Because of the country's fresh, outdoorsy image, Canadian beers have always been more fashionable than most of them deserve to be. The market was once controlled by the "Big Three" brewers--Molson, Carling, and Labatt--whose companies are mostly based in big cities near the Canadian border. Molson was founded in Montreal in 1886, making it the oldest brewing company in North America. Labatt was the biggest brewing company in Canada until recently, when Carling and Molson merged. Moosehead, based in the remote maritime provinces, is also among the big Canadian brewing companies.
Traditionally, pale lagers are found in Western Canada while Eastern Canada has specialized in ales. But with the growth of microbreweries across the country--especially in Toronto and Montreal--all of that has been changing. For a complete listing of craft breweries in Canada, see our North American Craft Breweries section.
