Canadian beer consumption has been dropping for quite a while. Last year alone, numbers dropped by 7.3 percent, according to Beer Canada. In an attempt to help the bleeding, Molson has invested $60 in its Toronto Plant. In addition, they have taken ‘Brewing’ out of their name and turned to seltzers, whiskey and cannabis drinks.

“Something one of our colleagues in the industry said to me, literally, was, ‘This industry is doomed to decline forever.’ I mean, no. There is growth,” said Landtmeters.

Since per capita beer consumption peaked at 128.5 litres per drinking-age Canadian in 1973, it’s been virtually all downhill, mirroring trends around the world.

In 2020, the latest year for which Statistics Canada data is available, that number stood at 69.6 litres. As beer has fallen, wine has been on the rise. In the past few years, demand for “ready to drink” beverages, from hard lemonade to alcoholic kombucha and hard seltzers, has been soaring.

According to the stats, the ones feeling the effects are the big beer brands.

In a recent report, Morningstar equities analyst David Swartz said the company’s former mainstays are holding Molson Coors back.

Click here for the full story.