Fort Garry Brewing Company facts for kids
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| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1920s, 1994 |
| Headquarters | Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada |
| Products | Beer |
| Owner | publicly traded |
The Fort Garry Brewing Company Ltd is a brewery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
History
The company was bought by the Hoeschen family in 1930, and operated by them until it was sold to Molson in 1960, and incorporated as Molson's Fort Garry Brewery Ltd. In 1990, Molson merged with Carling O'Keefe and closed the Fort Garry facility.In 1994, Richard D. Hoeschen resurrected the company. At the time, Fort Garry Brewing was the only micro-brewery in Manitoba, and the beer was originally intended only to be available in kegs. Before opening the doors, Hoeschen hired Gary De Pape as brewmaster and the two developed the Company's flagship brand Fort Garry Dark. Richard D. Hoeschen died on September 16, 2002.
In 2003, Fort Garry Brewing amalgamated with Winnipeg's Two Rivers Brewing Company (established in the 1990s), keeping the Fort Garry name, but adding some of Two Rivers’ brands to its product line.
On 15 October 2004, Fort Garry Brewing signed an agreement with its former Manitoba rival, New Manitoba Brewing, to warehouse, distribute and market the Agassiz Brewing brand, Catfish Cream Ale. In 2010, Fort Garry Brewing ceased production of the product.
Since 2005, Fort Garry Beer is sold in Manitoba and Alberta.
In 2007, Fort Garry began to brew and bottle Nubru Blend, the first gluten-free beer in Manitoba, for FarmPure Beverages of Regina, Saskatchewan. On October 22 that year, Fort Garry Brewing Company amalgamated with Russell Brewing Company as wholly-owned subsidiaries of Russell Breweries Inc., of Surrey, British Columbia, in a deal worth $4 million in cash and stock.
In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the brewery produced a custom brew for Winnipeg's Folklorama festival, called "Folklorama Beer".
In 2012, Fort Garry Brewing Company partnered with the Winnipeg Goldeyes to produce a pilsner called "Angry Fish" to promote the team's new secondary logo. As of November 2015, the current brewmaster at Fort Garry is Dan Geddes.
Brands
Most brands are 5% alcohol by volume, and available in small bottles, or sold as draft beer in bars.
- Fort Garry Pale Ale
- Fort Garry Dark Ale
- Frontier Pilsner (discontinued in 2013 to return later that year revamped with the original recipe from 1932)
- Fort Garry Premium Light (4% alcohol)
- Stone Cold Draft (budget beer in 650mL and 2L plastic bottles, 6.2%)
- Cold One Draft (1L plastic bottles)
- Folklorama (made Folklorama, for Winnipeg's annual and world's largest multicultural festival)
- Angry Fish Pilsner (made in partnership with Winnipeg Goldeyes)
- Fort Garry Rouge
- Two Rivers Lager
Brewmaster's Series and Seasonal releases:
- Munich Eisbock (660 mL bottles) - Oct. 2011
- Kona Imperial Stout (660 mL bottles to 2014. Cans in 2015) - Spring 2012-14, January 2015
- Happy Jack Pumpkin Ale (660 mL bottles) - Autumn since 2012
- St. Nick's Oak Spiced Porter (660 mL bottles) - Winter 2012-13
- Portage and Main India Pale Ale (473 mL cans) - Intermittent since Spring 2013
- Big Bison ESB (660 mL bottles) - Spring 2014
- Evil Goat Dopplebock (473 mL cans) - Summer 2014
- Raspberry Quencher Wheat Beer (473 mL cans) - Summer 2014
- Big Buddha Lemon Wheatgrass Beer (473 mL cans) - Summer since 2014
- Das München Oktoberfest (473 mL cans) - Autumn 2014
- Naughty & Spice Porter (660 mL bottle) - Autumn since 2014
- Golden Boy India Pale Lager (341mL bottle) - Spring 2017 - Collaboration with the Manitoba Brewers Association
- Lucky Cherry Cider (473mL cans) - Spring 2017
- Friday Knights Weekend Warrior (473mL can) - Summer 2017
- Extra Special Bitter (473mL cans) - Summer 2017
Growler Only Releases:
- Oak Aged Fort Garry Dark (2014, 2017)
- Red Reaper Rye Ale (2015)
Formerly brewed:
- Agassiz Catfish Cream Ale (under contract)
- Farmpure Nubru Blend (under contract)
- Fort Garry Lime (473 mL cans)
