Fort Garry Brewing Company
{{Short description|Brewery in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Fort Garry Brewing Company Ltd
| image = Image:Fort Garry Brewing Company logo.png
| caption =
| location = Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
| owner = private ownership
| foundation = 1920s, 1994
| production =
| homepage = {{URL | http://www.fortgarry.com/ }}
| industry = Alcoholic beverage
| products = Beer
}}
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 beer Fort Garry Dark.{{cite news|last=Waytiuk|first=Judy|title=Tapping beer tastes: how Rick Hoeschen founded a brewery.|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Tapping+beer+tastes%3A+how+Rick+Hoeschen+founded+a+brewery.-a017384446|accessdate=20 December 2013|newspaper=Manitoba Business|date=1 May 1995}} Richard D. Hoeschen died on September 16, 2002.{{cite web|title=RICHARD HOESCHEN|url=http://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-72211/name-Richard_Hoeschen/|publisher=Winnipeg Free Press Passages|accessdate=20 December 2013|date=19 September 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.{{cite web|last=Reimer|first=Dallas|title=Fort Garry Brewing|url=http://www.united-nations-of-beer.com/fort-garry-brewing.html#axzz2nl0007B3|publisher=United Nations of Beer|accessdate=17 December 2013}}
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.{{cite news|last=Kirbyson|first=Geoff|title=Agassiz ale no longer made in Manitoba|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/agassiz-ale-no-longer-made-in-manitoba-83013177.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|accessdate=17 December 2013|date=29 January 2010}}
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.{{cite web|title=New Winnipeg-brewed beer light, crisp — and gluten-free|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/new-winnipeg-brewed-beer-light-crisp-and-gluten-free-1.687738|publisher=CBC News|accessdate=17 December 2013|date=17 December 2007}} On October 22 that year, Fort Garry Brewing Company amalgamated with Russell Brewing Company{{cite web|title=Our Story|url=http://www.fortgarry.com/our-story.asp|publisher=Fort Garry|accessdate=17 December 2013}} as wholly-owned subsidiaries of Russell Breweries Inc., of Surrey, British Columbia, in a deal worth $4 million in cash and stock.{{cite web|title=Russell Breweries tries to swallow Fort Garry|url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=9f6ba684-7017-4e5e-8fbb-70cdfc4d5043|work=Vancouver Sun|publisher=Canada.com|accessdate=17 December 2013|date=29 May 2007}}
In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the brewery produced a custom brew for Winnipeg's Folklorama festival, called "Folklorama Beer".{{cite news|title=Folklorama beer returns|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/food/Folklorama-beer-returns-51042582.html|accessdate=20 December 2013|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=17 July 2009}}{{cite news|last=Preprost|first=Matt|title=Folklorama on top of the world|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/folklorama-on-top-of-the-world-100747164.html|accessdate=20 December 2013|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date=16 August 2010}}
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.{{cite web|last=Baxter|first=David|title=Goldeyes hope to score homerun with Angry Fish beer|url=http://metronews.ca/news/winnipeg/221299/goldeyes-hope-to-score-homerun-with-angry-fish-beer/|publisher=Metro Winnipeg|accessdate=20 December 2013|date=11 May 2012}} As of May 2021, the current brewmaster at Fort Garry is Josh Berscheid.{{cite web | url=https://fortgarry.com/pages/brewmaster | title=Meet the Brewmaster }}
See also
External links
- [http://www.fortgarry.com/ Fort Garry Brewing Company] - official web site