2015: Fun Facts for Ontario’s Year in Beer

1. 52 new Ontario brewers cut the red ribbon in 2015 »»

2. Up to 88 new brewers could open during 2016 in the province »»

3. There are 216 individual brewers operating currently »»

4. Ontario brewers were funded $3,22,9340 less by government programs in 2015 compared to 2014 ( $199,314 vs. $3,428,654) »»

5. There are more than 40 hop farms in Ontario currently »»

6. The 954ml crowler (beer can) is rising in popularity

7. About 58 grocery stores are now selling beer in Ontario – which launched on December 15 »»

8. Mill Street Brewery operated for 13 years before its purchase by Labatt/ AB InBev »»

9. 800,000 new beers were released in Ontario this year (subjective)

10. Ben Johnson was for the second year in a row the Best Beer Writer in Ontario, but cannot stop swearing »»

11. The LCBO unveiled its first Craft Beer Zone location and 1.89 litre Growler filling station at its Summerhill store in Toronto in September »»

12. Ontario craft beer represents 10% of LCBO beer sales »»

13. Beer cans now account for about 60% of LCBO inventory vs bottles »»

14. Bellwoods Brewery’s Skeleton Key Rum Barrel-aged Imperial Stout is the highest-rated Ontario beer on RateBeer »»

15. The top fifteen most socially popular Ontario brewers, by Twitter followers, are:

34.2k – @Steam Whistle

25.7k – @Mill Street

25.6k – @Amsterdam

24.9k – @Beau’s

19.4k – @Great Lakes

18.3k – @Muskoka

14.3k – @Wellington

13.7k – @Flying Monkeys

12.8k – @Big Rig

12.2k – @Bellwoods

9.8k – @Lake of Bays

8.4k – @Kensington

8.2k – @Kichesippi

8.2k – @Nickel Brook

7.2k – @Sawdust City

16. Ontario’s strongest Brewmaster is Indie Alehouse’s Jeff Broeders (subjective)

17. The highest-rated Ontario beer on Untappd is Flying Monkeys Chocolate Manifesto Triple Chocolate Milk Stout »»

18. Out of all Canadian provinces, Ontario googled the term “beer” the most in 2015 »»

19. Ontario’s best brewery is: <Loading…>

20. The Ontario Brewers Directory lists 304 brewers operating or planned »»

21. A trademark dispute forced Underdog’s Brewhouse to change their name to All or Nothing Brewhouse »»

22. The LCBO began selling 12-packs of beer in August as part of a 10-store pilot »»

23. A pair of Guelph microbiologists began cultivating local yeast strains for Ontario brewers »»

24. After removing Steam Whistle Pilsner from its lineup in 2014, the Roger Centre brought in Hockley Valley Dark as the only Ontario beer in the stadium »»

24. Ontario imported $7.13 million in hops in 2015 »»

25. “…a craft brewery in every city and town in the province” is the goal of the Ontario Craft Brewers »»

26. Small Ontario brewers can now operate a second retail store if they have more than one production site »»

27. Small Ontario brewers can now pool delivery to the LCBO and licensed establishments (i.e., bars and restaurants) and use third-party carriers and warehousing »»

28. A new $0.03 per litre beer charge will be introduced in November 2015. The new charge will increase by $0.03 per litre every year until 2018, or approximately 25 cents per 24-pack annually, on average »»

29. The Ontario Craft Brewers industry association grew by 20 members in 2015 from 45 to 65.

30. There are over 1,400 direct brewery jobs in Ontario »»