In November, the prestigious Siebel Institute of Technology brewing school announced that it will relocate from Chicago to Montreal. In a press release, the school confirmed the move was effective Jan. 1, 2026, but didn’t provide a date for when classes would begin at its new location.

The Siebel Institute is the oldest brewing school in North America. It was founded by German-born chemist John Ewald Siebel, Ph.D., in Chicago in 1868. It was originally known as the John E. Siebel Chemical Laboratory before being renamed the Siebel Institute in 1872, and it has called Chicago home since its opening.

The new location will be at 3035 rue Sainte-Catherine near the former Molson Brewery site in downtown Montreal. That site is part of a planned $2.5 billion redevelopment aimed at revitalizing the city’s downtown core, which will also include a public park and waterfront walkway, retail spaces and some 5,000 new housing units. Siebel Institute, which is owned by Lallemand Inc., cited changes in the brewing industry, rising operational costs and challenges obtaining student visas to enter the U.S. as reasons for the move.

“Recent regulatory changes in the U.S. have made it much more challenging for many of our international students, who have become the majority of our student body, to attend classes in person. This relocation of North America classroom operations to Montreal allows us to pivot without sacrificing the student experience,” Siebel Institute’s general manager and director of education, John Hannafan, said in the news release.

Montreal’s brewing industry reacts

Philippe Roy, vice-president of Beer Canada for Montreal, says he was pleasantly surprised to learn Siebel Institute was relocating to Montreal. Neither he nor his organization had any advance knowledge of the move.

He says he has seen two reactions from those in the industry. “The first was to say that it’s very good news…. It’s the oldest school for beer in North America, so their coming to Canada seemed to send a message that brewing in Canada is going well. But at the same time, we all felt that it was kind of normal … because we all feel that Quebec and Montreal are the cradle of beer in North America.

“In Canada, beer is still the number one alcohol beverage that people consume. We feel it’s a special beverage that can define Canada so we’re very happy about the Siebel Institute coming and joining us here in Montreal,” said Roy.

We’ll have access to high-quality training, and that will benefit all brewers in Canada.

Philippe Roy, Beer Canada

Marie-Eve Myrand, executive director of the Quebec Microbrewery Association, says she, too, was surprised to learn about Siebel Institute’s move. “We were not part of the decision or the discussion around that, but we were pleased to be informed,” said Myrand, whose organization lobbies government, promotes the brewing industry and provides production support to member brewers. “It’s a very prestigious institute.”

Myrand says the addition of the Siebel Institute to Montreal’s brewing landscape will help to make up for the recent loss of the brewing sciences certificate program at Bishop’s University.

The Bishop’s program was established by chemistry professor Dale Wood in 2015 and offered a graduate opportunity that blended chemistry, creativity and entrepreneurship. During its time, the program and its students helped develop more than 500 recipes, several of which were in partnership with Quebec-based microbreweries.

While it’s difficult to determine what kind of economic impact Siebel Institute’s move to Montreal might have on the city, Roy predicts it could have a huge effect on the brewing ecosystem, not only in Quebec, but across the country. “We’ll have access to high-quality training, and that will benefit all brewers in Canada. We already have schools that offer brewers education, but having one more, and one more here in Montreal, that’s giving brewers new access to highly qualified people [who] are going to work in their breweries,” he said.

It’s always good news for brewers to have an opportunity to improve knowledge and be at the top of the best practices.

Marie-Eve Myrand, Quebec Microbrewery Association

Myrand says the move will benefit brewers in Quebec and other parts of the country by creating a larger pool of talent to draw from. “It’s going to be very exciting,” she said. “It’s always good news for brewers to have an opportunity to improve knowledge and be at the top of the best practices. I think there will now be more opportunities for brewers to be part of that kind of improvement.”

Roy says he hopes to speak with someone from the school soon to work out the details of a scholarship that Beer Canada is looking to offer to students there. He is also anxious to learn more about the academic programming Siebel Institute will offer once its Montreal campus is up and running.

“I’m sure they’re going to want to adapt. It’s the same product, it’s still beer, but the Canadian way is a little bit different than what we see in the U.S. brewing industry, so I’m sure they intend to adapt their information to being in Canada,” he said.

Myrand is also curious about how Siebel Institute will adapt to its new surroundings, especially regarding the province’s language laws. “A good beer is a good beer. But being in business in Montreal, I think it’s mandatory to have an offering in French. It’s a very personal opinion, and not the association’s position, but I would find it [difficult] to have just an English version of all the information,” she said.

A patchwork market, not a national one

“Every province runs on its own system [of beverage trade], with different fees, tax structures, listing requirements and even different label regulations,” said Ontario’s Laneway Distillers founder and co-CEO Jessica Chester. “This fragmented approach creates significant cost and administrative burden for suppliers.”

For beverage producers, the challenges of getting their products to local markets, let alone out-of-province ones, are frustrating. “Depending on the province, the system can be prohibitive. In many cases, customers can simply choose to order directly from another province and ignore the provincial regulation. There is no free trade of beverage alcohol in Canada, and direct-to-consumer sales across provincial borders remain highly restricted on paper,” she said.

As producers of quality spirits, including several varieties of artisanal vodka and gin, Laneway Distillers is proud to source its ingredients from across Canada. However, Chester does not hold back in expressing her frustrations upon seeing Laneway on store shelves in other provinces. “The federal government did not include alcohol and food in its push for interprovincial free trade, once again costing billions in lost domestic trade and limiting opportunities for local producers,” Chester said.

New doors, same red tape

“When the gatekeepers at the grocery stores finally relaxed the rules, that was a real opening – that grocery channel,” said Chris Warwaruk. As co-founder, co-owner and now vice-president of sales at Farmery Estate Brewing in Neepawa, Man., Warwaruk has seen many changes in the trade and the associated barriers, both within Manitoba and beyond its borders, particularly in Ontario.

With a vast selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in its portfolio, Warwaruk and Farmery Estate Brewery have always sought to expand into markets beyond its home base. “Looking at Ontario, we saw how the [Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO)and its associated provincial liquor store retailers]’s Beer Store handcuffed themselves by limiting the sales of out-of-province products. This was before COVID-19, and we were the first craft brewery to enter the Ontario market.”

Many Ontarians and British Columbians recall the mid-2010s as the first time grocery stores were able to sell beer and wine on their shelves. Albertans saw their liquor sales move to a privatized model as early as 1993. While this brought some satisfaction to consumers in terms of new availability and accessibility, beverage producers were often confronted with new rules and regulations when moving their products into Ontario.

“If you are a smaller beverage producer in one province and have to deal with a tariff on your grain producer for the beverage itself going to another province, it will affect your decision and ability to send that product to the next province. That’s what we saw with Ontario. Saskatchewan had fewer barriers and was more of a wide-open market. These smaller rules and costs hurt provincial trade and Canada as a whole,” he said.

Warwaruk’s engagement with interprovincial regulation has given him a clear understanding of the Canadian beverage industry overall. He views it as a large economic system that has the potential to thrive more if the right opportunity arises. “It’s about easier trade. We are trying to stimulate the economy and give choices to those who like our products. Whenever you add … these interprovincial taxes and tariffs, there’s more added burden. Overall, if there was more governmental reception to interprovincial trade, there would be more trade,” he said.

The fine print of crossing provinces

Like Warwaruk, co-founder and brand director of The Craft Brand Company, Michael Laba, has kept a close eye on interprovincial barriers for the beverage trade.

While The Craft Brand Company began as an agency importing international craft beers into Ontario over a decade ago, Laba has handled many related trade issues through international product offerings and by adhering to regulatory requirements. It’s a balancing act that involves specifics, intricacies, fine print and a checklist of duties, right down to the product’s label.

It is costly and extremely slow to move product across Canada, whether by rail or truck, and each provincial liquor board operates under a different system. The lack of consistency and efficiency makes national distribution unnecessarily complex and burdensome for suppliers.

Jessica Chester, Laneway Distillers

“Any product coming in [to Ontario] needs to be label compliant,” he said. “For example, it requires English and French text, it must have an accurate ingredient or allergen list and it has to be registered and ordered by the LCBO.”

Laba emphasizes the importance of partnership in beverage logistics as a way to overcome some interprovincial trade challenges faced by Canadian beverage producers. “What we’ve seen is that [beverage producers] would also need a reliable and licensed freight partner,” Laba said. “A good freight partner with the right staff would be key to helping move your product across provinces, [getting] it in clients’ hands and [helping] you be competitively priced on the shelf.”

Beverage producers owe it to themselves to stay up to date on changes to provincial beverage regulations, new statutes and industry communications. Laba has been monitoring the regulatory changes occurring within the province that could have an impact. On April 1, the LCBO moved to a wholesale pricing model to streamline pricing for wholesale beverages. “… the hope is that it will create a competitive retail landscape without additional mark-ups to suppliers or consumers,” Laba said.

Where the lines should fall next

Some beverage producers take a firm stance on addressing Canada’s interprovincial trade barriers for their products. “Dismantle the regulations as soon as possible,” Warwaruk said. “Policy-makers need to support businesses, and if we get away from all the regulations, taxes and related obstacles, there will not only be more Canadian product options, but non-Canadian ones as well.”

Chester emphasizes the importance of easing regulatory financial burdens on smaller beverage producers and improving interprovincial liquor board relations. “It is costly and extremely slow to move product across Canada, whether by rail or truck, and each provincial liquor board operates under a different system. The lack of consistency and efficiency makes national distribution unnecessarily complex and burdensome for suppliers,” she said.

With so many localities producing prize-winning beverages, Laba says regulators and policy professionals should always keep fundamental practices and observations in mind. “Craft brewers are 10 per cent of the marketplace and employ 80 per cent of brewing jobs,” he said. “Any time a craft brewer can make more, there are more jobs and a better community economy. Reducing the barriers would be good for producers and communities all around.”

While the team will hopefully give their fans in the stands plenty of on-ice reasons to celebrate, they may also want to raise a glass to toast the suds in their cup. True North Sports + Entertainment, the hockey club’s parent company, recently installed a new, state-of-the-art treatment system to clean the lines that supply those tasty suds to the more than 300 beer taps located throughout the downtown Winnipeg entertainment venue.

The system, known as Draught Guard, is manufactured by a Milwaukee-based company of the same name. It uses a proprietary water treatment technology originally developed for the oil and gas industry to manage mineral fouling and biological growth and is now in use at health-care facilities, power plants and Fortune 100 companies across North America.

How it works is relatively simple. A control unit measuring five by seven inches connects to a signal transformer ring that is seven inches in diameter and wraps around the outside of up to 12 beer lines, which supply suds to the beer taps. The small unit emits a low-frequency radio signal throughout the entire line regardless of its length. The system then works in the background 24/7 to prevent the buildup of biofilm and calcium oxalate (beer stone) and provide protection of the product being served on tap.

What we do is we actually send that radio frequency into the beer itself. We use the conductivity of that beer to move the signal. That signal will follow the conductivity, the beer, the water, whatever is in that line, as far as it’s going.

Jackson Cosgriff, Draught Guard

Jackson Cosgriff, business development manager for the company, describes the Draught Guard unit as a “fancy a.m. radio” in terms of how it functions.

“What we do is we actually send that radio frequency into the beer itself. We use the conductivity of that beer to move the signal. That signal will follow the conductivity, the beer, the water, whatever is in that line, as far as its going,” he said. “Wherever there’s fluid, the signal will follow. That means downstream to the taps and the beer tower, and upstream to the keg as well. What that does is it makes it difficult for bacteria, biofilm, mould [and] mineral scale to actually adhere (inside the line). We’re putting a charge on all the particles that are in there and kind of making them behave. We make it difficult for that microbial activity to thrive and cling to the beer lines.”

Although the technology used in Draught Guard has been around for some time, it wasn’t until fairly recently that the parent company that developed it began to look at how it could be used in other industries, including the beer industry.

Draught Guard was launched in 2018, and soon after, the company began working with several major sports stadiums, breweries and brewing institutes to analyze and test how the product could work with draught beer. Several studies were conducted, including one commissioned by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers through the University of Pittsburgh that showed a 98 per cent reduction of biofilm. It remains the only non-chemical system to have passed to date.

Cosgriff and director of business development Kevin Brauer say the beauty of the Draught Guard system is that it can dramatically reduce the amount of time and money users spend on cleaning draught lines compared to the traditional method of flushing a caustic or alkaline chemical through the line using water and a recirculating pump. The chemical cleaning method requires users to clean their draught lines every two weeks.

By comparison, those same lines need only be cleaned every 12 weeks using the Draught Guard technology. That means far less beer has to be dumped (about 85 per cent less) when the lines need to be cleaned and staff can be deployed to other tasks. There’s also a huge sustainability component to Draught Guard, Brauer says. As the lines using the system only need to be chemically cleaned four times a year compared to 26 using more traditional methods, far less beer, chemicals and CO2 are being dumped into the sewer system.

Best of all, the radio frequency Draught Guard uses has no impact on the composition of the beer going through the draught lines. If anything, it helps to preserve the original flavour profile of the beer that is being poured. “Draught Guard will not have any effect on the inherent flavour or nature of that beer. There’s no vibration. There’s no actual changing of the technical chemistry of the beer,” Cosgriff said, adding that a draught system’s taps and couplers, which attach to kegs, must still be routinely cleaned since they come into contact with oxygen. “Basically, it allows the beer to taste more like itself and not become degraded because of biofilm and beer stone that might clog the line.”

Chris Milton, senior manager of logistics and procurement for True North, says his company first learned about Draught Guard during a conversation with the food and beverage team at Madison Square Garden in New York. They did some follow-up investigations and were so impressed by what they learned they hired Draught Guard to install 32 units at Canada Life Centre in July 2025.

“Having over 300 beer taps throughout the building, we thought it would be the perfect addition to our already extensive beer line cleaning schedule,” he said. “Cleaning the beer lines is a process all in itself, and by installing Draught Guard, we maintain the highest quality possible when it comes to the product we are serving our guests. We are always looking to enhance and elevate our patrons’ experience for every event they attend, and we are excited to say that our draft beer system is continuing that process even after the Winnipeg Jets have left the ice, the concert has loaded out, the staff have gone home and the lights are turned off.”

Canada Life Centre is one of two high-profile Canadian sports venues to turn to Draught Guard. The company has also been working with the team at Rogers Centre, home to Major League Baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays, where its system has been installed at a growing number of bars and concessions stands.

The Draught Guard system is relatively easy to set up, regardless of the size of the venue where it is being installed. The control unit can be mounted on nearly any wall or surface near where the draught lines run. The only caveat is that it must be near a power source where it can be plugged in. The unit is then connected via a cord to the signal transformer ring that wraps around the draught lines to send the radio signal through the line and is secured in place with a hose clamp. Each unit takes about 15 minutes to install.

“We don’t actually have to cut or splice or remove any of the existing infrastructure. Any retrofit application, which is a majority of what we do, we install onto existing draft systems, like we did at Canada Life Centre,” Cosgriff said, adding the only challenging part of the installation process can sometimes be the organization of any excess cord.

In the case of Canada Life Centre, it took less than eight hours to install all 32 Draught Guard units required to complete the job. Brauer and his crew have nothing but positive things to say about their experience of working with the team at True North. “They were great: very prompt, timely and they didn’t waste time, which was very much appreciated on our end,” he said. “They were also very enthusiastic. It kind of goes without saying we want to work with people who want our product. It goes to show when they’re just as excited, if not more excited than we are to show up and to do the install, that’s a good thing. They’re trying to increase and bolster the fan experience, and they definitely saw value in our product.”

Milton says True North has been pleased with how the Draught Guard system has performed to date, adding it requires very little attention outside of regularly checking its monitors to ensure it’s performing the way it’s supposed to.

“Since the initial install we haven’t had any issues when it comes to the equipment, and all of the 32 units in the building have worked flawlessly with no breakdowns or interruptions to our daily operation,” he said. “We have some beer lines in the building that are travelling over 300 feet from the beer keg cooler to the taps, and the Draught Guard system works perfectly with these long runs. Also, by extending the line cleaning, we are using [fewer] chemicals to clean the insides of the beer lines, which is great for the environment as well.”

Cosgriff and Brauer are both excited about Draught Guard’s potential for continued growth. The company has entered into a partnership with Perlick, one of North America’s largest beverage refrigeration and dispensing companies, that will see Draught Guard installed in all new Perlick manufactured draught beer systems. They also see plenty of opportunity for the company to expand its footprint in terms of the Canada draught beer landscape.

“We would love to,” Cosgriff said, laughing. “Draught beer is extremely popular in Canada, just as it is down here in the States and with keg costs being that much higher in Canada, it’s certainly an opportunity where we can provide that much more value. We’re exploring a couple of different routes of distribution and partners that we can work with, and that’s definitely something we’re aiming towards.”

Interlake Brewing Company offers a range of craft beers and runs a popular brewpub in Gimli, about 90 kilometres north of Winnipeg in Manitoba’s Interlake region. Located a stone’s throw away from Lake Winnipeg, business at the brewpub is always brisk during summer, but less so during the winter months, as one could expect in a tourist beach town like Gimli.

The young married couple who owns Interlake Brewing, Graeme Maclean and Kristin MacCary, have come up with innovative ways to embrace winter, not only to bolster their business, but also to help support their community. This includes seasonal beverage offerings, fun activities like outdoor curling and tapping into Gimli’s reputation as an ice-fishing mecca.

“The advice we got when we first opened was just close down in the winter, like what a lot of businesses here still do. We don’t want to do that. We want to be part of the community all year long, just like many of our customers,” said MacCary. “Winter is longer than summer, so we really need to lean into the off-season. Offering community-driven events and experiences and giving people something to do, not just something to eat or drink, is a huge component of our business that people here need in the winter.”

Rooftop attractions

One of those experiences has been outdoor milk jug curling, a winter activity where frozen milk containers replace curling stones on a sheet of ice. Last winter, MacCary and Maclean decided to keep the brewpub’s rooftop patio open year-round and built a small ice sheet for customers willing to give milk jug curling a try. To ensure their safety, patrons didn’t step onto the ice itself, but instead either tossed the milk jugs or pushed them out with a broom. The curling proved to be a big hit with patrons.

“We definitely had a lot of people coming in just to check it out, and they had a blast,” said Maclean. “People were saying, ‘Well, there’s nothing more Canadian than curling above a brewery next to a frozen lake.’” The curious included out-of-town tourists, many of them avid ice fishers from south of the border. “People who perhaps didn’t have any experience curling were interested in trying it, and this was a way for them to kind of see what it’s about in a fun, relaxed way,” said MacCary.

The patio at Interlake Brewing also featured some novel ice bars constructed out of winter snow accumulating on the rooftop. “We had quite a bit of snow last season, so we were able to push it around and sculpt it into a few different things,” said Maclean. “We placed several of them around the roof, so people could stand and socialize in different areas up there.”

The ice bars were a convenient place for patrons to set their food and drink while trying milk jug curling or just taking in the view of the interesting goings-on on nearby Lake Winnipeg. “You’re overlooking the lake and see a village of ice fishing shacks on the ice and lots of snowmobiles whizzing around and all that stuff. It’s just a really nice atmosphere,” said Maclean.

The outdoor patio attracted folks angling for pickerel underneath the ice as well as snowmobilers traversing trails on the frozen lake. “We are in a prime location for them to hop off the ice and come in to get a drink or a snack and warm up for a bit before they go back out,” MacCary said, adding many snowmobilers opted for the rooftop because it meant they didn’t have to remove their heavy gear. “Especially on a nice day, if they’re dressed for it, they almost preferred to just eat outside,” she said.

Interlake Brewing is keeping its rooftop patio going again this winter and plans to create the curling rink again, weather permitting. Like last year, the patio features a heated covered area as well as heated washrooms to help keep customers comfortable. Maclean says frigid winter weather common on the Prairies can make it challenging to operate an outdoor venue, which is why the rooftop patio was only open during milder periods last season.

“It gets to be pretty complicated, with the weather the way it is. If it’s going to be brutally cold, there’s not a whole lot we can do,” said Maclean. “In winter, you have to be flexible and ready to adapt. That could mean moving furniture around or bringing in extra staff, if the weather suddenly improves and it turns out to be a gorgeous day.” MacCary added, “You can’t really trust the weather predictions, so we always have a backup plan.”

Leaning into ice fishing

Interlake Brewing’s strategy of embracing winter also involves ice fishing, a strong ecotourism attraction that seems to grow every year as Gimli’s reputation for fishing excellence spreads.

“It’s a lot of locals who’ve been doing it out there a very long time mixed with a lot of travellers, people from the United States or other parts of Manitoba or other provinces, coming in and experiencing some of the best ice fishing you’ll find,” said Maclean. All those people and their ice fishing shacks form a veritable village out on the ice, complete with cleared ice roads and road signs.

“We have some time on our hands in the winter. It’s not like the summer, where it’s go, go, go. We were brainstorming some ways to have some fun [in] the winter. Curling was one, and ice fishing is just such an obvious complementary opportunity for us,” said Maclean. “In the winter, it really is the fishing that keeps this place moving. Foot traffic in February would be pretty much non-existent if ice fishing wasn’t such a major component of the culture here,” said MacCary.

People were saying, ‘Well, there’s nothing more Canadian than curling above a brewery next to a frozen lake.’

Graeme Maclean, Interlake Brewing

Maclean and MacCary started catering to the ice fishing industry in earnest last winter, when they chose to set up a place where people could buy bait and other supplies. “We opened a retail store in January and had live minnows for sale. That was a new product that we were able to offer, realizing what a boon the ice fishing brings to this town and us being in a position where we are the closest business to the ice offering live minnows,” said MacCary.

“As soon as the word got out, people were coming in at all hours looking to get minnows from us. We also sold hot coffee, fresh sandwiches, snacks and basic fishing gear that people could grab on their way out to the lake.” Maclean and MacCary also decided to use the business’s branded minivan to deliver provisions right out to the ice fishing village. “Everybody seemed to really appreciate the fresh food. It added to their experience to get hot, beer-battered pickerel while they’re fishing for pickerel,” said MacCary.

“We think it’s this kind of stuff that is really authentic to this place in particular.” Maclean added, “Lake Winnipeg is one of the biggest sources of pickerel in the country, so it’s been really fun to highlight that in our menu.” The brewpub will be among the local vendors providing food and drink offerings during Gimli Ice Fest, an annual event held the first weekend of March that celebrates the community’s culture and distinctive approach to winter.

Interlake Brewing continues to look at ways to expand its winter-centred offerings. One is setting up its own branded ice fishing shack for the season and utilizing it during Gimli Ice Fest and other key weekends. Another is a “Winterlake Weekend” event was planned for January to feature fun activities, live music and food and drink specials. “Think of it as a chalet party, Manitoba-style,” said MacCary.

Interlake Brewing recently purchased the building where it was leasing space for its brewpub. It includes a three-bedroom residential suite, which Maclean and MacCary plan to use as an Airbnb rental unit, enabling the business to continue growing its brand while expanding its offerings. “It’s perfect for families and groups, and we will be creating packages that include the ice shack rental, brewery tour, etc. We have lots of big plans on the horizon now that we have control of the building,” said MacCary.

Winter sports like hockey are another important aspect of Gimli’s culture, with large contingents of players, coaches and parents regularly descending on the community to participate in tournaments. MacCary and Maclean strive to tap into that by getting the word out to teams and parents that their brewpub, with its ample space, family-friendly atmosphere and wide diversity of food and drink offerings, is a great place in town to come and eat.

Building partnerships

Interlake Brewing’s owners believe there is strength in numbers, which is why they’ve been busy forming partnerships with other Gimli businesses aiming to make the most of winter. The goal is to provide more events and attractions that benefit residents and visitors alike once the summer crowds dissipate. MacCary, who recently joined the board of the Gimli Chamber of Commerce, says one example is a pub crawl following the town’s annual Christmas parade in December that she helped organize.

“It hasn’t been done before, and it’s something I think the other bars may have been reluctant to do in the past. We thought, there are five bars in town, so why not do a pub crawl and get everyone involved?” said MacCary. “By collaborating this way, we can all benefit. I see a lot more potential for that happening in the future. I think we’re all really excited about pumping business up in the off-season.”

The advice we got when we first opened was just close down in the winter, like what a lot of businesses here still do. We don’t want to do that. We want to be part of the community all year long, just like many of our customers.

Kristin MacCary, Interlake Brewing

Interlake Brewing emphasizes local ingredients in its beer-making, and in November, it teamed up with some like-minded craft breweries for the inaugural Forage Fest, an event hosted by the brewpub aimed at boosting winter tourism in Gimli. For the event, Maclean and MacCary, and seven of their brewing industry friends, showcased beers inspired by and including flavourful ingredients that can be foraged in Manitoba, like spruce tips, highbush cranberries, chaga mushrooms, saskatoon berries, dill and others.

“I think it’s good for the craft beverage industry, but it’s also good for the town because it’s bringing in a lot of people who perhaps only think about Gimli as a summer town and don’t think about it as having a lot going on otherwise,” said MacCary. “People seem pretty excited about it. We can see how it could grow in the future into being a full weekend event and maybe getting some other businesses to lean into this theme as well.”

Like many craft breweries, Interlake Brewing produces seasonal beer offerings that broaden taste experiences for their customers. Night Walk, a porter introduced last winter, is on tap once again, and Maclean and MacCary are also hoping to unveil a new strong, dark Scottish ale befitting the season later this winter.

The brewpub also offers a slate of classic warming cocktails, such as apple cider with cinnamon whisky, or hot chocolate or coffee with Irish cream liqueur, for customers coming in from the cold.

Poured Canada spoke with five Canadian colleges and universities about the different educational opportunities they offer for those interested in a career in the beverage-alcohol industry. Here’s what they had to say.

Brock University

The Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute was established at Ontario’s Brock University in 1996. The institute was formed in conjunction with the southern Ontario wine industry. Its three main mandates are to conduct research, provide outreach services to the local wine industry, and offer professional and continuing educational opportunities.

As part of its educational program, the institute offers more than 20 professional and continuing studies courses for people who want to enter the industry or upgrade their skills. These short-term courses, accredited through the province with micro-credential certification, range from foundations in winemaking, introduction to grape growing and using effective social media in marketing wines.

Additionally, Brock offers Canada’s only four-year university degree program in Applied Grape and Wine Science through its Department of Biological Sciences that focuses on winemaking, viticulture and marketing, including subjects such as wine chemistry and plant physiology.

For students with prior scientific training with a bachelor of science in a related field, a one-year certificate in grape and wine technology is also an option, where students take grape and wine-specific courses to be industry-ready. Both program options serve upwards of three dozen students in any given school year with a 96 per cent placement rate of graduates into the industry upon graduation.

Jennifer Kelly, the institute’s senior scientist of oenology, says part of what makes the school’s four-year degree program unique is the fact it’s been designed to be very hands-on. After gaining background education in relevant scientific disciplines such as chemistry and environmental biology in Years 1 and 2, students are given their own grapes as part of a wine processing course in which they will take those grapes from vine to wine. That includes everything from planning how they want to make their wine at the institute’s pilot winery to designing a label and bottling the finished product.

The institute also offers a co-op education stream as part of its four-year degree program, where students are provided three four-month work terms at wineries in the region and other parts of the country. “Students at the fourth-year thesis level get to engage in applied research projects, often partnered with industry members. The experience of solving real-world problems gives them an opportunity to work with different growers or winemakers. That sets them up for great success going forward with their careers,” Kelly said.

The institute’s first graduating class was in 2000. While many of those students have gone on to succeed in southern Ontario, British Columbia and other parts of Canada, a large number are now employed in other parts of the world, including Australia, New Zealand and across the U.S. The best part, Kelly says, is that it’s a tight-knit group and they often share industry opportunities with fellow alumni.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU) Brewing Program was launched in 2014. Hundreds of its graduates have gone on to work in the craft brewing industry in southern B.C., where the school is based, as well as in other parts of the country and around the world. The program accommodates up to 35 students per school year. The majority come from B.C., but the program also attracts learners from other parts of the country and even as far away as Switzerland, South America and Asia. They range in age from 19 to 60 years-plus.

Students receive a diploma in brewing and brewery operations as part of a two-year, full-time program or a three- or four-year, part-time program. The school also offers a one-year certificate program in brewing as well as micro-credential courses on subjects such as brewing science, beer sensory evaluation and the business of brewing, which are popular with people working in the industry seeking to upgrade their existing skills. The three foundational pillars of the program are: to provide students with the hands-on skills needed to work in a brewery, to teach them the science behind brewing, and to furnish them with the foundational information needed to operate or own a brewery.

Alek Egi, program chair and brewing instructor at KPU, says one of the things that makes the school’s brewing program unique is the emphasis it places on the science of brewing. The school has rigorous science-based requirements for student applicants. Meanwhile, instructors Egi and Dominic Bernard have master’s degrees in food science and brewing, respectively, while colleague Martina Solano Bielen holds a master’s in microbiology.

Another factor that sets the KPU brewing program apart is its standalone, registered manufacturing brewery located right on campus that was designed for teaching. It features a state-of-the-art, four-vessel pilot system that was donated by a local brewing equipment manufacturer, giving students the opportunity to work directly with professional-grade tools. It’s also home to a tap station, where the finished products from the program’s practical brewing courses are sold by students to customers every Friday afternoon, providing real-world experience in both production and customer-service aspects of the industry.

Kwantlen’s program has received numerous accolades from the brewing industry, including multiple B.C. Beer Awards and being named Brewery of the Year in 2019. It also won the U.S. Open college beer competition that same year.

Acadia University

Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., launched its Applied Bioscience program in fall 2024. A total of 12 students are currently enrolled in the program, and school officials expect that number to double in 2026. Students receive a bachelor of science upon graduation from the four-year degree program. Matthew Lukeman, an assistant dean and a professor of chemistry, says the program is a mix of biology and chemistry that aims to provide students with real-world work experience and research opportunities in the beverage industry as well as the biopharma sector.

“The program was actually created in response to economic demands within our province in two sectors,” he said. “One was beverage, not just wine, but also beer, craft drinks and all sorts of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. People from industry had been coming to us over the years, saying they would love it if we could have a program that would help people develop the skills that would aid in fuelling the growth of that industry.”

If you think of the top wineries in the province … like Stratus, Tawse, Inniskillin, these are all run by graduates of ours.

Craig Youdale, Niagara College

The program’s Science and Business of Beverage stream emphasizes beverage production, marketing and analysis. There is a heavy focus on biochemistry and organic chemistry, including cell and molecular biology. An embedded business minor provides students with an appreciation for the business realities that go along with the science side of things and includes a minimum of six courses in various business disciplines, such as marketing and accounting.

Part of what makes Acadia’s program unique is its built-in co-op placement component, Lukeman says. Students receive up to 12 months of co-op placements at local vineyards and craft breweries, where they work alongside experienced industry professionals to gain practical experience. They get to work side-by-side with researchers at the university on a variety of projects, including a study of grape varieties and chemical analysis of different wine products. The program also offers a course on sensory analysis, which is taught through the university’s Nutrition and Dietetics department. As part of the course, students learn how the different components of a wine can influence an individual’s sensory experience.

In addition to the Applied Bioscience program, the university is home to the Acadia Laboratory for Agri-Food and Beverage (ALAB), which is an ISO-accredited, fee-for-service lab that provides chemical testing of beverage products. Each school year, the lab employs three co-op students who receive an opportunity to work with the lab’s three technicians using an array of state-of-the-art instruments.

“What’s unique about it is that in bigger labs, the students often only ever work on one instrument. But in our lab, because it’s so small, most students have the opportunity to work with and be trained on ALAB’s instruments,” said Katrin Sommerfeld, Acadia’s manager of industry and community partnerships.

Niagara College

Niagara College’s School of Wine, Beer and Spirits is located on the institution’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. About 100 students take part in the program’s three disciplines each academic year. It has the distinction of being one of the first academic institutions in Canada to offer training specifically for the beverage-alcohol industry.

The school’s three core programs are its two-year Winery and Viticulture Technician program, the two-year Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program and the one-year Graduate Certificate in Artisan Distilling program. It also offers a one-year Beverage Business Management certificate program that provides an education on all aspects of the global alcoholic beverage industry, including business, retail, export, marketing and navigating a highly regulated environment.

Each of the three core programs has its own commercial production facility located on the university’s 125-acre campus. That includes:

• The Niagara College Teaching Winery, which was established in 2000 and offers students a chance to learn from industry. professionals and create up to 5,000 bottles of wine annually.
• The Niagara Teaching Brewery, a 1,500-square-foot micro-brewery facility.
• The Niagara Teaching Distillery, a 2,500-square-foot facility that features five stills, four mash tins and 10 fermenters used for on-site production of a variety of distilled spirits that produces 500 bottles of spirits each year.

The school is also home to a 40-acre, on-campus vineyard. In addition, it grows its own botanicals, hops and tender fruit for use in its distilling and brewing programs. Craig Youdale, the college’s dean of culinary, tourism and beverage, says what makes the School of Wine, Beer and Spirits unique is the fact that it provides students an opportunity to be involved in every aspect of production, from growing the grapes used in wine production and hops used in brewing to bottling the finished products and creating marketing campaigns for them.

“They are all really unique programs,” he said. “There aren’t any others in the country … like them that have the level of hands-on education. When I say hands-on, it’s the real deal. We’re even showing people how to drive a tractor.”

The school has also developed close relationships with several wineries, breweries and distilleries in the region and other parts of the country. That includes Labatt Brewing and Molson Coors on the beer side, and several of the most respected wineries in the region. As a result, students in the program are regularly placed at those facilities where they receive valuable, first-hand experience that can help propel their careers down the road.

“It’s actually pretty tough to find a winery in Niagara that doesn’t have one of our grads,” Youdale said. “If you think of the top wineries in the province … like Stratus, Tawse, Inniskillin, these are all run by graduates of ours. We have tons of graduates that have started their own brewery and they’re owner-operators. We also have a lot of head brewers in different operations across the system.”

Youdale says one of the school’s future priorities will be providing more people access to its programs. That could include opening it up to more people from other parts of the country as well as offering some form of online programming. Beverage Business Management is expected to become an online offering in 2026. Several courses within the School of Wine, Beer and Spirits are also open to part-time students – including Wines of Europe, Wines of the Americas and Southern Hemisphere, and History of Brewing and Beer for the Winter 2026 term.

Durham College

Durham College’s Whitby campus in southern Ontario is home to the Centre for Craft Beverage Innovation (CCBI), which collaborates with both established and novice craft beer, hard cider, kombucha and seltzer makers on everything from formulating new recipes to testing new ingredients and production methods. The centre’s mandate is to share its technical knowledge with beverage makers and provide entrepreneurial expertise to help industry partners turn technical innovation into business success.

Even though the CCBI is located on a college campus, it’s not a brewing school per se. Most of the people who work at the centre are paid staff. However, a small number of Durham students do take part in research projects at the centre each year. Those students receive instructions on lab protocols and how to conduct proper testing. The idea is to provide them with hands-on experience so they can learn to interpret test results.

With hands-on training, strong industry partnerships and impressive graduate placement rates, one thing is clear: the path to a career in beverage alcohol increasingly begins in the classroom.

For many craft producers, that surface-level appeal feels like the whole game: get the label right and the rest will follow. But according to Tim Weaver, U.K.-based branding strategist, founder of The Brand Weaver and host of the “Branding for Breweries” podcast, that mindset is the exact trap holding many alcohol companies back.

“The well-known quote that ‘your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room’ is accurate,” Weaver said. “It’s not just your logo or a label. Your brand is how you integrate into someone’s life, how you amplify it and how you reinforce their identity. When you get branding right, grabbing your product at a barbecue or a family dinner becomes second nature. It’s just the piece of the puzzle that fits.”

More than meets the label

In practice, branding means creating a sense of place for your product in a consumer’s life so it feels like the obvious choice in any given moment. While that does include tangible items like your label or packaging, it also extends into every branch of your business: your social media, your messaging, even the way you interact with customers. Your branding shapes how your target audience perceives your company in the first place and reinforces that perception at every turn. Branding is your most powerful differentiator in a competitive market and it’s a strong influencer of customer loyalty.

That’s a lot more than a label, so how do you actually do it? When Weaver works with a producer to define what encompasses the brand, he starts with what he calls a “point of truth.” That truth is the only thing that can hold a brand steady through growth, market shifts and customer churn. “If it’s not true, your company isn’t going to believe in it and neither will your customers. It comes across fake, like the cheesy car salesman approach,” he said. “But when you find that element of truth – what you really stand for – it becomes your North Star. It’s what every message, every visual, every marketing channel should stem from.”

The first pint is sold on awareness. The second is sold on taste. You can’t get to the second without the first.

Tim Weaver

Weaver’s framework for finding that point of truth is deliberately research-heavy. It starts with the company itself: what are the real strengths of the business, and what does the team believe sets them apart? This could be location, ingredients or sheer passion. From there, he looks outward to its customers, determining what keeps them coming back and why they reach for this brand instead of another. The final step is a close study of the competition, examining both the messages they put forward and the missteps best left unreplicated. When those three filters overlap, genuine brand positioning comes into focus.

The benefit is that once you’ve identified your brand purpose, or your North Star, consistency becomes easier. It doesn’t just inform your Instagram captions; it can show up in your taproom culture, your email newsletters, and even the way you speak to restaurant owners and distributors. “Your messaging, values, tone of voice, channels and any elements you use to promote your brand are fed from that one central point of truth,” said Weaver. “It influences everything you do from that point. It should be baked in.”

For example, for U.K.-based Wilful Beer, its “craft, not daft” positioning packs strategy behind clever wordplay. With a small team, old equipment and a commitment to making no-nonsense, great-tasting beer, its entire identity is rooted in the value of doing things by hand. That ethos carries through in how it shows up for customers: tradespeople get discounts as a nod to their own manual craft, coasters double as writable surfaces so drinkers can “leave their mark,” and its visual identity leans on imperfect, handmade fonts and textures rather than anything overly polished.

These deliberate choices all make sense because they are true to the way the brewery operates day to day. What you see in the branding is exactly what’s happening behind the scenes in the brewhouse.

When good brands go bad

Even with the best intentions, many producers stumble when it comes to branding. Weaver sees the same pitfalls repeated across the industry: mistakes that not only dull a brand’s impact, but can also prevent a great product from ever finding its audience. The first and most dangerous trap is assuming that liquid alone is enough.

“Be mindful of the Field of Dreams mentality. ‘Brew it and they will come’ is not a strategy. The best beer in the world doesn’t sell itself if nobody knows about it,” Weaver said. “The first pint is sold on awareness. The second is sold on taste. You can’t get to the second without the first.”

That belief often goes hand-in-hand with another mistake: looking inward instead of outward. Many producers, Weaver says, create for themselves and their friends, not for the broader market. That kind of thinking alienates the vast majority of drinkers who aren’t alcohol nerds chasing the next experimental release.

“Most people just want a great product that fits the moment. Brands need to stop talking to themselves and start talking to their consumers,” said Weaver. That doesn’t mean there isn’t space to play, though, simply that it must be approached strategically. “Understand what your consumer wants, win them over with that and gain the permission to introduce them to something unique that you’re really proud of,” said Weaver.

While Weaver is a proponent of “secret shopping” to see what a brand’s competitors are doing well (or not so well), he cautions that too many producers fall into the trap of looking only sideways within their own category. Studying another brewery’s taproom might show what’s trending, but it won’t necessarily reveal what’s truly distinctive. By contrast, looking outside the industry can spark ideas that feel fresh and unexpected.

“You can learn so much more from walking through a hotel lobby about how to improve your taproom than you can by going to your competitor’s taproom,” he said. The lighting, the flow of people, the way a space creates mood and comfort – these are lessons that apply to alcohol branding just as much as they do to hospitality.

Producers live their brand every day, so they can get tired of it quickly. But your customers might only interact with you once every couple of weeks. To them, you’re not repetitive – you’re finally becoming clear.

Tim Weaver

Finally, Weaver bristles at overused buzzwords like “quality,” “community,” and “authenticity,” that have been drained of meaning. “If you have to say you’re authentic, you probably aren’t,” he said. “Every producer will claim quality. Every brewery will claim community. Those words mean nothing if you can’t show what they actually look like in practice.”

Keep your story straight

Entrepreneurs are an ambitious bunch, always finding inspiration to execute new ideas. While there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big, when it comes to branding, it’s essential to filter every idea through your North Star. Flash can grab attention for a moment, but it’s consistency that keeps customers coming back. “You actually do your customers a disservice by veering off track,” said Weaver. “It can be confusing for them when you do something off kilter to what you typically communicate.”

In that sense, it might behoove you to feel like you’re drilling the message a little too hard. “Producers live their brand every day, so they can get tired of it quickly. But your customers might only interact with you once every couple of weeks. To them, you’re not repetitive – you’re finally becoming clear.” That means weaving your messaging through every channel over and over again, on the assumption that it’s likely only a fraction of your audience saw your social media post, newsletter or poster. “Continue to repeat and reinforce your core message,” said Weaver.

That said, consistency doesn’t mean staying static. It means finding ways to carry your story across every touchpoint, from coasters and bar mats to emails and events. Through any medium, whether it’s print advertising, social media, networking, podcast interviews or anything else, approach all aspects with your brand purpose in mind. Each medium requires its own tactics, but all should feel unmistakably like the same brand.

Shelf esteem

So, you’ve got a strong brand position, you’re crystal clear on your message and what you stand for, and you know what you want your customers to associate with your company. Now, how do you get that onto the shelves? In liquor store aisles, where a split-second decision can make or break a sale, Weaver says disruption is the goal. It’s a matter of bringing your point of truth to life. This is where illustrators and designers earn their keep, finding ways for visuals to carry your brand story. Sometimes disruption is subtle: a different can size, a contrasting top colour or an unusual label texture.

“It’s not always about the design itself,” Weaver said. “Sometimes, it’s the shape or the feel that stops someone’s eye as they’re scanning.” Weaver says that producers often pour budget into striking front-of-bottle artwork, but ignore the rest of the package. “The back of the package is prime real estate to tell your story. Too often it’s wasted on a giant barcode or clunky layout. Design is about storytelling across the whole package, not just the cover art,” said Weaver.

Beyond the shelf, he says that small producers often overlook low-cost opportunities to stand out at the point of sale. Coasters, balloons or even a display box that doubles as a shelf unit can multiply visibility without multiplying spend. Sometimes, it’s as simple as noticing a need in the space itself – like a bar with uncomfortable stools – and offering a solution, whether that’s branded cushions or another thoughtful detail that puts your product at the centre of the experience.

“If you can be the one brewery remembered out of 20 samples at a festival or 100 options on a shelf, you’ve won,” Weaver said. However, the real differentiator isn’t novelty for novelty’s sake – it’s integration. Producers who understand who their drinkers are and how their product fits into customers’ lives will always have the edge. Packaging might earn a second glance, but it can only take a brand so far. The ones that have longevity are the producers who carry their truth through every touchpoint, until it stops feeling like marketing and starts feeling like identity.

“Great branding informs how a product fits into your customer’s ritual, their moment, their identity,” Weaver said. “That’s when branding moves beyond packaging. That’s when it becomes part of people’s lives.”

“Ultimately, smoke taint is the objectionable note in wines produced from smoke-exposed grapes. It is perceptible by smell, taste and aroma,” said Wesley Zandberg, an associate professor of chemistry and member of the Wine Research Centre at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus.

Smoke’s distinctive odour is created by specific phenolic compounds. Volatile phenols created by burning biomass are transported into ripening grapes by smoke, which is absorbed and then linked to the grape’s sugars. During fermentation, those sugar-bound, smoke-derived phenols are broken back down, releasing the original pungent phenols into the wine. “People in the industry might argue that we should maybe call it smoke impact,” Zandberg said. “This is because not all smoke-exposed grapes produce smoke-exposed wines. That’s important to note.”

There are also ways to mitigate its effects.

Reverse osmosis

For many years, reverse osmosis has been a common method for removing various taints from wines. It works by forcing the wine through a semi-permeable membrane, which removes larger molecules such as smoke-derived phenols. It has been used primarily by bigger wineries, which have the money and resources to make it work. “But by the time you’ve removed the offensive molecules, you’ve also removed much of the pleasant aromas of the wine too. It certainly hasn’t produced anything that’s worth the cost,” said Zandberg.

Jennifer Kelly, a senior scientist at Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, shares a similar perspective. “Reverse osmosis is not necessarily targeted for these compounds and could potentially remove other compounds in the wine that may be favourable,” she said. A winemaker, she says, must then find other ways to add a wine’s positive characteristics back into the bottle through blending or other means.

Timing matters

A day of smoke likely isn’t a big deal, but lingering smoke and the resulting extended exposure of the fruit to the particles will likely be an issue. It’s also worth considering the time of year the smoke occurs. Spring isn’t as big of a deal as later in the season. “Grapes are most susceptible seven days post-veraison,” said Kelly. “That timing can make or break a vintage.” Before committing to fermenting the entire harvest, try a microferment, Kelly says. “The grapes may look clean and smell clean, but they may not be clean,” she said. “A trial microfermentation would be a really good idea.”

Pick fruit later and use oak

“It is important to note that many of the same phenols present in smoke are also found in oak,” Zandberg said. “Clearly, context and concentration are both important.”

Like Zandberg, Val Tait, winemaker and general manager of Gold Hill Winery in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, prefers not to call it smoke taint. Instead, she uses the term smoke influence. “For me, what has worked is to bring it into the cellar and try to develop a wine where that profile fits. That means making a wine that’s bolder, more expressive,” she said.

“The fruit is picked later, when it has much more ripe black fruit flavours, and [is] then brought into the cellar to work with oak with a higher toast. More extended maceration, too, [helps] to build the wine up so that it’s a bolder expression and the smoke segues into that quite nicely.” If you fight against the smoke and try to make the style you made in previous vintages, you’ll fail, says Tait. “You’ll make a very disjointed wine. Just find a way to work with it,” she said.

Kelly says that sometimes, oak chips can be effective for masking smoke. “But well-toasted barrels can have a compounding effect if you have a smoke-tainted wine,” she said.

Consider carbon

Libby Nixon, assistant winemaker and assistant viticulturist at Noble Ridge, has found that adding carbon to the wines (post-ferment for reds and at the juice stage for whites, rosés and hard pressings) can help somewhat. “The smoke will bind to the carbon and then you can just take it out,” Nixon said. “It’s cost-effective, but you don’t want to add too much because it will strip away some of the desirable characteristics.”

Hand harvest

Picking grapes by hand helps limit the number of leaves and extraneous material before fermentation; the leaves may make the perception of taint worse, Kelly says.

Limit skin contact

From Zandberg’s perspective, research needs to focus on the way grapes and smoke interact. He says these targeted strategies and in-winery reduction are particularly exciting. “Chemically understanding the interaction between smoke and the surface of a grape is critical. If we can understand this at a molecular level, we can manipulate it at a molecular level,” said Zandberg. “Then we can concentrate on how we can mitigate it in the winery.”

Grapes are most susceptible seven days post-veraison. That timing can make or break a vintage.

Jennifer Kelly, Brock University

Limiting the grapes’ skin contact during fermentation – as in, no hard pressings – may prevent some taint.  That’s because “skin thickness and bunch compactness can also have an impact,” says Kelly. It’s worth noting that some grapes seem to be more susceptible to smoke exposure than others. Syrah and Shiraz, for instance, naturally contain these compounds. If possible, blend wine from a previous vintage or a smoke-free vineyard to dilute the effect of the taint.

Pick yeasts carefully

Zandberg keeps an empty wine bottle on his desk, from an especially smoky vintage. The winemaker used “fancy yeasts,” Zandberg says, the sort associated with pleasant aromas. That particular bottle was marketable, but vintages from the same varietals of grapes produced by a nearby winery had to be pulled from the shelves. “Yeasts can make a big difference to smoke influence if we have a better understanding of how yeast-produced aromas can make, or in some cases, enhance, the smokiness,” said Zandberg. In other words, when potential smoke taint is a concern at harvest and commercial yeasts are being used, it’s important to select yeast strains carefully. “You should find strains of yeast that are less prone to smoke taint,” Zandberg said.

Kelly said, “They can enhance fruity aromas and esters to mask the smoke.” Kelly also says that grapes grown 50 to 80 kilometres from the fire typically see the most smoke influence. “Distance is important,” she said. “Beyond that, it doesn’t seem to be as impactful.”

Stay on top of the research

Mitigation research is underway now in Canada, Australia and the U.S., and results are released periodically. Past studies include washing the vines and grapes with water, ethanol and milk; none have changed the perception of smoke in the finished wines. In 2019, a group of researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia applied kaolin (clay) to fruit approximately 10 days after the start of veraison, but before smoke exposure. Results showed its effectiveness depended on the extent of coverage; Merlot seemed to benefit from the kaolin spray, but Sauvignon and Chardonnay didn’t show much difference because the kaolin didn’t adequately adhere to the fruit.

Also at the University of Adelaide, researchers have had some success experimenting with molecularly imprinted polymers, adsorbents designed to bind smoke taint compounds, removing them from wine. “We’re also working with activated carbon fabric to prevent smoke contamination of grapes in the vineyard – again, results are promising, but there are some logistical challenges to overcome,” said Kerry Wilkinson, a professor of oenology at the University of Adelaide. “Results from trials combining separation technologies such as membrane filtration and spinning cone column distillation with the use of adsorbents are also promising.”

Look ahead to next year

The thing about smoke influence is that it’s hard to predict how or when it will show up. Sometimes, it’s evident at crush, when making the wine. Other times, it may not show up in the juice, but will show up months or even years down the road, long after the wine has been bottled. “It’s a bit tricky,” Kelly said. “These phenols can be odourless in the juice and emerge later, once you’re drinking the wine.”

Conversely, sometimes the influence shows up scientifically, but isn’t noticeable to the drinker. Some of Zandberg’s research is about “trying to deduce when smoke exposure will result in taint and when it will not,” he said. “Just because I can measure it chemically doesn’t mean the wine is bad. It just means I have really sensitive instruments.”

If experiencing a bad year, look ahead to the next. Smoke doesn’t seem to leave a lasting effect on vineyards. If a vineyard experiences smoke one year, but nothing the following year, that following year will likely be free of taint. “It won’t be a forever problem,” Kelly said. “I think it’s valuable for people to understand that.”

What is clear is that wildfires aren’t going away. “Climate change is making … our summers drier and that is leading to an increase in fires,” said Kelly. “But we are increasing the knowledge that helps winemakers better understand the risks and how to mitigate the effects [of smoke taint] down the road.”

Marcus Wiebe, founder of Dead Horse Cider Company in Manitoba, and Adam Keil, co-founder of Mountainview Brewing in British Columbia, discuss their tips and tricks for making going to markets and events easier for craft alcohol producers.

Booth design and set-up

One key element of creating a successful and eye-catching booth is incorporating elements of the brand’s physical location and atmosphere. Keil says the focal point of Mountainview Brewing’s booth is its jockey box – a portable draft beer dispensing system. Most of the jockey box cover is made of wood, which gives a rustic look to the booth display. It also helps evoke the feeling of the brewery, surrounded by woods in the rural town of Hope. In the future, Keil plans to update the jockey box cover to be a miniature replica of Mountainview Brewing. He believes that doing so will transform their jockey box cover into a natural conversation starter and attract more visitors to their display booth.

Wiebe, whose cidery is also in a rural location, echoes a similar sentiment. He says the backdrop of a display should not necessarily be more product. Instead, it should “be pictures of your taproom, vineyard or cidery, to convey your brand.” Wiebe uses markets to extend the cidery business, and so his focus is to introduce people to the brand and entice them to visit Dead Horse Cider Company. “We want to draw people to our cidery [and] to our orchards, so that they make the drive out to see us. That is the goal with the markets. [It] is to show people who we are and get them to come to us,” he said.

When Wiebe first started going to farmers’ markets in 2019, he had extravagant displays that took a lot of work to set up three times a week. Since then, he has opted for a more stripped-down look, prioritizing displays that are easy and repeatable. He stresses that booth set-up and tear-down should be something other team members can easily replicate, since, as the business grows, there may be multiple events on the same day.

Aside from making the process of setting up a display as efficient as possible, Keil tries to envision how people will interact with the booth when they approach it. For instance, if the booth is at a drink festival and drink tokens are given out, how will the tokens be taken? How will people receive their samples? It is important to consider the flow of people around the booth and build the booth display around that.

Keil has also observed the value of having something vertical on the display table and not just having everything sit flat. “That vertical piece is hugely important in catching people’s eyes. They’ll try the sample and hang around for a moment to appreciate the display,” Keil said. This vertical piece is another value-added feature that helps start conversations with potential customers. It can be as simple as a raised wooden display stand with products on it, or as complicated as Keil’s vision of a miniature replica of his brewery.

Packing and transport

When packing up for markets, Wiebe goes through his checklists to ensure that no items are forgotten. Most items already live in a specific set of bins that contain the necessary supplies and equipment for events. Having these designated bins helps to streamline the process of loading and setting up the display booth. Before loading up the van, Wiebe also tries to forecast sales so that he doesn’t bring too much or too little of his products to the market.

Supplies Wiebe considers essential include wipes for cleaning spills, a cash box, a point-of-sale (POS) system and a backup POS system for emergencies. Cleaning rags are an essential item for Keil, too. He is also sure to bring garbage bags, extra gaskets and tools for fixing the draft system.

After each market, Wiebe will debrief with his team to discuss what worked and what didn’t, so that they can improve for future markets. Even with this thoughtful planning, Wiebe has experienced some market mishaps. He’s had his vehicle break down while on route to a market and has had his tent fly up and away on windy market days. Still, he takes it all in stride and reminds himself not to “get too caught up in it and remember that it is going to be okay.”

What to bring and what not to bring

Historical sales, geography and seasonality inform much of what Wiebe and Keil decide to bring to events. Keil observes that fruited sours seem to sell better in the Lower Mainland, closer to the city of Vancouver. However, traditional beer styles seem to be favoured in the British Columbia Interior communities. After analyzing past sales in each area, Mountainview Brewing decides what to bring to events. This often results in different products being brought to events in Vancouver versus the Okanagan.

In the early days of going to markets, Wiebe brought many single 355 millilitre cans in various flavours. He quickly realized that packing, transporting and displaying so many single cans made setting up his display more difficult. He also felt that it wasn’t worth his time to only make a $5 sale. He stopped bringing single cans in favour of four-, eight- and 12-packs in various flavour combinations. This way, customers still had a variety to choose from, and the minimum spending amount was raised.

In desperate times, [markets have] helped us stay afloat.

Marcus Wiebe, Dead Horse Cider Company

Wiebe advises craft alcohol producers to “pick a number that is worth your time and don’t bring anything under that.” Since marketgoers are often eager to support local businesses, Wiebe thinks it makes more sense to raise the minimum spend at a market booth, especially since it is often the same amount of work to make a $5 versus a $30 sale.

In Mountainview Brewing’s early days, Keil brought a variety of merchandise to events, including T-shirts and hoodies. While smaller items such as branded tasting glasses and stickers proved popular impulse buys, he never sold a single hoodie. Keil reflects that it is most likely because the price point of clothes, especially hoodies, is higher, and hoodies aren’t an item that people buy in the spur of the moment. Keil stopped bringing hoodies to events, but continues to bring branded glassware and stickers.

Marketing to customers

The popular mantra, “getting liquid to lips,” holds true for craft alcohol producers when marketing their products at events. While giving out free samples of alcohol at events always entails additional paperwork and can necessitate bringing extra staff, having people taste a product is the single best way to make a sale.

Wiebe cautions against getting caught up in talking to a single customer for too long. He tries to streamline the process of handing out samples by limiting sample options. Instead of offering 10 samples and overwhelming people with choices, he limits sample options by asking pointed questions to get a sense of what a person likes to drink. “If they like to drink beer, then I know what sample I am going to offer them,” he said. Wiebe has seen people start drifting away when he spends too much time talking about all the different samples, so now he tries to just give them what he thinks they will like and lets them have their space.

Additionally, Keil notes the importance of having an extroverted and friendly manner. Rather than waiting for people to approach your booth, “invite people to come talk to you. Sometimes people are sort of just window shopping.” If you can get their attention, try to invite them over for a free sample, or make a comment that will “invite them to come and hang out for a few minutes and learn about your product. It’s kind of silly, but I think that is the best tactic.”

In terms of social media, Wiebe tries to post an image on their brand accounts to let people know what market they are in and whether any seasonal, market-only products are available. Wiebe admits that these kinds of posts can feel repetitive after a while and finds social media marketing to be a totally different landscape than it was just five years ago.

Another marketing strategy Wiebe has tried is giving customers a card for free shipping when they order online. He admits that this ‘free shipping’ card idea was a flop. Wiebe believes that since the savings from ‘free shipping’ only amounted to around $5, it probably wasn’t enough of a discount to entice people to start ordering online. Although he has yet to try it himself, Wiebe has seen other craft alcohol producers give customers a ‘free drink’ card when they bring a friend to the brewery. Mostly, Wiebe hopes to build the brand by maintaining consistency when going to markets, since showing up at the same market routinely can help the brand develop a loyal following.

Lessons learned

In the early days of going to events, Keil once brought a pilot batch of beer that was made with fresh-harvested plums. While the beer wasn’t reproducible on a larger scale, Keil was proud of it and wanted to share it with others. However, he noticed that people who tried the product were quickly disappointed when they found out that this amazing product was not available for purchase anywhere else. Now, Keil makes sure to always bring his core products and seasonal products that are available in the brewery or at liquor stores. He no longer brings these “one and done beers,” as he wants there to be the potential for a second sale.

Another lesson Keil learned is how to adapt his business in the face of changing consumer demand. When Mountainview Brewing first opened, its fruity and sour beers garnered a lot of attention, so Keil transitioned the business to producing more unusual beers that would catch people’s eye. Over the past two years, he has seen the market switch again, where their more traditional beer styles are selling year-round, so he pivoted again, putting the primary focus on core products rather than special releases.

Staffing

When staffing markets, craft alcohol producers usually look at their sales data to determine how many staff are needed. If historical data isn’t available, they will usually ask event organizers how much foot traffic is expected. For small markets where people are spread apart, one person is usually enough. Larger markets with denser foot traffic can require two people, especially if samples are being poured.

Keil says it’s important to have the right person at a market, someone who is interested and genuinely cares about the product. When training staff for events, both Keil and Wiebe bring their staff to the taproom to teach them who they are, what the brand stands for and have them sample the products.

Sales and customer experience

In terms of tools for managing sales on the go, Wiebe uses Square, since it is well-known, has an app that integrates with phones to accept payments and has standard fees. Other common POS systems include Clover, Shopify POS, PayPal and Stripe.

To connect with customers, Keil makes sure to bring business cards to events and encourages people to reach out to them on social media. In order to reduce the friction for potential customers to purchase their products, Keil created a QR code that links to Google Maps with the location of all the liquor stores that carry their products. Keil says that loading all the store locations into Google Maps and keeping the map up to date is a bit of a hassle to maintain; however, it is an extremely useful tactic to make buying their products as easy as possible.

Advice

For Wiebe, going to markets has been a huge help in growing Dead Horse Cider Company. “In desperate times, [markets have] helped us stay afloat,” he said. Nevertheless, Wiebe acknowledges it takes a lot of hustling and grinding to keep setting up and taking down the booth constantly. “There are a lot of farmers’ markets. It takes a lot of your time, a lot of your weekends, but we have had to do it to stay in it,” he said.

As well, it can take time to determine which markets and events are worth going to. Some markets can yield extremely profitable sales, while other markets are just a means to further advertise the business and introduce people to the brand. For craft alcohol producers who are going to their first market, Wiebe and Keil say that the most important thing is to be excited to be there and not be on your phone. Being part of an event is “a chance to talk to people that are your future customers. They’re the ones who matter most,” said Keil.

A New Brunswick-based company is tapping into that interest, and it could have a profound impact on the way many craft wine, beer and spirits makers go about producing their products. The Smart Energy Company is a renewable energy developer based in Upper Golden Grove, N.B. It was founded by brothers and co-CEOs Jeff McAloon and his brother, Mark, in 2016.

The company’s signature product is the NOREASTER, a modular, stackable micro solar energy system designed to power farms located in regions that experience significant snowfall, fog and wind. While the system can be used on virtually any farm, it has become particularly popular among craft spirits producers in Eastern Canada. Verger Belliveau Orchard, a family-owned business in Memramcook, N.B., that produces ciders and wines, and Blue Roof Distillers, which produces a potato-based vodka in Malden, N.B., are among its adopters.

The ground-mounted system is a 34-foot-long, 10-kilowatt solar array that converts energy from the sun into alternating current electricity using an inverter contained within the unit. Its modular design means that it can be scaled to meet the energy requirements of any size of operation. Jeff says one of the main reasons the NOREASTER is a good fit for producers in the beverage-alcohol sector is the fact that it offers producers control over their energy costs.

“Buying your electricity to produce fruit or … harvesting the fruit to produce a final beverage can be a very energy-intensive activity,” Jeff said. “Right now, most of those producers are essentially renting their electricity from the utility. If they start to take over the generation of the electricity themselves, that’s a cost they can now eliminate or have fixed for the next 40 or 50 years, which can add up to a pretty significant saving.”

Another asset that makes the NOREASTER attractive to beverage producers is its modular design, which allows users to start small and expand down the road when it is convenient. It also means the system can be configured in a variety of different ways to minimize the amount of space the land-based system requires, an important consideration for producers trying to maximize the amount of harvestable land available to them.

“We don’t want to take up valuable crop space, so we’ve designed them [to be installed] in small chunks,” Jeff said. “Some farmers may need just one NOREASTER to offset a meaningful amount of electricity. Others may need 10, others may need 50 and others may need 120. It’s meant to be scalable.”

Where it once would have taken 15 years or more for a solar system to pay for itself, that timeframe has now shrunk to four to six years, thanks to increased electrical costs and improved government rebates and incentives for alternate forms of energy production.

The system is an ideal fit for producers who have adopted agrivoltaics principles, a dual-use land approach that combines solar energy production with agricultural production. Not only does it provide cheaper energy, but it is also capable of protecting crops or soil from harsh conditions such as heavy rains or strong winds, Jeff adds.

The NOREASTER is both manufactured and distributed by The Smart Energy Company. The brothers started out using solar power systems manufactured by other companies, but quickly discovered they couldn’t stand up to the harsh winds and wicked ice storms that many East Coast communities endure. That led to them designing their own system in conjunction with researchers at the University of New Brunswick and the Saint John Energy utility company.

“One of our earliest customers was a dairy farmer. He called us one day after a particularly harsh winter storm and said ‘Boys, my solar panels are flying through the field. Is that supposed to happen?’” Jeff recalled. “I can laugh about it now, but we weren’t laughing at the time. We spent a year going back and fixing and rewelding and beefing things up. It’s now built to be robust for any kind of storm that can be thrown at it, hence the name.”

The NOREASTER comes with a 50-year warranty. It costs about $25,000 per kit and that price can climb to about $50,000 when it’s partnered with a battery system or generator. Some provincial rebates are available to buyers, and the federal government passed a 30 per cent refundable tax credit for incorporated farm businesses who convert to renewable energy.

Jeff says the system can pay for itself within five to seven years depending on utility rates in a given jurisdiction. In Ontario, for example, the NOREASTER can produce a single kilowatt hour of energy at a cost of three or four cents compared to 14 to 18 cents for the same kilowatt hour supplied by that province’s energy utility.

Another selling point of the NOREASTER, which won a National Clean Energy Award, is that it’s relatively easy to install. About 90 per cent of The Smart Energy Company’s customers install the kits themselves, though a qualified electrician is required to connect the finished product to an operation’s power supply system. Jeff says the first conversation his employees have with potential customers typically focuses on what the current energy consumption of their operation is and how much of that can be offset using the NOREASTER.

In some cases, it can be as much as 100 per cent. Once that has been established, a consultant helps the customer determine what their budget is, decide how much space they have available and how many units that space can accommodate. Jeff says it’s interesting how many of his customers are largely unaware of their energy consumption prior to installing the NOREASTER, but become keenly aware of it after using the system for a while.

“Most farmers we talk to aren’t really aware of what their electricity costs are. They just have a general sense that electricity costs are going up,” Jeff said. “But once we’re finished talking to them and educating them about how they can generate their own electricity they become hyperaware. They go from that state of unawareness to looking at the energy app on their phone every single day to see how much energy they are producing and how much they are using.”

Verger Belliveau Orchard owner Samuel Bourgeois installed five NOREASTER units on his 110-acre operation last summer and they have been operating since November. They supply between 50 and 60 per cent of the power required to operate the orchard’s cidery.

Bourgeois says his family has always advocated for the use of sustainable and innovative farm practices, so switching to an alternate source of energy was a no-brainer. After several years of investigating the choices available to him, including wind, he chose solar since it was the most affordable option and can be tailored to fit any size of operation. “It was the one that made the most sense for us,” he said.

Bourgeois says shifting to solar energy has already had an impact on his business. His energy costs have remained static despite a recent price increase instituted by his local utility. “It’s kept our [power] bills where they were at,” he said. “That’s one of the things that I kind of like about solar. It should stabilize your energy costs. With the power company, you don’t know when you’re going to have increases. This way, it’s much easier to budget for your utility costs.”

Bourgeois admits he did experience a few surprises soon after the system became operational. Perhaps the biggest one was the fact the system began producing power immediately, despite cloudy conditions at the time. “It still produces a little bit of power even though it’s quite cloudy. For me, that was a surprise, in a way. I always thought it was only going to run when there’s sun outside,” he said.

The other surprise for Bourgeois was the fact that, when it snowed, the solar panels managed to clear up by themselves and lost very little energy-producing capacity. “That was a good thing,” he said. “That’s something we were hesitant about initially. We can have some big dumps of snow here once in a while, and if we have to clean them every time, that’s another job we have to do.”

Not only has the switch to solar power helped with the orchard’s bottom line, but it’s also earned the business two thumbs up from many of its customers. The solar panels are visible as soon as clients walk into the orchard’s yard and they often generate questions and kudos.

“There might not be any [return-on-investment] directly related to that, but long-term, if the customer knows that we care about the environment and we care about the people around us, hopefully that brings them here to buy our products or gets them thinking about us at least,” he said.

Bourgeois’s advice to beverage-alcohol producers who may be contemplating a switch to solar is to do their homework and find out what kind of provincial or federal incentives are available to them to help reduce installation costs. He also recommends they shouldn’t be afraid to try something new. “I understand the farmer that’s maybe close to retirement not wanting to leap on it. But that next generation … if it’s something that fits in that farm’s perspective and there’s capacity to borrow, I would not be afraid of it,” he said.

Jeff suggests business owners look at the latest data available before jumping to any conclusions about whether or not solar power is a suitable option for their operation. He says in the past five to 10 years the “payback” for solar has changed considerably. Where it once would have taken 15 years or more for a solar system to pay for itself, that timeframe has now shrunk to four to six years, thanks to increased electrical costs and improved government rebates and incentives for alternate forms of energy production. What has Jeff excited about the future is industry and individuals alike are now talking more and more about energy consumption and how to become smarter consumers of energy.

“We need to generate our own clean energy and then we need to be smart about how we use that energy. As we gain an understanding of something, we’re better able to manage it, manage it more effectively and efficiently. It’s that sort of energy awareness that I’m most excited about,” said Jeff.

This year, OCBC is rallying around a powerful and timely theme: Stronger Together.

“There’s a lot happening in our industry right now,” said Jeff Talmey, owner of Town Brewery and chair of this year’s OCBC education committee. “Retail is changing. Craft beer is facing challenges on a lot of fronts. The idea behind Stronger Together is recognizing that even with all these challenges, the strength of craft beer has always been in community.”

This year, the education committee’s approach to planning and content is strategic and collaborative. The education committee is made up of a small, like-minded group of diverse industry voices working together to shape the conference content. “This year, we brought in people from different roles, brewery sizes and backgrounds,” said Talmey. “That diversity adds fresh, relevant perspectives and applies the day-to-day reality of running a craft brewery to our content decisions.”

That experience will be evident in this year’s agenda, which weaves foundational regulatory content with trending industry topics and thought-provoking keynote addresses.

What’s new in 2025

A notable focus of this year’s conference is regulatory representation, including significant sessions from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) or the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). “The LCBO is still the biggest seller of craft beer in the province, and AGCO regulations affect every brewer in Ontario,” said Talmey. “These presentations are a necessity for developing industry.”

Other hot-button issues on the 2025 docket include:

• Rebranding and brand evolution: Led by Isaac Arthur from CODO Design, this session dives into when (and when not) to refresh your brand, packaging or visual identity.
• The future of convenience store sales: With retail access expanding, the Ontario Convenience Store Association will speak about what this means for brewers.
• Direct-to-consumer experiences: As taproom sales remain vital, a new session will explore evolving and enhancing those personal customer connections.
• AI tools for social media management: Rather than focusing on content creation, this session will highlight ways AI can streamline planning, posting and engagement.
• Politics from the pint glass up: A grassroots-focused talk titled “Pints to Politics” will help breweries engage with local politicians to influence policy and support industry growth.

“We’ve had real wins with the current government,” Talmey said. “And those wins came from sustained engagement with key officials. This session teaches brewers how to broaden and extend government relationships in their own communities.”

One size doesn’t fit all

One of the perennial challenges in programming OCBC is ensuring sessions are relevant to both small start-ups and established powerhouses. This year’s committee makeup helps bridge that gap. “We’ve got committee members from tiny to medium and large-sized breweries like Great Lakes,” Talmey said. “That mix is crucial. Big or small, breweries often face similar issues – just at different scales.”

He points out that while a larger operation might be wrestling with chain distribution, a smaller brewery might be perfecting its drink-to-consumer taproom experience. Both are worth exploring. “We tried to make sure sessions touch on these shared themes while also offering specific insights depending on where you are in your journey.”

Collaboration at the core

If one word defines OCBC, it’s collaboration. From educational panels to supplier partnerships to informal hallway chats, the spirit of co-operation has always been the lifeblood of the event. In 2025, that collaborative energy is being cranked up even higher. From the committee structure itself to potential collab beers brewed by suppliers, to the return of the popular “Ask Me Anything” panels, the conference is designed to encourage idea exchange and collective problem-solving.

“We’re in a fiercely competitive era,” Talmey said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to isolate ourselves. OCBC is about asking: What can I bring to the table? What conversations can I start that help me and my peers?”

For those stepping into OCBC for the first time, Talmey has one piece of advice: talk to everyone. “The sessions are valuable, yes, but the real magic happens in conversations. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or raise new ideas and ways of thinking. Everyone here remembers being new, and they want to help,” he said. Whether it’s chatting with exhibitors on the trade show floor, connecting with a speaker after their talk or striking up a conversation over lunch, these exchanges often lead to lasting collaborations and solutions.

“Some of the smartest, most experienced people in the industry will be there, just walking around and totally open to sharing their knowledge. That’s rare. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn, develop our industry and connect,” Talmey said.

Looking ahead

“[Breweries] used to be able to succeed with just one or two strengths. Now you need everything – product quality, brand clarity, customer experience, operational efficiency. And that’s hard,” he said. “OCBC wants [the conference] to help brewers level up across the board.”

As the OCBC team finalizes programming in the coming weeks, one thing is certain: the 2025 conference is shaping up to be one of the most impactful events yet. “We’re putting together a conference that we hope will be the best one we’ve ever had, and we encourage our industry to attend and get engaged in the future of our growth,” Talmey said.

Whether a seasoned veteran or a curious newcomer, OCBC 2025 is a chance to connect, grow and be reminded that even in tough times, brewers are never alone.