gray area since they alone might still be under the volume cap. I have heard though that they do most of their brewing at the Vancouver Molson plant and that Kelowna was shut down, does anyone know for sure?
July 12, 2012 at 8:52 AM
Your point is interesting, Chase. After reading it I went and took a closer look at GIB’s marketing. It is fascinating. Their main line is that it “is Canada’s first microbrewery”. A true statement, but also slightly misleading. Not clear about whether they consider themselves a micro TODAY or not. Molson-Coors shows up NOWHERE on their material. But, you have to look pretty hard to find Unibroue acknowledging its ownership by Sapporo. It is a challenging business, being a wise beer consumer.
And, by the way, it appears that GIB still uses its Kelowna facility. Whether they also brew at Vancouver Molson, I have no idea.
July 11, 2012 at 4:03 PM
Matt: I too have been “homaged” by Minhas, who re-branded one of their beers as “Bad Hare” Don’t think I haven’t thought of it too.
Chase: I’m checking with my rep on that, hopefully he’ll chime in. But in fairness, hidden or not, there’s a world of difference between the products. Granville claims to be beer, and they are…
Jason, rest assured you will NEVER find any of their products here, so you can be confident in what you pick up off our shelves! (Weirdly enough, I just brought a beer in a few days later than normal, because at first glance, I thought it WAS Minhas. Glad I checked after the fact. But still sad that I HAVE to check, rather than just being able to bring in anything labelled beer, and not worry about how far removed from the kidney recycling process it actually is…
July 11, 2012 at 4:24 PM
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy some of Granville’s offerings. I wanted to offer a similar situation, but wasn’t putting the end product up for comparison, just the use of the word micro.
July 11, 2012 at 4:21 PM
Even Toronto is upset about Minhas. Check out this video!
http://www.torontosun.com/videos/editors-picks/featured-tor/1213592864001/minhas-brewery-more-goliath-than-david/1709540195001
July 11, 2012 at 11:37 PM
Will they be participating in the next Alberta Unity brew?
July 12, 2012 at 8:52 AM
That is a damned good question! Might make for a couple of slightly awkward moments around the mash tun.
July 13, 2012 at 10:11 AM
All this circles around the complex question of “what is craft”? Is it hectolitres? Is it all malt? Is it not pasteurized? Is it “not from concentrate”? Is it independently owned? When I roll around the market, the only thing I’ve found that folks can agree on, is that there is no consensus. InBev bills Rolling Rock as a craft, and several customers accept that; MillerCoors trots out GIB and Creemore as craft. Sleeman had Shaftsbury, Okanagan Springs, and Unibroue before Sapporo snapped them up. Moosehead, who are both large and independent, have Hop City Brewery in Ontario and they tend to favour being vague about the connection. While many may still feature drinkable beers, nearly all claim or allude to being “craft”.
When it comes to hectolitres as a measure of craft, that’s tricky. There are quite a few American craft breweries who are several times the size of the TOTAL Alberta craft brewing capacity–but I wouldn’t say they’ve stopped being “craft”.
All malt is tricky too–because it can exclude some experimentation or style-specific requirements.
Unpasteurized–well, I personally feel that craft beer’s strength can be found in its freshness; but there’s room for dispute on the effect pasteurization has on flavour (since I don’t know anyone who has had the same beer both pasteurized and unpasteurized).
No high gravity–again, I don’t personally want watered down beer.
Independently owned? The independently owned breweries I know–some get up to the same dirty tricks the Big Boys do–so ownership can’t trump principles.
Having spent some time with the Deputy Premier recently talking about the tiered tax structure for beer in Alberta, I will say this: Minhas is far too often the focus of the discussion because of his primary brewing location. InBev & MillerCoors lobby groups spend a bunch of time dangling that bogeyman of “foreign invasion stealing Alberta brewing jobs” as a reason for eliminating the tiered tax structure and “levelling the playing field”. Removing tax benefits for certain-sized breweries won’t level a playing field Molbatts has spent decades shaping to suit their own benefit (BDL/The Beer Store being the number one example); but what it would do, is threaten the financial viability of true Alberta craft pioneers like Big Rock, and likely force a retreat from the market by several other craft breweries–Steam Whistle included. It would restrict selection, and drive volume back towards the Bigs, which is exactly what they want–it will not create any more Alberta brewing jobs (in fact, it’ll cost several–and likely not just craft brewing jobs–but Big Beer jobs as well). While Minhas does exploit a clause in the law books, to push him back out of the market will have far greater impacts on domestic craft brewing and craft beer selection.
The best advice? Shop at places like Sherbrooke, where Jim spends the time to offer a very broad, thoughtfully-vetted selection of craft and international beers; educate yourself; and question your reps about how their beers are made. Setting standards that are commonly-agreed “good beer” practises is a terrific start–George at C’est What in Toronto has done just this, and enforces his manifesto: http://www.cestwhat.ca/beer.asp#manifesto .
There’s a very serious discussion coming up with the provincial government–and it’s being driven by big international brewing companies using Minhas as the poster child for why the tax tiers should be eliminated–and it will have a huge impact on the craft scene in Alberta. I, personally, want to see the government raise the 20,000hl ceiling for the first tax rate to encourage growth, not remove one of the tiers; I guarantee the forces at work would love to see it lowered to “level the playing field”.
My two cents.
Cheers,
Brad
July 13, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Wow, Brad, what a great set of comments. Thank you. Great observations from someone working in the industry.
I have tried to be careful not to set Minhas up as a bogeyman, but simply point out what they are and are not doing. My biggest beef with them is the slipperiness in their marketing of “craft” beer. But they are CERTAINLY not alone on this front.
Thanks to you and others working in the industry, I have come to see just how complex the mark-up issue is, as I mentioned in my three-part piece on Alberta’s beer system. The good thing is that guys like you have the right goal in mind and hopefully, with the help of onbeer’s readers we can find a way to improve the supply of good beer and foster a strong beer culture in this province.
I love the C’est What manifesto. That is exactly what we need more of. Thanks for the link.
Cheers.
July 13, 2012 at 10:40 AM
My pleasure, Jason.
Guys like you elevate and shape the discussion–and through your various outlets, you’ve helped bring the craft message in Alberta to a broad audience without having to “dumb down” the content. It’s much appreciated–and it has certainly helped bring about the present excitement for craft beer in the market. Keep up the excellent work! And keep asking questions and pushing for answers. I loved your articles on the Alberta beer system!
Cheers,
Brad
July 13, 2012 at 7:13 PM
You are too kind! (blush!)
August 7, 2012 at 1:19 PM
Just as an FYI, I will consider any brewery a “Craft Brewery” as long as it follows the official definition set out by the Brewers Association.
Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels (7 million hectoliters) of beer or less. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.
Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.
Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.
I think the key to some of your points lies in whether the beer can have adjuncts in it, which I’m personally a fan of in certain situations, whether it be honey, cane sugar, oats, etc… as long as its purpose is to enhance the flavour of the beer. With Minhas, “Traditional” can be the key definition to look at. Is their flagship “traditional”? Somehow I have a feeling that Mountain Crest and Boxer don’t fall into that definition (unless they do). If they aren’t “traditional”, does at least half their volume fall under the “traditional” category? Maybe. I can only assume so given their brewery was included in the last major issue of New Brewer in the market statistics.
Doesn’t really change their shady marketing, or the fact that the last craft beer pack I bought of theirs tasted like crap. Not all craft brewers are created equal. Every brewer is capable of brewing crap.
July 23, 2012 at 2:26 PM
I’m no huge fan of Minhas, but I must admit that I enjoyed a bottle of Chocolate Bunny Stout recently. It was a gift from a friend and I was quite surprised to see “Minhas Brewing Co.” on the label. It wasn’t the finest stout in the world, but it was enjoyable and a huge step up from what I have come to expect from Minhas and their “craft” lines.
January 27, 2013 at 12:11 AM
Molson Canadian is owned by an American company but still claims to be Canadian so I do not understand why people seem to be so upset about them brewing mainly in America and calling themselves Canadian when there are other companies that do that also
January 27, 2013 at 7:11 PM
Harmony,
Actually brewing in the U.S. and claiming Canadian roots is a rarity. Most of the beer brewed by Molson and Labatt is made in Canada (there are exceptions). I can’t speak for others, in particular right wing Sun News Network columnists, but for me it is all about transparency at all levels of a brewery’s operations. Playing up Canadian links when the beer isn’t brewed here is problematic. So is pretending to be a locally-owned craft brewery when you are not (see Molson and Labatt). And, while we are on the topic, so is selling a beer as a particular traditional style when it is nothing of the kind. That last one is the one that particularly irks me.
I appreciate your opinion, and I am glad you commented. People interpret the business decisions of various breweries in different ways. All I can do on this website it clearly articulate mine. It is not gospel – just one man’s opinion.
I hope you comment again soon.