2013: OBN’s Year in Review

Ontario continued with its insatiable thirst for local craft beer throughout 2013.

Breweries

More than 32 new brewers opened in Ontario spanning 2013. Our Ontario Brewers Directory (ODB) listed its 100th Ontario brewer in March, only to be surpassed seven months later in October with 150 listings. At the time of publishing, the OBD shows 160 brewers total operating or in planning.

Almost 40 new brewers are slated to open in 2014 in Ontario, with 5 unannounced brewers in our confirmation queue.

Table 1-1. Breakdown of Ontario brewers in 2013

Micro- or Nanobrewery Brewpub Contract Brewer Total Opened (2013) 16 5 12 33 In Planning 33 – 2 39

Sales Growth

In June, the LCBO announced it considered Ontario craft beer growth as “unstoppable” with sales increasing 575% since 2006. Later in November, the LCBO revealed sales of Ontario craft beer grew 28% in 2013 year over year.

Economy

Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development, Trade & Employment announced in July that it would renew the Ontario Microbrewery Strategy allotting $1.2 million annually to Ontario microbrewers from 2014 until 2016.

The LCBO increased its Ontario craft beer selection at many locations with new dedicated shelves. It was also announced that the LCBO would collaborate in part on a beer for the 2014 Griffin Session Toronto, the finale of Ontario Craft Beer Week. And, once again, the LCBO’s 6,700 unionized workers threatened to strike just prior to the Victoria Day long weekend in May, averting just one day before its strike deadline.

Lobbying efforts by the Ontario Convenience Store Associate (OCSA) were doubled in 2013 championing sales of beer in conveniences stores. The OCSA backed two University of Waterloo studies examining Ontario’s alcohol retail structure which identified massive annual profits to the Beer Store and how expanding the alcohol retail system would benefit both consumers and government. Lastly, results from a survey backed OCSA showed 69% of Ontario consumers supported private sales of beer.

The Beer Store, giving into changing consumer trends, announced it would dedicate $30 million to open new and rebrand existing stores to focus on customer experience and education. Additionally, the Beer Store released survey results examining crime relating to expanding alcohol into corner stores.

A report released in early November by the Conference Board of Canada in association with Beer Canada showed that 1 of every 100 Canadian jobs is supported by the sale of beer and highlighted the beer economy supports 163,200 Canadian jobs the beer economy accounts for 0.9% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product.

Lastly, in December, it was reported Canada’s Competition Bureau had begun a review of the state of retail beer sales in Ontario, particularly examining the monopoly held by the Beer Store.

Education

In the Education sector, Niagara College’s Teaching Brewery was awarded the Gold Program Excellence Award by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC).

Durham College in Whitby hinted that plans were underway to launch a new yeast lab in 2014 to support local brewers.

The Ontario Craft Brewers introduced its new Tech Talk series – monthly or bi-monthly panels discussing topics of interest to Ontario’s craft beer community.

The Prud’Homme Beer Sommelier certification expanded its three certification levels across Canada, and produced 11 new Beer Sommeliers.

Agriculture

Ontario-grown hops became increasingly more available due to first harvests at hop cultivars across the province. Brewers began to focus on implementing more local ingredients including grains and locally grown fruits such as cranberries.

Trends

Brewers continued to push boundaries on beer styles and ingredients striving to offer unique products and to help carve out their niche in Ontario.

More bars, pubs and restaurants began to recognize the value in beer education by hiring new or encouraging existing staff to explore certifications such as Prud’Homme or Cicerone Certification. Ontario’s establishments reaffirmed the rise in craft beer popularity by bulking up craft beer selection, even replacing macro beer lines.

Barrel-aging maintained its popularity, with a major portion of Ontario brewers offering one or more of its beers aged in numerous varieties of barrels.

Bottle size trends began a major shift away from traditional 341mL bottles to 500mL, 650mL, 750mL and 1.89L growlers. Emphasis on canning was more evident on shelves, due to superior seal and opaque packaging.

Events

New craft beer-centric events launched in Ontario during 2013 including the Windsor Craft Beer Festival, the Elgin Street Craft Beer Festival in Sudbury, a new Rhino Fall Beer & Cider Fest, The Brewery Market series in Ottawa, and TALLBOY’s Craft Beer Christmas Carnival, among others.

Large events returned even stronger during the year such as Ontario Craft Beer Week, Toronto Beer Week, Cask Days, Session Toronto and Muskoka, The Roundhouse Craft Beer Fest, The Rhino’s Summer and Winter Craft Beer Festivals, The Brewer’s Backyard, National Capital Craft Beer Week, Toronto and Ottawa Bottle Shares, and a resurgence of Barley’s Angels.

More tap-takeovers, dinners, tastings, and mini-festivals were on the rise along with fundraisers like Crafting a Cure which raised more than $10,000 for Juvenile Diabetes.

New events are slated for 2014 including the Burlington Beer Festival, The Roundhouse Winter Craft Beer Fest, the Albino Rhino Beertuberoolapolooza Festival, and the annual return of many other favourites.