Canada: Canadian buying less beer than ever before

According to Statistics Canada, the volume of beer purchased per person dropped to an all-time low in the 2022/23 fiscal year.

It's the lowest it's been since it started collecting that data in 1949.

On the latest episode of the CBC podcast, This is Vancouver Island, host Kathryn Marlow looks at how two breweries in Victoria, B.C., are adapting.

Spinnakers Brewpub was one of the first establishments in Canada to brew beer on site and recently celebrated its 40th anniversary.

It produces beer and spirits, as well as mineral water and craft soda, which it serves at its pub and sells in liquor stores.

Now, it's adding canned mocktails to the list.

Paul Hadfield co-founded Spinnakers Brewpub in Victoria in 1984. As a self-described 'publican,' he says he just wants to provide a space for people to socialize, whether they're drinking Spinnakers beer or some of the non-alcoholic products the brewery now offers. (Kathryn Marlow/CBC)

Owner Paul Hadfield acknowledges that younger people aren't drinking as much alcohol as in previous generations — but he says the pandemic reinforced a need to socialize.

He's confident there's still a place for brew pubs, as long as they add more beverage options.

"I think it's just the further evolution of the pub as a public room, as a public space, and whether or not one wants to imbibe in alcoholic beverages shouldn't matter," said Hadfield.

Nearby Phillips Brewing, which makes beer and sodas, has been expanding its non-alcoholic beer offerings.

Matt Lockhart, VP of sales, said non-alcoholic beer isn't the joke it used to be when consumers derided the poor taste of "near beers" available in grocery stores.

Changes in technology have allowed brewers to extract the alcohol from their beer while keeping the flavours.

"We've always been known for flavourful beers and we did a lot of work to ensure that [our non-alcoholic beer] was high flavour, that it looked like beer, that it tastes like beer."

Lockhart thinks there has always been a market for non-alcoholic beer — whether it's people who don't drink at all or beer lovers who want to lessen their booze intake.

He said he and his colleagues are excited to be able to serve it.