Agassiz Brewing

Agassiz Brewing Company Ltd
Location	Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
Year opened	1999
Active beers
Name Type Catfish Cream Ale cream ale

The Agassiz Brewing Company is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is named for the prehistoric glacial Lake Agassiz which once covered much of Manitoba. Agassiz beer is available in Manitoba, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Founded by the original Fort Garry Brewing Company brewmaster, Gary De Pape, the Agassiz Brewing Company was established in Winnipeg in late 1998 and opened it doors on March 17, 1999.

Agassiz Brewing did very well during its first year. But after De Pape left to pursue other interests, the Company sales dropped and it had difficulty covering its operating costs because of the small volume. It was forced to operate its facility while producing a fraction of its 600,000 litre capacity. After considering several options, including approaching rival Fort Garry Brewing, it closed its Winnipeg operation on January 31, 2002, sold its assets and went bankrupt to re-emerge as a contract brewer, known as New Manitoba Brewing Ltd. New Manitoba Brewing handled all of the beer marketing, sales, and distribution, while leaving the brewing and packaging to Northern Breweries, of Greater Sudbury, Ontario.[1]

On October 15, 2004, New Manitoba Brewing signed an agreement with its former Manitoba rival, Fort Garry Brewing, for that company to warehouse, distribute and market the Agassiz brands.[2]

Agassiz was one of a trio of new microbreweries, including Fort Garry and Two Rivers Brewing, that burst onto Manitoba's beer scene in the late 1990’s to produce and bottle locally made beer. But Agassiz's volumes of its Catfish Cream Ale, Bison Blonde Lager, Premium Pilsner, Dark Lager and Harvest Haze Hefeweizen recipes weren't sufficient to sustain its plant and it was closed in 2002. Agassiz temporarily outsourced production to an Ontario brewery before coming to terms with Fort Garry on a co-packing arrangement in 2004.

Fort Garry Brewing ended that relationship in January 2010, citing that Fort Garry was too busy with its own brands to have any room in their tanks for Agassiz Brewing’s last brand, Catfirsh Cream Ale.

Joe Constant, a partner in New Manitoba Brewing Ltd., which has overseen the Agassiz brands since Gary De Pape’s departure, said he and his partners tried to get other small breweries to resuscitate Catfish, but to no avail.

Agassiz Brewing Brands - now no longer available:

• Catfish Cream Ale (5% alcohol by volume)
• Bison Blonde Lager (4.8%), a helles-style lager
• Dark Lager, a Munich dark lager
• Winnipeg Kolsch (available on tap only)
• Harvest Haze Hefeweizen

See also

• Canadian beer