Posted by Greg Clow in beer, beverages on November 13, 2007 at 3:01 pm
When it comes to marketing beer, one thing that many brewers like to stress is their "heritage". Molson hypes the fact that they are North America's oldest brewery, founded in 1786. Labatt didn't come around until 1847, but they still brag about it. Keith's IPA is apparently brewed exactly the same way as Alexander Keith himself made back in 1820, and Sleeman claims a history dating back to 1834. On the import shelf, Hoegaarden's label has "Since 1445" printed under the logo, while Stella Artois beats them all in the old-timers game with the famous "Anno 1366" inscription.
Do a bit of digging and it's easy to uncover a whiff of bullshit around all of these claims. It would be difficult, for example, to find a single product in the current Molson or Labatt portfolios that resembles any of the beers they were brewing two centuries ago. Same goes for Keith's so-called "IPA": unless ol' Alex had access to a time machine, there's no way he was brewing a filtered, pasteurised, light golden ale in 1820. The Sleeman family did get into the brewing business in 1834, but they got out of it in 1933, and it was 55 years later that the current version of Sleeman Brewing came along. The "Since 1445" on the Hoegaarden label refers to the year that wheat beer was first brewed in the village of Hoegaarden - the beer by that name didn't come along until 1966. And 1366 is the year that the first brewery opened in the city of Leuven, Belgium, with the beer that we know as Stella Artois today not coming along until 1926.
With so many breweries making so many false claims about the origins of their beers, it's hard not to be skeptical about the name of Harvey's 1859 Porter (LCBO 55400 - $3.40/500 mL). But in this case, there's more than a grain of truth behind the moniker, as seven generations of the Harvey family have been brewing beer in Sussex, England for over 200 years. And while their Porter hasn't been brewed continuously since 1859, it's based on a recipe from that year, and has been considered one of England's better examples of an old style porter since it's revival in 1993. Since then, it's gone on to win a pair of awards at the Great British Beer Festival, and in 1999, it was oddly named "Ultimate Pizza Beer" at something called the Beauty of Hops awards.
It certainly looks the part of a traditional porter, as it pours into a dark ruby-brown colour with a small mocha head. The aroma has of a nice roasted malt character, with notes of brown sugar, smoke and coffee, and an odd hint of banana. The flavour is quite roasty, with little of the sweetness suggested by the aroma - instead, it’s more bitter and woody, with some roasted nuts, coffee and charred malt. This is an extremely satisfying beer that is perfect for this time of year, with a robust but not overpowering flavour that pairs well with such hearty autumn fare as shepherd's pie and beef stew.
Harvey's 1859 Porter is part of the LCBO's Autumn Ales promotion, and is available now in limited quantities at selected LCBO outlets.
Molson founded in 1786 is merely a well known fact...and those of us at Molson are darn right proud of 221 years of history, involvment in the community and continuing to provide Canadians with quality brews presented in a diverse portfolio of brands that includes domestically produced and import brands. We also don't dispute that Canadians do enjoy a range of taste in their favourite brews, which makes for a diverse collection of brewers large and small. If anything has truly changed since those days when young John Molson started up in brewery on the shores of St. Lawrence it would be the quality, freshness and consistency that is delivered today by Molson and its brewers from coast to coast. Beer drinkers have come to appreciate that when they open up a Molson that is a consistent taste that they have come to enjoy. We also applaud all brewers who in their own right and art provide Canadians with a great choice in Canada's favourite alcohol beverage ... "beer". Cheers !
Ferg...
Thanks for that bit of P.R. bumpf, but I think you missed the point of my post.
I don't argue that the Molson company was founded in 1786. I state it as a fact in the article. My point, however, is that the company today, and the beer that it produces, bears very little resemblance to the company & beer that existed while "young John Molson" was around.
I intended this to serve as a contrast to breweries like Harvey & Son, which is still independent and family owned after nearly 150 years of business, and is still brewing many beers that are the same or similar in style to what was brewed back then. That's what I consider true "brewing heritage".
Don't get me wrong, Ferg: I think that Molson is very good at what they do. Just because I don't personally enjoy most of your products doesn't make Molson a bad company. I also appreciate that Molson - like many large corporations - is supportive of initiatives and charities in local communities.
But I have a hard time considering a brand portfolio that is made up of roughly 75%-80% pale lagers to be "diverse". And as for "consistent taste", using it as the defining factor of your beers just puts you on the same level as McDonalds and other monoculture monoliths who crank out exactly the same food, drink, or whatever no matter where you happen to be.
Personally, I look for a bit more character and soul in my beer (and in most of the other things I eat and drink, for that matter). With a couple of exceptions, I don't find much in the way of character or soul in Molson products. That's not to say that the people making Molson beers don't believe strongly in what they're doing - I'm sure that they do - but at the end of the day, they're creating a mass-produced, mass-market beverage that's been formulated to appeal to the largest number of people possible. To me, that's a great way to make a lot of money, but not a great way to make truly great beer.