Canadian Macro Lagers

Well, it replaced Labatt Blue as the brewer's flagship beer but they co-existed in their portfolio for many years. Labatt 50 was their ale, and even into the 1980s when Blue was the best selling beer in Canada, "50" was still among the Top 5.
Circa mid-80s:

 

It is now the home of Collective Arts

 

50 had a big Quebec focus. It was the beer that advertised the Expos for years. Still available as is Blue.

 

I enjoy the Golden Ale, regardless of what it actually is (lager or ale or a mix). I find it strange that in my area Molson Golden Ale is the only Molson product available. There must be some Golden Ale fans in this part of NC as a good number of stores carry it.

 

And formerly the independent Lakeport, maker of budget brand macro beers.

 

Yeah, that's the outfit I was thinking of.

So, you're saying in NC you find it labeled "Molson Golden Ale"?

 

Labatts bought Lakeport and shut down the factory. They also dismantled the brewing equipment so nobody else could use it. Collective Arts had to install their own equipment. They are now making many highly regarded beers.

 

Sorry, it is labeled just Molson Golden, I added the Ale incorrectly.

 

If memory serves, Collective Arts and Nickel Brook were sharing the facility when it reopened. Nickel Brook has since moved all production back to their Burlington brewery.

 

That is correct.

 

Your username is amazing. Cheers.

 

50 and Blue were my go too "s" in the day. Pretty common West of Ontario.

 

and of course...

 

This is the best post on Beer Advocate I have ever seen! Cheers to you!!!

 

A true Canadian classic for anyone who grew up in the 80s.

 

I can remember my grandfather doing that bit by himself any time he was asked what he wanted to drink. I haven’t thought about that in eons. Thanks for the memory!

 

I saw Max Webster perform twice... and both times as you said, they were the opening act for Rush, at the Palace Theatre, in Albany NY. Of course, another time that Rush came to town, the opening act was some Australian group called "AC-DC" who were no better known in the US than Max Webster, at the time. I remember seeing a Canadian band called "Blue Rodeo" at a small club in Albany called Pauly's Hotel. The press releases in the local papers to promote the show mentioned that this band was filling arenas in Canada. Funny how that works, sometimes.

 

I still harbor ill will toward the Moosehead Brewing Co. for bullying a NYS brewery, The Adirondack Brewing Co., over the name of a soft-drink that they were producing, "Moose Whizz" root beer. So now it's called "Bear Whizz" Root Beer. But it pissed me off, it was soda not beer, and so what, it had a moose on the label. I enjoyed Moosehead decades ago.. but in the rare instance that I am craving a Canadian lager now, I'd go with a Molson or something else. Yup, just out of spite. It's my money.

 

I have always lived in Northern New England and back in the 1980's we could get a number of Canadian beers here. I remember enjoying Schooner, O'Keefe, and Labatt 50. None of these can be found around here anymore. Even Brador was available in the US for a short time in the 1980's.

I went to college in Northern Vermont about 45 minutes from the Canadian border. We'd do beer runs over the border and bring back Brador. I had Oland about 30 years go during a visit to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and I liked it. On a few visits to Canada in the 1990's I would buy Laurentide when I went to a bar.

 

Blue Rodeo was and still is very big up here. Alternative country if I had to a sign a genre. I’m surprised they never caught on much south of the border.