Tapping Into Beer Trends

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Statistics cited by Ottawa-based Beer Canada show domestic-beer sales in January 2017 came in at nearly 1.1 million hectoliters — or 100 million litres — for the month, an increase of two per cent from 2016. According to Natalia Kouznetsov of Toronto’s Beer Bistro, this growth comes in part from restaurants across the country introducing brewing partnerships and special beer releases. “We’re seeing one-offs and anniversary offers and collaborative brewing projects,” she says, adding light lagers are leading the charge at Beer Bistro, followed by IPAs and sours — with new products such as Duchesse De Bourgogne and Val Dieu Grand Cru in the forefront.

The dynamic at Beertown, which boosts locations in Waterloo, Cambridge and London, Ont., is similarly fluid. The restaurant has a cask beer “calendar” and regularly rotates 25 per cent of its taps with different selections. “I’d say bestsellers include local brews Innocente, Block Three and Elora. Stiegl of Salzburg, Austria, is another contender,” says Beertown partner Jody Palubiski.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE CASK
Canada has approximately 750 licensed breweries, with the number of craft brewers growing to seven per cent of the market, according to beer writer Ben Johnson. It’s a trend that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the big breweries. “If you get Labatt and the big guys taking notice, you must be doing something right,” says Johnson. “It’s only going to grow more.” Greg Clow of Canadian Beer News says depending on the region, that number could be as high as 10 per cent. That’s evident at Beer Bistro, where craft beers account for approximately 50 per cent of the menu. “The rest of our beer is dedicated to well-established European options,” says Kouznetsov.

So where’s the hottest beer region right now? “Probably the Maritimes,” Clow says. “[It’s] had the biggest jump forward in the last couple of years compared to other regions in the country.”

There and elsewhere, sour beers — which were relatively unknown a few years ago — are becoming mainstream, Johnson notes. Paradoxically, subtlety is returning. It’s a quality craft brewers previously ignored in order to differentiate themselves from the big producers, but milder lagers are no longer boring: pilsner, kolsch and helles beer are being brewed with what Clow calls a “subtle complexity. It takes a good brewer to make a really good pilsner.” Saison’s popularity continues as does barrel-aging, according to Johnson, and while hops have been the hallmark of craft beer, look for yeasts, including wild yeasts, to gain popularity. the hyper-local

“Hyperlocal” — small breweries making beer for the immediate community — is a hot trend. “They are not producing a lot, and they’re not putting their beer into retail chains like the LCBO and other provincial agencies,” says Clow. They have a tap-room and they sell growlers, bottles and cans to bars and restaurants. Chefs and restaurateurs strive to offer local beers to their customers because unique local food demands unique local beer, he adds.

“Customers are asking what’s new and what’s local,” says Palubiski at Beertown. “Accordingly, we’re creating a ‘best-of-beer.’ Just because a brewer is big, doesn’t mean they’re not crafted. Because something is local doesn’t mean it’s crafted well. We just want great beer.”

Volume 50, Number 2
Written by Andrew Coppalino

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