Tariff troubles? Try these local lagers
Support your local economy with these “domestic” alternatives
On March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump enacted tariffs directly impacting supply lines between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Details of these tariffs and Canadian retaliations are continually changing, with Edmonton consumers quickly rethinking their buying habits regarding American entertainment, food, and drink.
While the full scope of economic hardship is yet to be seen, local brewers are leading with their best foot forward by producing high-quality alternatives to imported beers. With 20 Edmonton breweries (and counting!) to choose from, even the most stubborn palate will find an alternative to their favourite American-brewed beers. Now more than ever, your purchasing power is the best way to protect local breweries threatened by tariffs.
“We’re lucky with our contracts regarding imported materials,” says Ben Rix of Edmonton’s Bent Stick Brewing. “We haven’t seen much change yet, but it could come. It’s tough for a business with thin margins when we need to predict cash flow — especially when the situation is always changing.”
Bent Stick Brewing was founded in 2016 off Fort Road in Edmonton’s Belvedere neighbourhood. Now, with a larger taproom and brewing space in Ritchie, they are producing a crisp lager that won #2 Best In Show at the 2024 Alberta Brewing Awards.
“If people are looking to support beers from neighbours rather than a brew from down South, Hay Maker is a tasty and accessible option,” says Rix.
Local breweries do more for our city than just making beer. They often serve as a hub for connections, community initiatives, and platforms for other businesses, such as food producers or non-profits.
In addition to brewing exceptional beer, Darren McGeown of Arcadia Brewing Company uses his business to collect and share necessities with vulnerable populations. From his perspective, tariffs offer another opportunity for local consumers to tap into their community pride.
“It’s really interesting to me that you won’t hear much about American craft beer anymore,” says McGeown. “Even a few years ago, everyone was excited about B.C. and American craft beer, but not so much anymore.”
“I think these tariffs will result in more local pride,” he says. “There’s a benefit hiding in all this.”
McGeown suggests their newest core beer, Likely Lads, for an import lager alternative. “It’s a ‘beer-beer’ for that Budweiser crowd,” he says.
Likely Lads and their Coliseum Blonde Ale are available year-round in their Wîhkwêntôwin (formerly Oliver) taproom. Residents may recognize their upstairs seating as salvaged chairs from Northlands Coliseum. Tickets are now available for their upcoming live music session with local folk icon Braden Gates on March 23, 2025. Proceeds from this show directly benefit McGeown’s community outreach collective, Time for Kindness.
Local beer shopping also benefits our agricultural sector as a whole. Alberta has long been North America’s leading malted barley producer. Large maltsters like Rahr Malting in Alix, AB, and small-batch artisans like Hogarth Malt and Hammer Malt are turning locally grown barley into the base ingredients for crisp lagers without the additives you can expect from larger producers.
Since many large beer producers have elected to make their partial ingredient lists public, it is easy to compare their extensive recipes of imported corn syrup, maltodextrin, rice, and artificial flavours to the shorter lists on local cans — often limited to only malt, water, hops, and yeast sourced from Canadian companies like Guelph’s Escarpment Labs or Vancouver’s Hops Connect.
Next time you fill your fridge or pop out for a pint, support your local economy by sampling some beer from the prairies. Your support goes a long way toward securing the future of independent producers, retailers, and community builders.
Great article. Great angle. Local lagers are on the menu now!