Cheers
to Change
Beer advocates – those who
make it and those who drink it –
have traditionally been a pretty
homogenous bunch. However,
newcomers are increasingly
showing up in Canada’s
taprooms, proving that diversity
benefits everyone, including
business.
By Lisa Gordon
H U M A N R E S O U R C E S
According to Beer Canada, 85 per cent of beer consumed
in Canada is made right here by the country’s
roughly 1,000 breweries. Most of those operations
are small and localized, with 93 per cent producing
less than 15,000 hectolitres of beer in 2018.
There’s no doubt the industry is an economic powerhouse,
generating 149,000 brewery jobs and a national
labour income estimated at $5.3 billion, according to
additional data collected by the association between
2016 and 2018.
While the types of Canadian beer now go well beyond
the traditional big brewery lagers, breweries themselves are
not seeing the same diversification when it comes to their
patrons and staff.
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