''The finer things in life'' - McAuslan
Not really a macro brewery, yet a bit more than a micro brewery, McAuslan doesn't go unnoticed. Owning a major part of the craft beer market share, the brewery can only be a way to inspire other brewers. Located at 5080 rue St-Ambroise in Saint-Henri, Montreal, it was first established on the same road but at 4850.
The brewery has the name of its founder, Peter McAuslan. He first worked at Dawson College, as an administrator, then he decided to change path and jump in the beer world and created McAuslan in 1988. The following year, Ellen Bounsall, his wife, joined him in order to become co-founder and the first female brewer working for McAuslan. She is now a member of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
His motivation was to create a beer that would represent his nation's population without falling in the commercial lager category. He presented his first beer, Blonde St-Ambroise of the St-Ambroise series, in February 1989. It had a huge impact on the market and it was then the only microbrewery beer that was bottled and standing next to the big ones like Molson.
The brewery then added a stout, Oatmeal Stout St-Ambroise, to the already existing St-Ambroise series, created a new one the Griffon which included Griffon Extra Pale Ale and Griffon Brown Ale and launched the Frontenac Extra Pale Ale.
Today, McAuslan acquired the right to brew Moosehead, Carlsberg, Becks and Tuborg for the Province of Quebec and has an annual production capacity of 70 000 hL. Les Brasseurs de Montréal (Les Brasseurs RJ) are in possession of the brewery since 2013. Even though Peter McAuslan is no longer at the head of the McAuslan brewery, Philippe Jaar, vice-president of Les Brasseurs RJ ensures that the beers will be made with the same care and attention, and that the brewery will keep its identity, all while developing new ideas and products.
The Brewery has a broad list of products available both annually and seasonally. The seasonal series was launched in June 1997 and offered an Apricot Wheat Ale in spring, Raspberry Ale in the summer, Spiced Pumpkin Ale in fall and finally their Strong Ale (which later became the Vintage Ale) during winter.
The brewery also created a cider with the help of Vergers du Minot, they founded the Covey Hill Cidery and launched the Mystique cider.
All the beers are now brewed by the master-brewer David Brophy. He started brewing almost since the beginning and has mainly learned the techniques from Ellen Bounsall. He also followed a class at the Laboratoire Maska and read a fair amount of books. He is now able to explore and experiment in the small brewery room at Annexe St-Ambroise, a pub affiliated to the McAuslan brewery.
Currently the brewery has 21 beers under the St-Ambroise series, 3 under the Griffon's and a cider under the McAdam one. Since the opening of the Annexe, a pub serving all of McAuslan's beers, there has been more experimentation in different styles, most of these are not constantly available so won't be listed here.
Source: Wikipedia
Source: McAuslan.com
Source: bieresetplaisirs.com