Fort Garry Brewing Company

Infobox Brewery
name = Fort Garry Brewing Company Ltd


caption =
location = Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
owner = publicly traded
opened = 1920s, 1994
production =
active_beers = brewbox_beer|name=Fort Garry Pale Ale|style=English pale ale brewbox_beer|name=Fort Garry Dark Ale|style=English dark ale brewbox_beer|name=Frontier Pilsener|style=Canadian pilsener brewbox_beer|name=Fort Garry Premium Light|style=light beer brewbox_beer|name=Two Rivers Lager|style=Canadian lager brewbox_beer|name=Two Rivers Light|style=light beer brewbox_beer|name=Two Rivers Red|style=Canadian lager brewbox_beer|name=Stone Cold Draft|style=strong lager brewbox_beer|name=Cold One Draft|style= brewbox_beer|name=Rural Route Lager|style=lager brewbox_beer|name=Fort Gibraltar Premium Lager|style=lager
seasonal_beers =
other_beers =

The Fort Garry Brewing Company Ltd brews beer in Winnipeg, Canada. The company was bought by the Hoeschen family in 1930, and operated by them until it was sold to Molson in 1960. In 1994, Richard D. Hoeschen resurrected the company.

The company was publicly traded on the Winnipeg Stock Exchange starting in January 1999, as CDNX:FGA.V.

Fort Garry Brewing produced two initial brands, Fort Garry Pale Ale and Dark Ale, from a 280 m² plant with a capacity of 400,000 litres. In June 1999, the company moved to a new 2,300 m² plant with ten times the capacity, and in September revived a brand from the 1930s, Frontier Pilsener.

On September 16, 2002, Richard D. Hoeschen died of Hodgkin's disease.

Starting in 2005, Fort Garry Beer is sold in Manitoba and Alberta.

Amalgamations and contract brewing

On May 15, 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 October 15, 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. [http://www.fortgarry.com/pdfs/2004/3Q2004-Final.pdf]

In 2007, Fort Garry began to brew and bottle Nubru Blend, for FarmPure Beverages of Regina, Saskatchewan.

On October 22, 2007, 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. [http://www.russellbeer.com/documents/RussellBreweriesAnnouncesCompletionofAmalgamationwithFortGarryBrewing.pdf] The two brands continue to operate independently, but Fort Garry's surplus production capacity will help to fulfill Russell's contract to supply BC Place Stadium in Vancouver. [http://www.halfpintsbrewing.com/2007/09/so-how-are-you-really-doing.html]

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 Pilsener
* Fort Garry Premium Light (4% alcohol)

* Two Rivers Lager (Budget beer, 500 ml plastic bottle)
* Two Rivers Light (4%)
* Two Rivers Red

* Stone Cold Draft (budget beer in 2l plastic bottles, 6.2%)
* Cold One Draft (1l plastic bottles)
* Rural Route Lager (2l plastic bottles)

* Fort Gibraltar Premium Lager (made for the Festival du Voyageur)
* Earls Albino Rhino (produced for Earls Restaurants on contract)

Brewed under contract:

* Agassiz Catfish Cream Ale
* Farmpure Nubru Blend

See also

* Agassiz Brewing Company
* Upper Fort Garry
* Lower Fort Garry
* Canadian beer

External links

* [http://www.fortgarry.com/ Fort Garry Brewing Company] - official web site
* [http://www.farmpurebeverages.com/ FarmPure Beverages]