Descendants Brewery in Kitchener, Ontario is calling it quits and will be closing its doors due to COVID-19. Descendants was the dream of Robin Molloy, an Irish transplant who arrived in Kitchener in 1990. Robin moved to Berlin, Germany with his partner Lee in 2012 to study to become a Certified Brewmaster at the VLB….

“That’s another competitor and that’s a big competitor,” Giuseppe Marchesini explained in this article to CTV News Toronto.  “We feel that it’s not fair. They can be more mindful of supporting small businesses. We’re still struggling. Even if the guests are supporting us and we are full, we will need a little bit more attention…

Matt Phillips announced last week that after 21-years of starting Phillips Brewing, he has sold a grand portion of his company to BC-based Yellow Point Partners. The move will position the brewery to an employee model.  Yellow Point Partners have a wide portfolio of businesses they’ve invested in including several industrial companies, Edo Japan, Foley’s…

Bench Brewing Company received the Sustainability Initiative award at the Canadian Brewers Choice Awards. Organized by Brewers Journal Canada, the event honours top Canadian beer makers in several categories. “At Bench, reducing our environmental footprint is one of our core values and guides the decisions we make as a brewery. This is a huge acknowledgment…

Grey Fox Brewing opened their doors just before the holiday season began, with British Columbia being the first province to have a dedicated gluten free brewery. Kelowna is home to the brewery where in May 2022, 112 backers pledged $20,430 to the Kickstarter campaign that helped bring this project to life. Founder and brewmaster Chris…

Federal taxes on beer sales are set to rise by 6.3 percent on April 1. This will be the largest increase in 40 years.  “I think it’s going to hurt breweries at a time when they’re already struggling,” commented Brad McInerney, marketing manager at Wellington Brewery. “It’s been a challenging time for a lot of…

A 7-Eleven in Calgary will be the first location to implement the new program where customers can pair their food with an alcoholic beverage in their licensed section of the store. 7-11 has nine locations in Alberta and one in Ontario now allowing customers to do this.  “We chose that location because of its strong…

The Teaching Brewery at Niagara College continues to impress with both national and international wins. The college’s Beer 101 Strong Ale and Beer 101 Bock each won gold medals recently in their categories at the inaugural Canada Beer Cup, which was hosted by the Canadian Craft Brewers Association. “It’s such a validation of what we…

The variety of craft beer continues to grow giving consumers a myriad of options to choose from. And despite the percentage of consumption going down in Canada, the popularity of craft beer continues to rise in Ontario. Kevin Brewer from a craft brewery in Thunder Bay says when it comes to the brand loyalties of…

Andrew Estabrooks “Esty” of Foghorn Brewing received the Brewer of the Year award at the Brewer’s Journal Canadian Brewer’s Choice Awards in early December. “It happened fast,” Estabrooks says. “I just got an email sort of hinting ‘we strongly recommend that you come to the workshop.’ It was the first time I’d heard about it….