Sons of Kent Brewing Co. of Chatham, Ont., took silver for Mammoth, while Smithers Brewing Company of Smithers, B.C., earned bronze for Let’s Get Ready to Crumble. The competition also recognized producers across beer, cider and packaging categories, showcasing entries from across the country.

Among the beer category winners, Niagara College Teaching Brewery earned gold in English Bitter and Pale Ale for NC Craft Bitter, while Persephone Brewing Company of Gibsons, B.C., won gold in Non-Alcoholic (NA) Beer for its NA Dry Irish Stout. In Saskatchewan, Pile O’ Bones Brewing of Regina took gold in German and American Wheat Beer for White IPA, and Rebellion Brewing Co., also in Regina, won gold in Specialty IPA for Zilla Black IPA.

Cider producers were recognized across five categories. Sea Cider of Saanichton, B.C., won Best in Show for its Pomona, while Wooden Gate Cider of Pilot Mound, Man., earned bronze for Three Spirits.

The Canada Beer Cup is a national competition celebrating independently owned and operated breweries across Canada. The Canadian Craft Brewers Association organizes the competition, which recognizes quality and innovation in the country’s craft beer industry. Explore the complete list of winners: 2026 Canada Beer Cup Results.

“In my previous career, when I travelled, I always hit up brewery taprooms and used bookstores,” said Filbert. “I had a lot of conversations in those taprooms. I learned about what I was tasting and what I liked and didn’t like.”

Filbert worked for a banknote company as a technical artist. He says that a technical artist takes the work of a graphic artist and deconstructs it for the printing process. That graphics and printing training is why Filbert has a deep appreciation for book covers. In particular, he scours used bookstores for paperbacks from the 1950s because he likes the cover art. His personal collection includes about 200 such books.

“I think everyone should collect something,” he said. “And it should be something very specific. Then you leave it to chance when you find something to add to your collection. I like the discovery. I like the chase.”

The beer

To date, Bookstore has released 11 beers. If all goes to plan, the brewery will release three more this year. The first ever Bookstore beer was The Quick Fix Coffee Cream Ale, a 5.5 per cent ABV cream ale with locally roasted coffee beans added five days before packaging, to impart aroma and flavour without changing the blonde colour. “I wanted to start with something odd,” said Filbert.

However, that oddity is not without research and precision. “I want my beers to fill a hole in the market,” he said. Having kept track of the flavours he likes and dislikes in beer, Filbert designs Bookstore beers based on the flavours he knows he likes, rather than strictly adhering to beer styles. “All my beers are novel,” said Filbert, pun intended.

Filbert delegates recipe development to his friend Ryan Fisher, a trained brewer. Then, the beers are brewed at Winnipeg’s Oxus Brewing on a 30-barrel brewhouse built by Newlands. “I’m a big fan of hiring people who know what they are doing, and letting them do it,” said Filbert. “I’m an idea guy, not a full-out story creator.”

Oxus Brewing also produces beer for six other brands. By combining efforts, the breweries can achieve economies of scale in raw material procurement and ensure the tanks are always full. This was a low-cost, low-risk way for Bookstore to enter the beer market, although a small brewery of his own is Filbert’s ultimate goal. Bookstore’s beers have been well received, not just by Winnipeg’s beer drinkers, but by critics as well. Bookstore’s awards include:

• 2024 Canada Beer Cup gold for A Brighter Shade of Doom, a 6.5 per cent black New England IPA
• 2024 Canadian Brewing Awards gold for Flirting with Goth, a five per cent dark ale
• 2023 Prairie Beer Awards gold for Another Deadly Sin, an English amber ale
• 2023 Prairie Beer Awards gold for A Brighter Shade of Doom
• 2022 Prairie Beer Awards silver for Escape From Narrow City, a 4.8 per cent easy IPA

“I try to focus on myself as the first customer,” said Filbert. “I’m just going with what I like and hope it works.”

The art

All of the label art is original, says Filbert. Having found a kindred spirit in Ontario-based artist Randy Preising, Filbert retained him to do all of Bookstore’s label art. Those labels have a lot of details. “If you look at one of my cans, you’ll see a book cover, a spine and a back cover. Historically, these types of books had coloured page edges, so my labels have a strip of page edge colour as well,” said Filbert.

The back cover, in addition to satisfying required disclosures such as ingredients and alcohol content, always includes a tease to a story that doesn’t actually exist. It’s an homage to the books Filbert loves and collects. There are even recurring characters, “because that’s a lot of fun,” says Filbert. There are even consistent themes to Bookstore’s labels: ales have covers for detective mysteries, lagers and pilsners are westerns, IPAs have science fiction covers, sours are romance and dark beers have a horror look.

Filbert works with Preising to ensure the labels mimic shelf wear. Since these books would have been mass-printed, they often contained printing errors. Filbert and Preising carefully mimic these errors on their labels. “It’s a little Easter egg for drinkers to find, especially if they know about printing,” said Filbert.

Also similar to the books Filbert collects, each beer label includes a three-character catalogue number. The two digits are the year the beer was first released and the letter represents the number of the beer that year. For example, “24-B” was the second beer Bookstore released in 2024.

The community

For Filbert, it is important that Bookstore be part of the Winnipeg community. In 2024, Bookstore released Timeless, a light lager with proceeds assisting CJNU, Winnipeg’s community radio station. CJNU’s frequency is 93.7, so 93.7 cents from every can was donated to the station.

After the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter was robbed, Filbert helped organize a tap takeover of Bookstore’s beers so that money could be donated to replace the shelter’s losses. Each year on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Bookstore hosts “orphan parties” for those who feel loneliest during this time of year. “My parents died before I started Bookstore Brewing,” said Filbert, explaining his motivation. The annual parties help ensure nobody spends the holidays alone.

Bookstore also partners with local food manufacturers. Bookstore’s beer was used by Loaf and Honey, a Winnipeg fromager, to make cheese. Also, the company’s beer was used by Mr. Biltong to make South African-style beef jerky.

The next chapter

Filbert’s dream to have a physical space to call his own may soon come true. “If things go as planned, I hope to open this year,” he said. Unlike most brewery taprooms that look similar to bars, Filbert wants “a different kind of thing.”

“I want to take over a café with small menu items, with fancy coffee, and my beers on tap,” he said. “And it will be a bookstore. Customers can read a book and leave it there. We will make a note of the book and page number, so when the customer comes back, they can pick up where they left off. COVID-19 killed a lot of bookstores. I want to get people back into them.”

All my beers are novel.

Parris Filbert, Bookstore Brewing

For Filbert’s bookstore taproom to come to fruition, he will require some regulatory changes. While the café bookstore will have a small pilot brewery, current regulations prevent him from selling Bookstore’s contract-brewed beer without paying high levels of provincial government mark-ups. That’s where groups like The Manitoba Brewers Association and Beer Canada can help.

“I’m just a one-man show. I’m a sales guy,” said Filbert. “I took a distinct financial hit to leave my career and do this, but it’s better to be happy and pinching pennies than well-paid and stressed and unhappy.” After five years, Filbert says new customers are still discovering his brand. A café will help give his brewing company a face. Despite Filbert’s modest claim that he’s not a full-fledged story creator, through Bookstore, he is actually writing his own story.

Bookstore’s beers are available only in Manitoba, at Liquor Mart, boutique beer shops and on draught in the Oxus Brewing taproom and elsewhere.

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.

This was fundamental in shaping what would become Trans Canada Brewing Company (TCB), which Tallman founded and owns today. While the first beer would not be brewed until 2017, planning started in 2015. His goal was to create beer and a space that would welcome everyone.

“We want you to come here to enjoy our products and our atmosphere,” said Emma Houldsworth, brand and marketing leader at the brewery. “We welcome all ages, we have long, communal picnic tables and the room is one large space, instead of being sectioned off. We want it to feel like an extension of hanging out with friends and family in the backyard.”

The TCB taproom has 16 draft beers on tap and offers cider from Dead Horse Cider Co. and wine from Low Life Barrel House (both local producers), along with non-alcoholic beer from Partake Brewing and a variety of sodas.

“We have a simple mission: to offer a beer for everyone,” said Houldsworth. “From seasoned craft beer enthusiasts who seek out bold, hop-forward IPAs, to someone who enjoys the easy drinkability of a crisp, clean lager, there’s a TCB beer made with you in mind. Every beer we produce is developed, brewed and packaged entirely in-house. This hands-on approach allows us to maintain complete control over quality, from recipe development to the final pour, ensuring every can that leaves our brewery reflects our high standards and dedication to the craft.”

The staple of the taproom food menu is pizza, with a core lineup of 12 favourites, as well as two feature pizzas per month, both of which have a suggested beer pairing. That list of pizzas is supplemented by other shareable items like artichoke dip, sliders and tacos. Almost everything on the menu is meant to be shared, furthering the brewery’s goal of fostering community.

Since the release of Batch No. 001 in 2017, we’ve set aside a portion of each annual brew from Foeder No. 5 and bottle it, knowing a part of the original 2017 brew lives on.

Scott Sawatzky, Trans Canada Brewing Company

The taproom has live music on Fridays and Saturdays, and it is always subtle to ensure the taproom is welcoming to all. “We want to be a reliable brand, so whether we are the go-to spot for a night out with family and friends, or the beer that is always stocked at home, we want our customers to know they can expect the same level of care we put into every aspect of our company,” said Houldsworth.

Great beer

The 16 draft beers in the taproom consist of five core beers and rotating seasonal beers brewed on TCB’s 35-hectolitre brewhouse, which feeds into 14 70-hectolitre fermenters. TCB also has a five-hectolitre research and development brewery for experiments and recipe development, but the brewery eschews gimmicks.

“We want to give our customers proven winners,” said Houldsworth. The brewery uses its small brewhouse to aquire feedback from taproom customers when developing new beers, all with the intention of developing and improving their beer line up.

“Every October, we get together and plan what the entire following year will look like for beer launches, [including] what they are, when they’re coming out, how much we plan to make and what the beer will be packaged in,” said Scott Sawatzky, TCB’s senior leader of operations. “This is a full-team effort involved in our launch calendar, including our production team making and packaging the beer, input from our sales team with what they experience in the market and asking our taproom team what they hear from our customers.”

For beer lovers seeking a more elevated experience, TCB has a fleet of six 40-hectolitre foeders and a collection of barrels. “Our anniversary beer, Solera Farmhouse Saison, which was actually the first beer ever brewed at TCB, is made in a foeder,” said Sawatzky. “Since the release of Batch No. 001 in 2017, we’ve set aside a portion of each annual brew from Foeder No. 5 and bottle it, knowing a part of the original 2017 brew lives on.

“Good beer always starts with good ingredients. You can have the best equipment, the most creative recipe or the most skilled brewers, but if the ingredients aren’t top quality, the beer won’t be either.” To that end, TCB builds relationships with trusted suppliers, looking to local and Canadian sources whenever possible. “Our Flying Otter Light Lager is a great example. It’s brewed with Canadian malt barley grown right here on the Prairies,” said Sawatzky.

We want to be a reliable brand, so whether we are the go-to spot for a night out with family and friends, or the beer that is always stocked at home, we want our customers to know they can expect the same level of care we put into every aspect of our company.

Emma Houldsworth, Trans Canada Brewing Company

Another beer he’s proud of is Harvest Sky, which TCB releases every fall to line up with the end of the harvest season. “What makes it special is that every ingredient comes from Manitoba or Saskatchewan, from the malt to the hops. It’s a small way for us to celebrate the farmers and producers who help make what we do possible,” said Sawatzky.

TCB beer can be found across Manitoba, including every Liquor Mart in the province, as well as independent local beer vendors, restaurants and bars. “We really try to make sure we’re showing up wherever our customers are looking for us. We want to be easy to find,” said Will Lisson, TCB president.

Great community

“[TCB] is proudly independently owned and operated right here in Manitoba,” said Lisson. “That independence is something we deeply value, not just as a point of pride, but as a strategic advantage. It gives us the freedom to make decisions quickly, stay rooted in our community and remain true to our vision.”

Staying rooted in the community means investing in that community outside of the taproom as well as inside. “We’re proud to support causes that matter to our community and our province,” said Houldsworth. “Most recently, and hitting close to home, we started a new initiative to help raise funds for those affected by the Manitoba wildfires. All proceeds in June from our Scooper Pale Ale, which features a water bomber aircraft as the main illustration, [were] donated to the Canadian Red Cross for Manitoba wildfire relief.”

Within TCB, community is fostered by promoting a team approach where every employee is valued. “We believe strong leadership means setting a clear direction, while also listening actively, supporting professional development and trusting our team to take ownership of their roles,” said Lisson.

“That’s what drives our growth and helps us build an engaged company culture. Our leadership is focused on empowerment and collaboration. We intentionally foster a culture where every team member, whether they’re on the production floor, in the taproom or at the leadership table, feels encouraged to contribute ideas, ask challenging questions and take initiative. Innovation doesn’t just come from the top down; it comes from creating space for ideas to rise organically through every level of the organization.”

Great future

In the eight years since opening its doors to the public, TCB has achieved growth and success by being a part of, and helping to build, the Winnipeg beer scene and broader community. That growth has now provided an exciting opportunity.

“We are in the process of starting our expansion into Brandon, Man., with our second taproom and brewery,” said Houldsworth. “Brandon was an easy choice for our first expansion opportunity. It’s an exciting city, and the surrounding areas represent a huge market that has only recently started its craft beer journey. We aspire to be a household name in the beer industry in Manitoba, and Brandon allows us to speak directly to customers in a … new [way].”

Planning for TCB’s Brandon expansion is well underway, with an opening date scheduled for 2026. That new location will have the same community feel as the existing Winnipeg taproom, but with its own taproom-exclusive offerings, supplemented with beer from the main production facility, which will remain in Winnipeg.

“As for our Winnipeg location, we are always thinking of ways we can continue to evolve and improve. [We’ve started] some light planning on taproom renovation and upgrades, and expanding our production side. We are consistently growing and doing what we can to be the best version of ourselves, not only for our customers, but for our team.”

“Trump’s tariff tax is an attack on Canadians,” said Kinew. “We support the federal response to these tariffs and here in Manitoba, we’re stopping the sale of American products at Manitoba liquor marts. How you choose to spend your money is one of the most important decisions you as a consumer can make. There are plenty of great Manitoba breweries and distilleries to support instead.”

Effective Tuesday, Feb. 4, MBLL will be directed to pull American products off the shelves of liquor marts and will stop ordering American alcohol, the premier says. The premier adds the province will roll out more supports for Manitoba businesses and workers throughout the week in response to the U.S. tariffs. Manitoba’s U.S. Trade Council will meet on Monday to discuss the impacts of the tariffs and the province’s response.

For more information, Manitoba businesses or workers impacted by tariffs can contact the Manitoba government tariff hotline at 1-877-827-4330 (toll-free) or 204-945-8011, Manitoba Government Inquiry at 204-945-3744 or visit manitoba.ca/tariffresponse/.

The Manitoba born-and-raised farmer believes that the concept of buying local should come from simply wanting a superior tasting product – something he’s cultivated over six years at the helm of Dead Horse. “I’m a big supporter of ‘buy local,’ but as a producer, it’s up to me to actually provide a product that you want,” said Wiebe. “Maybe I can get you to try something because it’s local, but I want you to buy it again because you like it.”

Prior to Dead Horse, Wiebe, a fourth-generation farmer, grew crops of peas, beans, sweet corn and pumpkins. With a surplus of orders, he moved his operation to a larger facility adjacent to Dead Horse Creek in southern Manitoba’s Pembina Valley. Looking to find more ways to use the facility year-round, Wiebe invested in an apple press.

“My thought at the time was that there were so many apples going to waste in Manitoba,” said Wiebe. “No one was pressing or buying apples commercially then, and all the apples from hundreds of apple trees in the province were just going to landfills.”

Wiebe began pressing apples to sell juice in bulk, but with a shelf-life of only 10 days, he often found himself with fermented apple juice on hand. “I thought, ‘Why aren’t we just fermenting this on purpose?’” he said. With the facility, apple press and cooler already in place, Dead Horse Cider Co. was officially born in 2017, with its first cider released in 2018.

Southern Manitoba is a unique agricultural area for apples. In the 1960s, the Morden Research Station, just a 15-minute drive from Dead Horse, was tasked with developing apples that could thrive in the Prairie’s harsh winters. This has made for unique varietals that can only be found in this select region. For instance, the Kerr apple, a cross between a Dolgo crabapple and a Haralson apple, can adapt to a variety of soil conditions, stores well and has a sweet and tart flavour.

Kerr apples are winter-hardy and get picked after the fall frost, at which time Wiebe processes them into Dead Horse’s Life Is Rosé reserve, a semi-dry cider featuring a blushing rose colour and a fruity, mild tannin flavour. Life Is Rosé won Best in Class at the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition in the Rosé Cider category, and it’s the product Wiebe says he’s most proud of. “We wouldn’t have this type of cider if we were outside this part of Manitoba,” he said.

Wiebe leverages the ingredients that are available to him, sourcing apples mostly from small orchards and – get this – people’s backyards. For Dead Horse’s core ciders that are available across Manitoba liquor stores and beer stores – such as its Cherry On cider and Far from the Tree cider, which features hops – Wiebe sources thousands of pounds of ingredients to ensure he can get through a full calendar year of production, relying on local farmers and producers as much as possible, and calling upon B.C. farmers for more apples when needed.

As many are experiencing right now, producers or not, costs are rising. Whether it’s interest rates or produce prices, cider producers are feeling the pinch. For Wiebe, this also influences the products he’s able to sell. “I’d love to sell a Haskap cider in stores, but the price point would have to be way too high for most consumers,” he said.

However, it’s not just Wiebe’s costs that are taking a hit – he knows consumers are, too, and he’s hoping provincial laws will eventually take a more unified approach to pricing structures for any alcohol that’s under six per cent, regardless of if it’s beer, ready-to-drink beverages or cider.

“Most consumers don’t know that beer is marked up less than cider,” he said. “I’d like to see more of a level playing field.” For now, it’s Dead Horse’s Reserve Cider line where Wiebe has the opportunity to flex a little more creative muscle. “We’ll create one-offs, just depending on what’s available. If someone wants to give us Haskaps, blackcurrants or strawberries, we’ll use that as inspiration for a small batch,” he said. “We try to use any types of Manitoba fruits that might have been forgotten otherwise.”

Dead Horse, which now has four full-time and 10 part-time employees, also produces its Backyard Blend seasonally, a community-based cider made from backyard apples. Every fall, Dead Horse accepts apples from across Manitoba for pressing in exchange for cash, fresh juice or hard cider. Every 25 pounds of apples received means a 500-ml bottle of the product in return.

I’m a big supporter of ‘buy local,’ but as a producer, it’s up to me to actually provide a product that you want. Maybe I can get you to try something because it’s local, but I want you to buy it again because you like it.

Marcus Wiebe, Dead Horse Cider Co.

“With Backyard Blend, we wanted to find ways to use up all these backyard apples so that none of them went to waste,” said Wiebe, who says that last year, Dead Horse was able to save about 200,000 lbs of apples from the landfill.

Backyard Blend guarantees that each year’s product features different flavour notes after its fermentation and bottling period, which lasts approximately four to five months. These blends are typically dry, featuring varietals such as crabapples, Goodland apples and Norkent apples. “We leave it as a dry, scrumpy cider that changes every year, from its sourness to more tannins, but they’re always easy drinking,” said Wiebe. “Dead Horse got started because we wanted to find ways to use up Manitoba apples. Backyard Blend is a way that we stay true to our roots.”

Backyard Blend isn’t the only way that Dead Horse cultivates a strong connection to its community. Through its Artist Series, Dead Horse collaborates with local artists to pair its cider with custom-made bottle labels that create limited-edition works of art while showcasing how much talent Manitoba has to offer.

For its Artist Series, Dead Horse creates a rough version of a cider blend and gives it to an artist in its community to let it inspire them, whether that’s through songwriting, collage, painting or any other medium. Then, Dead Horse will feature that artwork on the bottle once the final cider is released, sharing profits with the artist on each bottle that’s sold. As part of the deal, artists also get to collaborate with Dead Horse to host an evening in the taproom, where they can showcase their creations with friends, family and the community.

The choice to make Dead Horse’s taproom a welcoming gathering space for its community was intentional. The taproom is an inclusive, social environment that isn’t just about enjoying great cider. In fact, Winkler, the town that Dead Horse is located in and that Wiebe is from, was a dry town as little as two decades ago. Dead Horse embraces that its customers might have differing viewpoints on alcohol consumption. Because of this, Wiebe has created a relaxed space where consumers know they can enjoy a cold cider, but if they don’t want to imbibe, Dead Horse can work with that, too.

“We try to create an atmosphere where everyone can feel welcome and safe, and enjoy our patio even if you’re not a drinker,” said Wiebe, noting that Dead Horse also offers non-alcoholic options and regularly hosts guest chefs and events such as trading card nights.

While Wiebe ensures that Dead Horse stands as a strong pillar in its community, he knows he’s up against some stiff competition in the cider space. However, his viewpoint on that might be surprising. “I don’t view craft cideries as competing against each other,” he said. “I view all of us [as] competing against large companies. It’s such a competitive world, and we do a great job on social media, but most players just don’t have the money that Molson does, and so you miss out on the ad spend,” he said.

While supporting local is great, at the end of the day, that’s not a good enough reason to keep purchasing Dead Horse products, says Wiebe. “People sometimes talk about making cider in Manitoba like it’s some kind of obstacle we’re overcoming,” he said. “In reality, we make this cider because we’re here, because we have these unique Prairie trees and because we couldn’t make these varieties anywhere else. We’re making these ciders because we’re in Manitoba, not despite it. I hope that our quality of product and what we represent will encourage people to buy, and to continue to buy.”

The place is packed during summer months, which of course is a boon to a business like Interlake Brewing Co., a family-friendly brewpub that’s a recent addition to Gimli’s lakeside restaurant row.

Summer, however, only lasts so long. So, how does Interlake Brewing keep their taps flowing and the brewpub buzzing during the off-season? Well, thanks to the owners’ ingenuity and a warm welcome from the people of Gimli, it’s been easier than one may think.

Gimli: A gem in Manitoba

The owners of Interlake Brewing are Graeme Maclean and Kristin MacCary, a young Manitoba couple whose shared love for beer led them to found the brewery in 2021. The building housing the brewpub required extensive renovations, so it wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that it opened its doors for business.

Since then, they’ve been tremendously busy, raising two small children – a three-year-old and a six-month-old – while juggling multiple roles at the family business. However, for Maclean and MacCary, starting and running their own craft beer business has been a labour of love.

They are long-time home brewers and have spent time learning about and working in craft breweries in places as far afield as Japan. When they decided to take the plunge and establish their own craft brewery business, they chose their favourite place to do it.

Maclean, who is Métis, has many memories of cottaging in Manitoba’s Interlake region, which includes Gimli. After scouting for locations in the Interlake area, the couple decided Gimli was where they wanted to set up shop.

“This is such a special place. I think people in Manitoba don’t even realize what a gem we have here in Gimli,” said MacCary. “When we decided to settle down and start our family and our business, we realized this is the place for us. It’s the lifestyle we want and the community we want to be a part of.”

Maclean notes there were good economic reasons to settle in Gimli as well. “Personally, this is a very important place to us. We did the math, and it made sense to be opening a business out here,” he said, adding that Gimli has a more consistent year-round population compared to other communities in the area, which helps keep the taps flowing.

“We’re right across from the beach and [the Lakeview Gimli Resort], and [we’re] on a street full of restaurants,” he said. “There’s lots of foot traffic… to make a business like this viable.”

A drinking town with a fishing problem

According to MacCary, what also made Gimli the logical choice to set up shop was the fact that it’s chock-full of people looking for fun things to do.

“The joke Gimli people say is that ‘it’s a drinking town with a fishing problem.’ We find it a very social town. People want to go out and meet their friends. They want something to do, somewhere to go, and they’re happy to do it here,” she said. “Year-round, we do trivia, we do live music, we do karaoke, we do craft nights. We’re bringing in different types of people for different reasons.”

MacCary says since they introduced live music at the brewpub, every Friday night is booked throughout the summer.

This is such a special place. I think people in Manitoba don’t even realize what a gem we have here in Gimli.

Kristin MacCary, Interlake Brewing Co.

“Bands are approaching us all the time. It’s been fun to tap into that community of musicians. The word gets out and lots of people want to play here. Then, they want to come back and play here again,” she said. “They say our customers are just so friendly, our servers are so positive, so that’s a huge compliment. People just like the vibe. That’s a big thing we hear a lot: ‘You’ve got such a good vibe.’”

What’s on tap

There are nine types of Interlake Brewing beer currently sold in Manitoba liquor stores. They include pale, red and blonde ales as well as wheat and Kolsch beers and an assortment of others.

“It’s nice to be offering more and more varieties. Our first and second releases are still some of our most consistent sales, and we’re getting offered on tap at more and more locations,” MacCary said. “Most of our recipes come from our home brew days, when we were first learning. We’d say, ‘okay, I like this flavour.’ We’d make the same thing over and over again, but tweaking it with different flavours or different effects, playing with different hops and that kind of thing.”

All the Interlake Brewing beer styles are brewed in partnership with Oxus Brewing Company, another craft brewery located in Winnipeg, although the plan is to have a 500-litre microbrewery operating at the brewpub location soon. Maclean and MacCary point out it isn’t usual for businesses like theirs to start off this way, using contract breweries.

“At Oxus, they’re brewing up to 6,000 litres, so their capacity is way bigger, and they can package all of that. They can can it, they can warehouse it, they can distribute it,” said MacCary. “We knew as we grew, Oxus would be able to grow with us and support us with bigger and bigger batches.”

It’s kind of like a scaled-up version of home brewing, where we can see what we have or try what we’re curious about. There’s that creative aspect, which you’re less able to do when you are mass producing for a huge market.

Kristin MacCary, Interlake Brewing Co.

She notes some smaller batches are also being brewed at Oxus, which are Gimli exclusives available only at the brewpub. “One was so popular that we did scale it up and package it. It’s our newest release called Foxtail Blonde. We tested [it] here in Gimli, and people liked it so much that we decided we would can it for the wider market,” said MacCary.

Small batch brewing

Maclean and MacCary say once their microbrewery is set up in Gimli, it will be used for brewing small, 500-litre batches just for the brewpub location. “We’ll still have Oxus-produced beers for the wider market, [since] they’ve got the scale,” MacCary said.

One advantage of small batch brewing, she says, is “everything’s fresh. That also means there’s a wider variety of ingredients we can use, since we don’t need beer that has to be shelf-stable for six months if it’s going to be consumed quickly and stored cold instead. It’s in kegs and it’s here, on site.

“We can play a little bit more with ingredients that don’t necessarily scale. There’ll be lots of local things. We already work with wild rice and rhubarb and highlight some Manitoba ingredients that way. We also want to work with chokecherries and Saskatoons,” MacCary said. “It’s kind of like a scaled-up version of home brewing, where we can see what we have or try what we’re curious about. There’s that creative aspect, which you’re less able to do when you are mass producing for a huge market.”

Beyond beer

The innovation taking place at Interlake Brewing extends to their menu served up at the Gimli brewpub. “We’re a restaurant as well. People are happy to drink here, but I think people are really excited to have our food offerings too,” MacCary said, adding their food not only caters to different tastes, but to different food requirements as well.

Most of our recipes come from our home brew days, when we were first learning. We’d say, ‘okay, I like this flavour.’ We’d make the same thing over and over again, but tweaking it with different flavours or different effects, playing with different hops and that kind of thing.

Kristin MacCary, Interlake Brewing Co.

“Our customers can still enjoy the Manitoba craft experience without having beer. Mead and cider are good options for that, and we have a full bar of wine as well. I like having something on tap that’s gluten free. I think it is the future, too – I mean, we get so many requests for gluten-free [food and beverages]. There’s a huge market for it,” she said.

“We want to be inclusive, and that means having non-alcoholic options, having kid-friendly options, gluten-free options, all of that.”

In 2013, Manzie and his partners opened the first brewery in Kenora, since 1954, built around an appreciation of the outdoors and the relaxed attitude that comes with time at the lake. “Lake of the Woods – it’s in our name and it’s in our beer. Literally. Our beer is made from Lake of the Woods water,” said Rob Dokuchie, director of marketing. “There are 14,522 islands on Lake of the Woods. We are part of the lake. It’s where we live, work and play.”

Ian Bergman, head of sales and commercial development calls Lake of the Woods “heaven on Earth.” It’s not clear if he’s referring to the lake or the brewery, but that ambiguity is because he probably means both.

“It’s where family and friends come to connect and unwind,” said Bergman. “That translates to why the company and the brand resonate with beer drinkers.”

Original brewpub

Although it shares its name with breweries founded in Kenora in 1898 and again in 1927, the current Lake of the Woods Brewing started as a brewpub in 2013 in a century-old firehall. Located in downtown Kenora and home to a 10-hectolitre Kaspar Shultz brewhouse purchased used from South Korea. The 9,000-square-foot brewpub serves up to 275 people over two floors and its patio. A full menu of pub fare accompanies six core beers, rotating seasonal beers, non-alcoholic beers, hand-crafted sodas and a line of hard seltzers under a sibling brand, Steep Rock Hard Seltzer.

At the height of summer, the population of Kenora is triple that of winter months. That seasonality presents unique financial, operational and staffing challenges, but integrating itself into the community has ensured over a decade of success.

“We are part of this community. We all use the lake,” said Dokuchie, referring to the brewery itself, which sources its water from its namesake, and the staff, who all live the lake life and most of whom, including all of the Lake of the Woods Brewing leadership team, live in Kenora.

Being part of the community means supporting it. To that end, Lake of the Woods Brewing sponsors annual community clean-up efforts, serving as a base where volunteers can pick up gloves, bags and pickers. Lake of the Woods Brewing also sponsors an annual tree planting day, annually paying for 10,000 trees that staff and volunteers will plant in a single day. Manzie also notes that Lake of the Woods Brewing was the first local restaurant to stop using straws and plastics; protecting nature is part of enjoying the lake.

This strong support of the community has yielded fierce loyalty from customers and staff alike. Lake of the Woods Brewing’s head brewer has been with the company for over nine years and many of Lake of the Woods Brewing staff has been with the company since Day 1.

New opportunities and new locations

In 2019, Lake of the Woods Brewing opened a second brewery and location in Warroad, Minn. Located on the southwest shore of Lake of the Woods, the location features docks for customers to arrive by boat. That location, like its older sibling, is also housed in a former firehall. The Warroad brewery offers pizzas and supports local food trucks every weekend. A 10-barrel brewhouse brews draft and packaged beer sold throughout Minnesota and in neighbouring states.

“Lake of the Woods – it’s in our name and it’s in our beer. Literally. Our beer is made from Lake of the Woods water.”

Rob Dokuchie, Lake of the Woods Brewing Company

In 2020, the brewery opened a third location in Winnipeg. A 7.5-barrel brewhouse is located in a glassed-in room in the middle of Hargrave Street Market. Customers can order food from any of the market’s half-dozen restaurants and enjoy it with Lake of the Woods beer while watching it being brewed. Although Winnipeg is not located on Lake of the Woods, the Manitoba capital draws its water from Shoal Lake, northwest of the Lake of the Woods.

“You don’t have to be on the lake to enjoy lake time,” said Manzie.

Today, Lake of the Woods Brewing is putting the final touches on a new, 20,000-square-foot production facility in Kenora, which will also have a tasting room, outdoor space and vendors’ stalls. Dubbed “Brewers Village,” the new facility is being built at a cost of $8 million. A 30-hectolitre, four-vessel brewhouse will take over production of the brewery’s core beers to ensure consistency among the multiple locations. That will free up capacity to allow those smaller breweries to focus on product piloting and research. Lake of the Woods Brewing has always taken pride in their small batch brews. “We’ve probably perfected over 100 recipes,” said Manzie.

However, the new facility will not just make beer. It is being built from the ground up as a beverage production facility.

“Part of the purpose of this new facility is to [produce] other products,” said Manzie. The facility will have state-of-the-art equipment, including a pasteurizer and a 100-can-per-minute, counter-pressure packaging line. This means that all of Lake of the Woods Brewing beers, non-alcoholic beers, hand-crafted sodas and hard seltzers, some of which are currently produced at contract facilities, will be made in-house.

“A long time ago, when we were just one small brewpub and constantly running out of beer, we asked ourselves, ‘Do we want to just service the firehall, or are we going to grow and serve our beer to the broader community?’” said Manzie.

So, while building a new beverage facility while managing three breweries located in two provinces and two countries is difficult, Manzie has become an expert in navigating different regulations and accepts the tribulations that come with running a successful business.

“It’s just the nature of the beast,” he said. “You have to navigate the landscape. You have to figure it out. This is just the business we chose to be in. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. You have to surround yourself with great people.”

Those great people include Dokuchie and Bergman, who are childhood friends and uniquely positioned to promote the Lake of the Woods Brewing’s “lake time” ethos.

A part of the beer community and the community at large

Manzie served on the board of Beer Canada from 2017 until 2022 as the Ontario small brewers representative. “I was honoured to be part of the board,” he said. “Beer Canada is a great resource for information. And there is strength in numbers, so it’s great that Beer Canada is a voice for brewers. They also do good things in research and are an industry voice for all brewers across all categories.”

Manzie also served on the board of NOIC Academy and currently serves as the business representative for the Crime Prevention and Community Well-Being Advisory Committee for the City of Kenora. Despite being busier than yeast working on a barleywine, for Manzie, it is important to make time to serve the community that supports him and Lake of the Woods Brewing.

Who knows what the future holds?

“I always swear I’ll never do another one,” said Manzie of the stress of opening new locations, but he enjoys the process. “The reason we have Warroad and Winnipeg is because these incredible opportunities came to us. We would evaluate any opportunity. But these things take time and money, and we’re kind of out of both,” he said.

If one thing is clear, it is that despite the day-to-day stress of the job, the Lake of the Wood Brewing team is always rejuvenated by lake time.

Blood Brothers Brewing

Toronto, Ont.

Blood Brothers Brewing started in 2015 in an 800-square-foot unit located inside a larger industrial building, but by 2016 it had already outgrown the meagre space. The team knew that to make the brewery profitable, they would need to move.

Luckily, they found a post-industrial space in a century-old horse barn-turned-automotive-garage down the street. Pulling from their network of friends, and a shoestring budget, they hired Borien Studio for the buildout. Leaning into Blood Brothers Brewing’s request of cult, church and horror elements, Borien Studio built a bizarre yet gorgeous alter using brass, reclaimed materials and the Japanese technique of preserving wood through charring, called Shou Sugi Ban, to create a unique, grand space.

After a year or so, the Blood Brothers Brewing team added a large altarpiece of timber and brass behind the main bar, and a custom brass chandelier designed by friends and neighbours, Sixpenny Architectural Fabrication.

Submitted by Blood Brothers Brewing

Kilter Brewing Co.

Winnipeg, Man.

Kilter Brewing Co. creates tropical, exploratory beers. They wanted their taproom to reflect those elements in every possible way through the design. Customers are welcomed into the taproom by lush greenery and a wide variety of seating and décor options that cater to different preferences.

Their space features cozy couches, papasan egg chairs that swing and floor-to-ceiling wallpaper with tropical plants and flamingos. Their bar is completely canopied with green vines, plants and string lights. The back of the taproom features mix-and-match coloured tables surrounded by barrels filled with different beers that have been aging for several years.

The presence of a large glass overhead door at the front of the taproom creates an open-air environment that allows for a seamless integration between the indoor and outdoor space.

Submitted by Kilter Brewing Co.

Container Brewing Ltd.

Vancouver, B.C.

Container Brewing Ltd., located in East Vancouver, opened on Nov. 22, 2019. Container is a brewery that blends passion for craft beer with a commitment to community and diversity.

It was built largely in part by its co-founders Terry Brown and Dan Webster. The design’s intention was to create a bright, minimalist space with a West Coast feel. Incorporating reclaimed wood from the demolition and overhaul of the building, along with indoor planters, helped to realize this vision.

Hand-built tables and benches give warmth to the space, which is made up of unique socializing opportunities through a “nook,” group seating, a bar top and built-in tables for smaller groups. Exposed brick and rafters help bring an old-time industrial feel to the space and connect the lounge experience with the production that takes place on the premises.

Throughout the lounge there are artifacts from the construction of the brewery, which include photographs of found objects and equipment, old bottles and office items left behind. Anything of interest or novelty was incorporated into the aesthetic. Behind the bar is the sole literal nod to the name of the brewery. A corrugated cladding embodies a shipping container and serves as a magnetic menu board.

Submitted by Container Brewing Ltd.

Steam Whistle Brewing

Toronto, Ont.

Steam Whistle Brewing’s taproom creates a rustic feel that is authentic to the brand. The team used natural materials like wood to create a rustic and warm ambiance along with industrial elements like exposed beams, metal fixtures and concrete surfaces to reflect the idea of traditional brewing. They installed warm and ambient lighting to create a cozy atmosphere and showcase artwork of past beer cans along with memorabilia from the brand’s history.

Submitted by Steam Whistle Brewing.

Quidi Vidi Brewery Co.

St. John’s, N.L.

Quidi Vidi Brewery Co. was founded by Dave Fong in 1996. Before that, the brewery was a fish plant, a history which inspired the theme of its taproom.

Quidi Vidi Brewery sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and is a 15 minute boat ride away from cod fishing. Fresh cod caught by the brewery’s team are prepared and served in the taproom, which can seat 220 people and consists of three sections: the main and original taproom inside the brewery – which includes the main bar with 16 beers on tap – the upstairs patio and deck, and the seaside deck.

The upstairs patio and deck has a clear roof and is weather-proofed with heaters so customers can sit “outside” 365 days a year and overlook the water. The seaside deck is the brewery’s lower deck, which is at water level. The light fixtures took some effort to source, but the ropes and hooks tie together the taproom’s connection to the sea.

Submitted by Quidi Vidi Brewery Co.

With a new B.C.-based warehouse, Clearsips now offers non-alcoholic beverages to a wide range of restaurants, hotels and retailers across Western Canada. Alberta customers can also get Oddbird, HP Juniper, Spiritless, Drink Monday, Cipriani, Sinzero and Domaine de L’Arjolle at Liquor Connect. People across Canada can also continue to order their alcohol-free beverages online at Clearsips.ca.

Clearsips has appointed Alberta’s Melanie Kobelka as VP of sales in Western Canada to build wholesale relationships and sales with local grocery stores, hotels, restaurants and retailers. Kobelka brings over 19 years of experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry and is the founder of Caskade Wines (now Vinolution), a boutique wine agency. Kobelka’s passion for the non-alcoholic industry and encouraging the addition of more inclusive options for customers led her to join the Clearsips team.

“We are excited to bring the very best alcohol-free choices to even more Canadians with our expansion in Western Canada,” said Kobelka. “Our mission is to work with more grocery stores, bars, restaurants, hotels and retailers across the country so they can carry quality products to keep up with the growing consumer demand for alternatives to alcohol.”