In its early days, the brewery focused on Belgian-inspired beers. In particular, the brewery attracted both national and international attention for its flagship beer, La Buteuse, a Belgian-style tripel. The beers had a distinctive look, thanks to comic-book-style labels on custom 600-millilitre bottles.

Beer drinkers connected with Le Trou Du Diable’s irreverent, punk ethos and gained some notoriety when they released Shawinigan Handshake, a beer whose label alluded to an incident in which then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien choked an activist to whom Chrétien took exception. Even the name of the brewery is a bit irreverent. Le Trou Du Diable means “The Devil’s Hole”. It is a reference to a cave at the bottom of the Shawinigan Falls on the Saint-Maurice River.

A provincial focus

Le Trou Du Diable has won many local and international brewing awards, says Alexandre Lantheir, marketing manager. Those awards brought Le Trou Du Diable attention, and the beer was soon available across Canada and on several continents.

In 2013, Le Trou Du Diable opened a larger facility, though the original pub remains to this day. In 2017, Le Trou Du Diable was acquired by Molson Coors. Today, Le Trou Du Diable has chosen to focus its efforts on the local market, retreating from all international and provincial markets outside of Quebec. Its beer is now available in package and on draft only in La Belle Province.

Le Trou Du Diable’s core line-up, all brewed in Shawinigan, consists of 10 beers, ranging from the original Belgian-inspired beers to the various IPA styles that have captured the craft beer-drinking community since the brewery first started brewing. Today, about 40 per cent of Le Trou Du Diable’s production is IPAs.

In addition to those core beers, Le Trou Du Diable releases about eight seasonal and limited beers each year, including selections from the brewery’s extensive barrel cellar. “Innovation is still a big part of our DNA,” said Lanthier. That means that, while working primarily with Canadian-grown ingredients, brewers are allowed to be creative, collaborating with suppliers to source whatever ingredients excite them.

A community celebration

Building on their demonic name, Le Trou Du Diable celebrated its 20th anniversary on June 6, 2026. As the employer of about 50 of Shawinigan’s fewer than 52,000 residents, Le Trou Du Diable enjoys support from the local community.

For the 20th-anniversary party, the brewery closed the street, set up two stages and hosted a huge celebration. The City of Shawinigan used the event as the unofficial launch of the city’s summer festival season. The brewery also released a limited edition of its famed La Buteuse, aged in XO Cognac barrels. Of course, 666 hand-numbered bottles were available to local fans.

An eye to the future

Celebrating a landmark anniversary is also a good time to look to the future. “Part of our celebration is that we are using the 20th anniversary to create a new visual identity for our brewery,” said Lanthier.

Le Trou Du Diable never rests. Its commitment to continuous improvement has helped keep the brewery relevant in an ever-changing craft beer scene for over 20 years, even under Molson Coors’ stewardship. Despite initial success on the back of Belgian-inspired beers, Le Trou Du Diable shifted and built a reputation for hop-forward IPAs, which now account for almost half of the brewery’s sales.

Cans are the vessel of choice among craft beer drinkers.

Alexandre Lanthier, Le Trou Du Diable

They were also able to transition from their distinctive bottle to cans. “Cans are the vessel of choice among craft beer drinkers,” said Lanthier. Today, most beers are available in 473-millilitre cans, though mixed packs come in 355-millilitre cans. Le Trou Du Diable offers two of these mixed packs: one with four different IPAs and another with the brewery’s Irish red ale, Belgian white ale, American pale ale and Keller pilsner. A 12-pack of the brewery’s Mexican lager in 355-millilitre cans is also available.

To date, the brewery has eschewed the trendy but crowded non-alcoholic and seltzer markets, though it does offer a low-alcohol beer. Perroquet IPA, at just 3.5 per cent ABV, is a hoppy session IPA for drinkers seeking moderation without giving up alcohol entirely.

While four of the brewery’s beers are still available in the brewery’s custom 600-millilitre bottles, experiments are underway to allow them to be packaged in cans instead. These four beers are currently bottled because they are refermented in those bottles. With some research and development, Le Trou Du Diable hopes to soon be packaging these last beers in cans as well.

Staying true to its roots

Despite all the growth and changes, Le Trou Du Diable has remained true to its roots.

The original brewpub, located on the banks of the Saint-Maurice River, continues to brew seasonal and small-batch beers using its 10-hectolitre, two-vessel system built by DME. Although the original five founders of the brewery have moved on to other endeavours, there are staff at the brewpub who have worked with Le Trou Du Diable since Day One, serving the citizens of Shawinigan with the same passion and care that have brought the brewery success since it first opened its doors.

In part, the original brewpub maintains its connection with the community by functioning as an employee-owned co-operative, a unique business structure that keeps the brewery closely tied to the city and its residents. The larger production facility, just a two-minute drive or a 10-minute walk away, continues to produce most of Le Trou Du Diable’s beers in a 50-hectolitre, four-vessel brewhouse built by Newlands. The head brewer has been with the company for 13 years.

This larger facility also has an event space with room for up to 150 people and a stage. This event room at the production brewery hosts ticketed punk and alternative concerts, bringing world-class music to the city to enjoy alongside its world-class beer.

Molson Coors’ acquisition of Le Trou Du Diable occurred at a time when craft beer fans vehemently opposed brewery buyouts. But by allowing the brewery’s employees to carry on the founders’ original punk, irreverent attitude and by prioritizing the brewery’s role in the Shawinigan and Quebec communities, Molson Coors showed how a craft-brewery acquisition can be done right.