The arrival of beers in Canada was in the seventeenth century by European settlers. Since then, Canadian beer brands now play a significant role in their identity. But the brewing industry has become more globalized, especially its three biggest beer makers, Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman. Here we’ll take you through the best Canadian beer brands from the 1970s, as well as some old and cheap Canadian beers. You can count on these beers to make every occasion a blast!
What Beer Is From Canada?
In the majority of Canada, the most popular beers are pale lagers from large brewers, such as Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue. Popular in Quebec and the Maritimes are lager-type ales like Molson Export and Alexander Keith’s.
Best Canadian Beer Brands
The best Canadian beer is cool, refreshing, and always tasty. What are the best craft beers from Canada? Canadians, like Americans, also make their beer to be powerful. Are Canadian beers superior to those produced in the United States? Beer is popular all around the world, and Canada is no exception. The world has long waited to know which brewing firms and beverages rule supreme. So, below we have some of the best Canadian beer brands;
1. Moosehead Lager
This is a beer that has stood the test of time Resisting all odds and doing what they know how to do best. In 1867, was founded and since then they have been producing some of the best beers in Canada.
Moosehead Lager is widely a Canadian premium lager, with distribution in Canada, the United States, and also a few other nations worldwide. The malt sweetness and hop bitterness in this golden, pleasant lager are perfectly equal. Moosehead Lager is brewed using 100% Canadian two-row pale malt and Moosehead’s unique lager yeast, then cool-fermented and cold-aged to achieve its award-winning flavor.
Molson Canadian Molson Canadian is a 5 percent abv lager beer, a product of Molson Brewing, the Canadian division of Molson Coors Brewing Company. However, In 1959, the beer first came into the limelight. Molson Canadian is smooth and mellow on the palate, with a hint of sweetness up front. The sweetness is initially unremarkable, but it quickly transforms into creamed corn. Molson’s basic refreshing features are accentuated by the roundness that builds somewhat in the center. This rounded quality also combines with a more generic sweetness supported by generic pale malts to create an incredibly balanced and refreshing taste.
Molson Canadian is an easy beer. However, in terms of lagers, it has the majority of the appropriate flavors, and while Molson doesn’t disguise its adjuncts, it also doesn’t punch you in the face with them. On a hot summer day, or any day when you need a little refreshment, this beer could be right for you.
2. Labatt Blue
The best-selling Canadian beer in the world. Labatt Blue has a clean refreshing taste with a unique hop scent, subtle fruit flavor, and a somewhat sweet aftertaste, brewed with the finest ingredients including renowned Hallertau hops, 2-row malted barley, and pure Canadian barley. Guess what! Labatt Blue is also a cheap and affordable Canadian beer among other brands
3. Keith’s Brewery Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale
Slowly brewed with select malted barley and proprietary yeast. Alexander Keith’s finest nugget and Zeus hops India Pale Ale has a light bitterness and subtle aromas.
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, there you will find Alexander Keith’s brewery. It’s owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, a holding corporation located in Leuven, Belgium, that controls over 400 beer brands around the world.
Alexander Keith, who had come from Scotland three years before, opened the brewery in 1820. The company was sold to Oland Brewery in 1928, which was thereafter sold to Labatt Brewing Company. Labatt is currently part of Anheuser-Busch InBev after a series of mergers and acquisitions. Since 1928, parent businesses have maintained the brand, and by the 1990s, Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale (IPA) was Nova Scotia’s most popular beer. A variety of additional styles are also available.
4. Sleeman’s Honey Brown
The beer is based on recipes from the Sleeman family recipes book. It is full-bodied, prepared with all-natural ingredients utilizing crystal clear well water, and has a surprisingly mild honey flavor. Its brewing consists of all-natural bee honey for a distinct taste.
Sleeman Breweries is a Japanese-owned Canadian brewery in Guelph, Ontario, founded by John Warren Sleeman in 1988. The firm is Canada’s third-largest brewing enterprise.
The company is the re-establishment of the Sleeman family’s line of brewing companies, which dates back to the 1830s. Sleeman Breweries was founded in the 1850s and operated until 1933 when it lost its license owing to smuggling and tax fraud after 50 years of operation.
In the 1980s, John W. Sleeman reopened the brewery, utilizing the original business recipes. Sapporo Brewery bought Sleeman Breweries for CA$400 million in 2006. John W. Sleeman served as CEO until 2010 when he stepped down and became Chairman of the Board.
5.Unibroue La Fin Du Monde
Serge Racine and Quebec native André Dion founded Unibroue, a brewery in Chambly, Quebec, Canada. In 2004, Sleeman Breweries Ltd. purchased the company, which was then acquired by Sapporo in 2006. The company was founded in 1993 and is the first of three microbreweries in the Greater Montreal area (followed by “Brasseurs RJ” and “McAuslan”), both in terms of time and sales benefits.
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Unibroue creates a variety of beers, with a focus on Belgian-style brews such as Maudite, La Fin du Monde, and Don de Dieu. The majority of Unibroue’s beers are in bottles.
In July 1994, La Fin du Monde (French for “The End of the World”) was introduced as a Belgian-style tripel and bottle-conditioned golden lager. While the color is a golden-hued hazy blonde. Despite its resemblance to Belgian tripels in appearance, La Fin du Monde is less bitter and spicy (containing coriander and orange peel). The beer has an extremely high alcohol content (9 percent ABV). As of 2016, this beer had won more medals and prizes than any other Canadian beer, including some of the world’s greatest honors.
6. Kokanee Gold Amber Lager from Columbia Brewery
A blend of four malts and western-grown North American hops are ingredients in this beer. Rich amber color, with a larger body and a note of caramel on the finish. KOKANEE Gold is sold in upscale businesses across British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. The attractiveness of the liquid is solely responsible for KOKANEE GOLD’s success. Quality, craftsmanship, brewing legacy, water, and unusual ingredients have combined to produce a beer of exceptional quality; word of mouth has done the rest! So, enjoy the smooth, rich flavor of KOKANEE GOLD, a full-bodied lager from the heart of the British Columbia mountains.
In Creston, British Columbia, the Columbia Brewery was previously a component of Fritz Sick’s Fort Steele Brewery, which opened in 1898. Columbia Brewing Company was acquired by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1974, a larger corporation with aspirations to grow the Columbia market. Hence, the renaming of Columbia Brewery to Columbia Brewing Company in 1993. Labatt was later purchased by Interbrew, a Belgian brewing firm. The brewery’s best-known product is Kokanee, a light Pilsner-style beer with 5.0 percent alcohol by volume.
7. Molson Pilsner
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. brews Old Style Pilsner. It has been brewed in Western Canada since 1926 in the pilsner style.
8. Big Rock
Since Big Rock’s inception, its recipe has remained unchanged. Big Rock Traditional Ale starts with toasty malt and sweet caramel and finishes with a nutty flavor, medium creamy carbonation, and mild hop bitterness. Big rock is the perfect beer for all occasions.
9. Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
The color of Tankhouse ale is deep copper-red. To create a complex malty texture, five different malts are employed. To create an intense hop flavor, fragrance, and bitterness, the spicy cascade hop is employed. As a result, you get a pleasant and nuanced brew. Each bottle contains 5.2 percent alcohol.
What Is Canada’s Most Premium Beer?
Steam Whistle Brewing.
What Is Canada’s Famous Alcohol?
Canadian Club and Crown Royal are two of the best-known whiskies produced in Canada, but that’s far from being an exhaustive list.
What Is the Oldest Beer in Canada?
His 1688 brewery was so successful that its products were shipped to the West Indies, making it the first beer ever produced from Canada. The Talon brewery barely functioned for five years, but its ruins, known as the Talon Vaults, are still visible in the ancient Québec city’s lower city.
Canadian Beer Brands 1970s
Beer has long been a part of Canadian culture and identity. The Europeans initially brought the Beer brewing method with them to Canada in the 17th century where they came to settle. Canada was their choice because of its chilly environment, which was excellent for brewing beer before the invention of refrigerators. This led to the finding of the first commercial brewery in Montreal in 1650 by Louis Prudhomme. Then Jean Talon’s larger brewery in Quebec City followed suit in 1668. Let’s look at some other Canadian beer brands we could find in and before the 1970s.
Molson-Coors Canada Inc 1786: A brewery in Montreal built by John Molson. This is the country’s oldest surviving brewery.
Keith’s Brewery 1820: By Alexander Keith an establishment in Halifax.
In 1840, Thomas Carling established a brewery in London.
Oland and Moosehead breweries: Susannah Oland was the first woman to open a brewery in Halifax, which she did in 1867.
In 1891, Eugene O’Keefe opened a brewery in Toronto.
Cheap Canadian Beer Brands
Beers may be pretty expensive, but did you know that there are very good Canadian beers you won’t have to break the bank to buy. Below are some cheap Canadian beer brands
Pilsner (Old Style)
Old Style Fritz Sick’s Sick’s Breweries Ltd. in Lethbridge, Alberta, began brewing Pilsner in 1926. The beer was brewed using the House of Lethbridge’s formula, which can be seen on the top left-hand side of the label. However, Sick’s Breweries Ltd later expanded to encompass breweries across western Canada and the United States in the early twentieth century.
This Western Canadian favorite beer, which originated in the heart of the prairies, can now be found in many pubs throughout the city. However, this has quickly become the new hipster cheap beer of choice in Toronto.
Pabst Blue Ribbon
PBR is a relatively good beer that’s also cheap too. But it appears that people tend to look down on this beer just for being a popular, low-cost option. Sure, the profile of this beer may not meet some people’s higher expectations, but it is one of the cheap Canadian beer brands you should try.
Old Vienna
Simply say OV! A 12-pack of Old Vienna bottles is a shockingly reasonable option for only $18.95, making an available beer for everyone. Start drinking this exclusively as a favor to yourself.
Lucky Lager
Lucky Lager is a pretty respectable beer for those of us trying to get a buzz on a budget, aside from being a fantastic option for people who appreciate alliteration. It is also one of the cheap Canadian beer brands for you. So, next time you’re in the store, try your luck and give it a shot.
Labatt Blue
For whatever reason, our powerful corporate beer overlords have determined that Labatt Blue is a less expensive alternative to other big-name competitors such as Molson Canadian or Coors Light. Perhaps there’s more to the story, or perhaps this is simply a divine gift. In any case, get your drink on before they notice!
Other cheap Canadian beer brands for you;
- Keystone
- Brava
- Brewhouse
- Molson Dry
- Black Label
- Cariboo
!n case you have tried other good and cheap Canadian beer brands and you don’t find them on our list let us know in the comment section.
What Is Canada’s National Drink?
The Caesar (or Bloody Caesar) is a popular drink in both Canada and the United States. Vodka, clam juice, tomato juice, spices, and Worcestershire sauce are the main components. Traditionally, it is presented in a highball glass dusted with celery salt and garnished with a celery stalk, olives, and a lime wedge.
What Is the Healthiest Canadian Beer?
Molson has released Molson Canadian 67, a low-calorie light beer that tastes fantastic and has just 67 calories per bottle. That’s approximately a third less calories than light beer and half as many as a glass of wine or a single mixed drink.
Why Is Canadian Beer Stronger Than American?
The difference was obvious and in part attributable to the fact that, back then, a lot of Canadian beer was still ale whereas most American beer was lager. Second, a lower percentage of starch adjunct was utilized in Canadian ale than in American lager.
Old Canadian Beer Brands
La Brasseries du Roy, founded by New France Intendant Jean Talon in Québec City in 1668, was the first commercial brewery. Many commercial breweries flourished in Canada until Prohibition. Between 1878 and 1928, the provincial and federal governments’ attempts to remove “intoxicating” beverages resulted in the closure of roughly three-quarters of breweries. A considerable number of new breweries did not open until the second half of the twentieth century. Also, the beer business in Canada today plays a significant role in the country’s identity. Many of today’s breweries have an illustrious history, replete with colorful characters and remarkable achievements.
Talon Brewery
Jesuit Brother Ambroise, the first recorded brewer in Canada, began brewing beer in 1646, shortly after the founding of New France. To minimize his colony’s reliance on imported brandy, the Great Intendant Jean Talon founded Canada’s first commercial brewery in Québec City a few years later. His brewery, which began in 1688, was so successful that it was the first Canadian beer to be shipped to the West Indies.
The Talon brewery only lasted five years, but its ruins, known as the Talon Vaults, can still be found in old Québec’s lower city.
Molson Brewery
John Molson founded his first brewery in Montréal in 1786, and it is now the oldest brewery in North America.
Other old Canadian beer brands;
In 1829, Alexander Keith & Son established their Keith’s Brewery in Nova Scotia. In 1836, John H. Sleeman opened his first brewery in St. David’s, Ontario. In 1840, Thomas Carling launched his new Brewing & Malting Company in London. The Labatt name first appeared in London in 1847, while the Oland family established the stage for both the Oland and Moosehead breweries in 1867.
Break Down
Brewers as far west as Victoria, British Columbia, and as far east as Saint John, New Brunswick, had established themselves by the 1870s. Sales increased until the First World War, despite occasional economic hiccups.
Due to a “doubling” of the excise levy on malt when the war broke out, beer costs rose, and many provinces elected to go “dry” as a war measure. The federal cabinet decreed in 1918 that no intoxicating liquor of any type might be manufactured or imported for a period of 12 months following the restoration of peace. Prohibition in Canada lasted until the 1920s (and as late as 1948 on Prince Edward Island) when consumer demand and common sense prevailed.
Brewers were heavily damaged by Prohibition, the Great Depression, and World War II, which drove a period of industry consolidation. Breweries around the country amalgamated or were acquired by other breweries, resulting in larger enterprises and a more competitive sector.
Exports began to increase as beer drinkers in other nations became aware of the quality of Canadian beer.
Regional breweries began sprouting in communities around the country in the 1980s, expanding the diversity of brands and varieties of beer available. Jim Brickman founded Brick Brewing in Waterloo, Ontario, in 1984, and is widely regarded as the father of modern craft brewing in Canada.
The rise of “craft” brewing has given the beer a new lease on life in Canada. Hence, beer consumers in Canada have access to one of the world’s largest collections of different brands and varieties of beer. According to the most recent count, Canada has nearly 1000 breweries and 7000 locally produced brands.
What Are the Best Beers From Canada to Enjoy With Canadian Cuisine?
Looking for a Canadian beer-pairing guide? In order to see if it works, do the following:
- Beers like Bock and dark lagers are full-bodied and malty, with a touch of sweetness. Roasted or grilled meats, particularly game, are the ideal accompaniments to these alcoholic beverages. Don’t choose any meats that are very mild in flavor as the beer’s strength will dominate the taste of the meat.
- The color of Brown Ale can range from dark amber to light amber. This beer’s sweet caramel and chocolate flavors have made it a popular choice for beer connoisseurs around the world. Citrus notes might be added depending on the region and the method of brewing. Nut and malt undertones are common, and their high alcohol concentration makes them a popular choice. This beer goes great with barbecue sauces and red meats. Your taste buds will be delighted by the combination of this dish with prime rib covered in a sweet-and-tangy barbecue sauce.
- Crisp and dry, Pilsner has a slightly bitter taste. Neutral or hard water is used to brew Pilsner. It’s golden in color, almost like honey. I would recommend this beer to anyone looking for an intensely hoppy experience. Foods with a lot of flavors, such as spicy or smoky foods, go well with it. On a cold winter’s night, try a Pilsner with a hot chicken curry to really appreciate how complex the Pilsner flavor is.
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- Lambic is a three-year-old sour beer that is cloudy and carbonated. It is only brewed in Belgium and has a unique flavor. After refermentation, it is infused with fruit, such as cherries, and then served. A sweet or creamy dessert goes best with lambic. After supper, this beer can be paired with a spread of cream cheese on crackers.
- Wheat beer has a pale yellow hue and a hazy head. It has a moderate flavor and a lower alcohol concentration than most other beers. Sweetness is balanced out by a dry, peppery aftertaste. For those who enjoy beer but don’t want the lasting taste, this is the brew for them. Using wheat beer in cooking is a terrific idea because of its mild flavor.
- The Stout’s dark hue is due to the use of unmalted black barley in the brewing process. It’s molasses, chocolate, coffee, and licorice-heavy, with a distinctive flavor. Stout has a high alcohol concentration and is creamy, thick, and full-bodied. It pairs well with a variety of foods, but particularly well with red meat, chocolate, and oysters.
DISCLAIMER!
This article should NOT be used as a guide for purchase, it’s solely for informational purposes. We thereby emphasize that we do NOT endorse any of the brands in this post. They are subject to your choice of decision and verification. We are not sponsored by any of the brands and the information provided here is to the best of our knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the oldest Canadian beer brands?
Molson Brewing Company is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Molson is not only Canada’s oldest brewery but also the oldest brewery in North America. It was first brewed in 1786 and is today one of Canada’s most popular beers.
What is the number 1 selling beer in Canada?
Budweiser
Budweiser is the most popular beer in Canada.
Is Budweiser a Canadian beer?
Labatt Brewing Company licenses produces and distributes Budweiser in Canada (also owned by AB InBev). Anheuser-Busch has 15 breweries outside of the United States, 14 of which are in China. Budweiser is the fourth most popular beer brand in China.
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