The Agassiz Brewing Company was a Canadian

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

, founded by former

Fort Garry Brewing Company 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 Brew ...

brewmaster Gary De Pape. Established in 1998 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, it operated there until 2010. The company was named for the prehistoric glacial

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz ( ) was a large proglacial lake that existed in central North America during the late Pleistocene, fed by meltwater from the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period. At its peak, the lake's area wa ...

, which once covered much of Manitoba. Agassiz beer was available in Manitoba,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

History

Agassiz Brewing Company was founded by former Fort Garry Brewing Brewmaster Gary De Pape. It was established in Winnipeg in late 1998 and officially opened on March 17, 1999. Agassiz was one of these microbreweries that launched in Manitoba in the late 1990s, alongside Fort Garry and Two Rivers Brewing, to produce and bottle locally made ales and lagers for the Winnipeg and Manitoba market. The company received some funding from the

Government of Manitoba The powers and structure of the provincial Government of Manitoba () are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the cabinet of the day (formally the Executive Council of Manitoba, ...

. Agassiz had a successful first year, launching its version of a Mild Ale with Catfish Cream Ale as its flagship brand. It also released a Bohemian-style lager, Premium Pilsner, and later introduced Canada's first packaged German Hefeweizen, Harvest Haze Hefeweizen, which enjoyed tremendous success. At the end of its first year, Agassiz launched a limited edition Bock Beer made with

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

peel and Manitoba honey, which sold out in hours. De Pape was the first Manitoba brewer to enter the American market when he signed a tri-state distribution agreement for

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and parts of

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with the Miller Distributor, Beverage Wholesalers. However, after pressure from his shareholders steered the company into a different direction, De Pape left to pursue other interests. As per that US distribution agreement, once De Pape left, Beverage Wholesalers wanted nothing to do with Agassiz and the contract ended. Immediately after, Manitoba and Saskatchewan sales of its beers dropped and Agassiz Brewing had difficulty covering operating costs as it was only selling a small volume, of its 600,000 litre capacity. After considering several options, including approaching rival Fort Garry, 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 handled marketing, sales, and distribution, leaving brewing and packaging to Northern Breweries of

Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury, is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the List of the largest cities and t ...

. New Manitoba then came to terms with Fort Garry on a co-packing arrangement. On October 15, 2004, New Manitoba signed an agreement with its former rival for that company to warehouse, distribute and market Agassiz brands. Fort Garry ended that relationship in January 2010, saying they were too busy with their own brands to have room in their tanks for Agassiz's last brand, Catfish Cream Ale. Joe Constant, a partner in New Manitoba, said he and his partners tried unsuccessfully to get other small breweries to take on brewing Catfish.

Former brands

* Catfish Cream Ale (5% alcohol by volume) * Bison Blonde Lager (4.8%), a

helles Helles or hell is a traditional German pale lager beer, mainly produced in Southern Germany, particularly Munich. The German word ''hell'' can be translated as "bright", "light", or "pale". Flavour profile Helles-style beers are typically ...

-style

lager Lager (; ) is a Type of beer, style of beer brewed and Brewing#Conditioning, conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be Pale lager, pale, Amber lager, amber, or Dark lager, dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially availab ...

* Dark Lager, a Munich dark lager * Winnipeg Kolsch (available on tap only) * Harvest Haze

Hefeweizen Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German and Belgian ; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast), Berliner Weisse (a ...

References

{{reflist Defunct breweries of Canada Manufacturing companies based in Winnipeg Food and drink companies established in 1998 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2010 1998 establishments in Manitoba 2010 disestablishments in Manitoba Canadian companies established in 1998 Cuisine of Manitoba Defunct companies based in Winnipeg Beer brewing companies based in Manitoba

History

Former brands

See also

References