Local breweries putting Winnipeg on the map

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This article was published 19/06/2024 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some of the best craft beer in the country is being brewed right here in Winnipeg.

Four local breweries recently took home gold medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards gala in Hamilton, Ont.

“It feels good for our business, and it feels good for Manitoba as a whole, to see all of us win so many. That really did mean something,” said Adam Carson, owner of Low Life Barrel House (398 Daly St. N).

Low Life won gold for its Nay Nay no. 4 in the wood- and barrel-aged beer category and for its House Saison in the French- and Belgian-style saison category. Low Life also won a bronze for its Paradise Grove American-style Brett beer.

“If one brewery wins, that’s great, but if three, four, five do, that’s even better for all of us,” Carson said.

“It’s fantastic for the local beer producer community,” said Parris Filbert, owner of Bookstore Brewing Company, which won gold in the American-style black ale category for its Flirting With Goth beer. (Bookstore brews its beer at Oxus Brewing Co., 1180 Sanford St.)

“That quality brings more local customers — and those sales stay in Manitoba, providing sales for the local suppliers the industry buys from. All this provides local jobs,” Filbert said. “The sales proceeds stay in Manitoba, too, as further investment back in these Manitoba businesses, as well as being spent on other local products and services.”

“As a local brewery, small fish in a big pond, you could say it’s always exciting and re-affirming to get a prize from a national association,” said Logan Picton, sales manager for the St. Boniface-based Kilter Brewing (450 Rue Deschambault), which won gold for its classic Waves in the New England-style pale ale (which took home a silver medal last year). Kilter also took home a bronze for its Vintage Brown in the brown ale category.

“It’s awesome to have success from these products on the customer side of things, but an accolade is always nice,” Picton said. “For Winnipeg, it shows that yes we’re a small market and relatively new to the craft beer scene, but to have a province with a small amount of breweries when you look at the country, it’s pretty amazing.”

Nonsuch Brewing Co., located in the Exchange District at 125 Pacific Ave., also won gold medals for its La Pils German kolsch style beer and Raspberry Sour in the American-style sour ale category.

“This is our first gold at Canadian Brewing Awards,” said Matthew Sabourin, co-founder and CEO of Nonsuch. “We’ve won a number of Canadian Brewing Awards, but this is the first time we get gold, but not only do we get one, we get two. For us, it’s incredibly validating.”

While winning a medal at the awards brings prestige and a sense of pride, it may not result in much of a boost in direct sales.

“We did see a slight uptick in sales, but nothing drastic,” Carson said. “If we had a little more collaboration with (Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries) on the awards, that would help. But having (Flatlander’s) Beer Fest afterwards was really good, because we were able to share the win with thousands of people.”

“Do these things increase sales? We don’t believe so,” Sabourin said. “But there’s an important mechanism that comes out of these awards, which is the judges reviewing your product. We love the feedback, which is blind and impartial.”

“I don’t think it does a lot, frankly, but that’s not really the idea,” Picton said. “For Winnipeg, it shows that yes we’re a small market and relatively new to the craft beer scene, but to have a province with a small amount of breweries when you look at the country, it’s pretty amazing.”

Obsolete Brewing Co., based in Dauphin, Man., also won a gold medal for its Cavalry Soldier-Jobsolete beer in the honey/maple/alternative sugar lager or ale category and a silver for its Balloon Race-Sportsolete Belgian-style tripel.

“Maybe I’m biased, but I always felt Manitoba in a general sense has disproportionately outperformed the rest,” Sabourin added. “You look at how many breweries we have in Manitoba, and in Canada; all things considered, we’re doing very well.”