According to reports, the most popular beer in Canada is Budweiser. This beer has a lightness that is both sweet and bitter. It was in 1980 that Labatt obtained the license and right to brew “the King of Beers,” Budweiser.
Labatt first dished out the product in Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces where there had been a long tradition of brewing and drinking American-style lagers. In 1981 the Canadian brewer started making Budweiser available to beer drinkers in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Canada was first introduced to beer in the seventeenth century by European settlers. They brought their ways, traditions, and foreign culture to the country, and part of that was the process of brewing their own beer. Owing to the cold, Canada was hailed as the ideal location for brewing beer.
In 1650, the first commercial brewery in Canada was built and opened in Montreal, Quebec. After this, breweries started springing up in all corners of the country for the next few hundred years. Everything was going on well for local brewers until 1918 when Canada introduced the Prohibition laws.
Reports have it that this restriction lasted until 1920. Immediately after the Prohibition was lifted, the success of Canadian beer brands and local breweries started and continued to the present day. The Canadian mass beer market is today dominated by foreign brands like Budweiser, Coors, and Stella Artois.
Best and Most Popular Beers in Canada
While Budweiser is renowned as the most popular beer in Canada, there are other top beers you should consider tasting. They include;
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Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale
This is one of the best beers to consider drinking in Canada. This wonderful beer has an interesting history that dates back to 1820. According to reports, this beer was originally produced for British Troops in India. As time goes on, it became one of the most popular Canadian beers.
If you taste this beer, you will certainly love its flavors. It is not difficult to purchase Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale in Canada because the beer is available in many county liquor stores.
Crafty Radler by Pump House Brewery
The flavor and taste of this Crafty Radler are so nice to the taste buds as it is to the nose; the grapefruit flavor intertwines with the sweetness of tangerines, while the malt and hops offer a balanced foundation. The Pump House Brewery offers five different brands of finely crafted bottled beer, eight on tap and in kegs, and several more that come and go with the seasons.
Great Western Pilsner
This is another great beer from Canada. The Great Western Pilsner is renowned for its crisp finish and sweet malt notes.
It is pertinent to note that this full-bodied brew is extra-aged and well-rounded with the most suitable balance of a smooth and faintly bitter finish. Have it in mind that this fresh and robust pilsner is the perfect complement to the backyard, the game, or taking a load off.
Velvet Fog by Wild Rose Brewery
Wild Rose Brewery is a Calgary brewery popularly known for making beer with natural ingredients. Wild Rose calls this beer Velvet Fog because of how it looks. It is also the nickname of a popular jazz singer whom one of Wild Rose’s founders admired.
According to reviews, this beer is an unfiltered wheat brew, which offers a golden hue and a fresh, tangy bite with notes of citrus.
Kokanee Lager
Kokanee is a Pilsner Style Lager with a 5.0% alcohol constituent. It is in fact British Columbia’s best-selling beer. Kokanee beer is aged naturally and it’s well renowned “Glacier Fresh” taste (a marketing slogan for the brew) is created by making the beer from pure mountain stream water.
This beer is made with three varieties of malt and a blend of western-grown North American hops. This beer is popular among young beer lovers in Canada. Kokanee Lager has also become a favorite beer for many old beer lovers in Canada. Statistics show that Kokanee Lager is one of the best-selling Canadian beers.
Okanagan Spring Pale Ale
The Okanagan Spring Pale Ale remains one of the most popular craft beers in BC. You can purchase this beer at all licensed establishments in BC. Aside from being a sure bet choice for a decent beer, note that its amber color is paired with a light sweetness and mild hop flavor.
Note that this beer goes down smoothly and it is easily followed by another. Although this Pale Ale is not really extraordinary, it is consistent, readily available, and always pleasant. The Okanagan Spring Pale Ale is a great beer for the patio, game, or any other reason you can come up with.
Mill Street Tankhouse Ale
This is another popular beer you should try in Canada. The beer is produced by the award-winning Canadian brewery. Tankhouse Ale has a deep copper-red color as around five different malts are used to make a complex malty texture.
Note that the spicy Cascades hop is used to give an assertive hop flavor, aroma, and bitterness. The result is a satisfying and complex-tasting beer. This beer is best known for its unique taste. If you try this particular beer, you’ll feel the taste of chocolate, coffee, and honey in it.
Labatt Blue
Introduced in 1951 as Labatt Pilsener, this beer was named for the color of its label by fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football team.
Renowned as the world’s best-selling Canadian Beer, this beer is made with the finest ingredients such as the renowned Hallertau hops, 2-row malted barley, and pure Canadian barley. The Labatt Blue features a clean refreshing taste with a unique hop aroma, delicate fruit flavor, and a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Moosehead Lager
This is a light-bodied and highly refreshing golden lager made by Moosehead Breweries, Canada’s oldest independent brewery. This premium lager gives a fine balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness and is made using only quality ingredients including 100% Canadian Barley malt and naturally pure Spruce Lake water.
This beer is very tasty. As you drink it, a carbonation tingle dances across the tongue; in the middle, more of the same grainy and bready flavors; and on the finish, at the swallow, a mild and fleeting hint of floral hops.
Labatt 50 Ale
According to reports, this beer was first brewed to celebrate 50 years of partnership between John and Hugh Labatt. Today, most people either buy it ironically or to ensure no one will steal it from the fridge at parties. The brand is fermented as a true ale with a special ale yeast strain that has been used by Labatt since 1933.
The distinctive characteristics of a true ale, a good balance of dryness, and fruity taste are provided by specially selected North American ale hop varieties.
Conclusion
As was noted above, the most liked and popular beer in Canada is Budweiser because it has a lightness to it that is both sweet and bitter. Aside from taste and availability nationwide, there are other intangible factors that influence the popularity and acceptance of a beer brand in a country.
These things include; the beer’s connection to the national identity (or in one case, lack of identity) and its historical lineage.