The Ontario Craft Brewers just wrapped up its annual conference.
The two-day event featured more than two-dozen keynote, plenary and regular sessions. Over 100 exhibitors filled a floor of the Hamilton Convention Centre with a supplier marketplace, featuring mainstay products and services as well as showcasing the latest industry innovations. And everyone got to connect and exchange ideas throughout the sessions and trade show – and at a few social events.
Good News, By the Numbers
Matt Bannister, founder of Last Call Analytics, opened the first day with two pieces of good news. First: “Craft beer overall is trending up. And of that, local Ontario is actually leading the growth.”
Equally welcome is the news that the trend should continue.
“We have forecasted the opportunity for local craft at a growth of 33.9 percent out to December 2026,” explained Bannister, whose company is the platinum sponsor of OCBC2025. “This would include all channels, including grocery and convenience, but the opportunity that we predict is roughly 34 percent.”
He took the audience through the features and benefits of Last Call, both mainstays and what’s expected in 2026, and invited everyone to come find him at the company’s tradeshow booth.
OCB Wins in a Wild Year
OCB president Scott Simmons welcomed what he thought might be a record number of people to the conference.
“I think there’s 1,046 of you registered, which I think is record. I’m still trying to confirm that. So, thank you to all the breweries in our community.”
Simmons acknowledged what most people already know: “It has been a wild year in the beer industry, and especially for Ontario craft.”
The Master Framework Agreement that limits the number of locations where beer can be sold expires at the end of this year. “Right now, we’re in what’s called the Early Implementation Agreement, which expires on December 31st. And then we’ll be in a wild new world January 1st.”
He reminded everyone that the LCBO was offering a modernization update session later that morning.
Simmons also ran through recent victories – convincing the government to pause a 4.4 percent cost-service increase, protecting brewers right to set their own supplier price and defending their right to sell direct to bars and restaurants – and the need to do more, like enforcing the 20 percent minimum shelf space for Ontario craft beer.
There’s one victory OCB and its members are especially proud of. “The biggest one, obviously, was the 50 percent cut to the basic tax that was announced in May, but took effect August 1st. So hopefully that’s been a little bit of a breather for a lot of you.”
“Thank you,” he continued. “We aren’t done. That was step one.”
Two Days of Great Learning
What followed was a two-day program of keynote and regular sessions, in four broad areas: business and operations; people and culture; brewing and technical; and sales, marketing and digital. Steve and I caught seven and plan to write about them in the coming months.
In the meantime, here’s a quick look at our seven:
Meeting the Occasion-based Drinker across New Retail Channels
Ontario consumers are shopping for beer and other alcohol differently than a decade ago. It’s now more important than ever to tailor product mix, marketing and taproom experience to the customer’s particular tastes. Kate Bernot offered data, insights and case studies to show how.
“You’re shopping differently at a Costco than you’re shopping at a C-store. You’re shopping differently in both those places than you are at a taproom. That’s going to inform everything your brewery does, from portfolio development to marketing to activation.”
Kate Bernot
Is the Beer Festival Dead? Creative Ways to Maximize Brand Experience
Are beer festivals just marketing or do they drive profit? Four industry leaders in brewery events brought their experiences and insights on options that include hosting tailgate parties, launching a home-grown music festival or partnering with local beer gardens. All with great success.
“Brands, as you all know, are all looking for activations and ways to engage their audience that are maybe outside the box. And they might not have those marketing teams to think about those ideas. So, my recommendation, my biggest kind of recommendation, is come to those meetings and those conversations with an idea for them.”
Catherine Oppedisano
Tapped In: How Changing Tastes and Local Pride Are Reshaping Ontario’s Craft Beer Market
Shifting consumer tastes, changing demographics and a swelling buy-local movement drove a demand for homegrown brands even before the buy-Canadian movement. The data-driven session highlighted trends that offer new opportunities for brewers to align their brands with the values and experiences customers want.
“There’s a lot of different shapes the customer takes within the market and a lot of different influences the customer has, whether it’s from patriotic purchasing, whether it’s from spend, whether it’s truly from prioritizing local from the start or prioritizing local because of what’s happening in the market. Tastes and preferences will be a huge part of it.”
Sophie Marai
The Steam Whistle Story: 25 Years as Canada’s Largest Single Brand Producer
Three of Steam Whistle’s most senior leaders (a co-founder, the president and the brewmaster) shared a bit on leadership, operations, business strategy and, of course, a bit of the drama that goes with “Do(ing) one thing really, really well” for a really long time.
“You should be thinking about customer experience. You should be thinking about the quality of your beer and the trade. You should think about the people you work with and your customers being happy. Get up in the morning. Make people happy. That’s our job, right?”
Greg Taylor
Using Storytelling to Build a Powerful Brand
Unapologetically authentic? Refreshing relatable? And completely free of BS? Karls lived up to his reputation for motivating audiences – delivering a masterclass in strategic storytelling – while explaining how Mid-Day Squares is disrupting the chocolate industry.
“So what that means is today, for the first time in history, small businesses and big businesses are actually on the same level playing field, which makes this relevant to each one of you in the room. Because it’s not about how much money you have, to get the end consumer today or the retail buyer to believe you. It’s how you make people care.”
Jake Karls
Bench Brewing’s Sustainability Journey
A zero-waste footprint, repurposing spent grains, solar panels and EV chargers, carbon neutral certification and something called BCorp certification – the session outlined these and other initiatives at the heart of Bench’s sustainability journey.
“But sustainability and the daily focus of minimizing our environmental footprint, that should be who we are and what we do on a daily basis and part of the discussion. And really, it’s actions, and not words, that I think are the most important.”
Matt Giffen
Unfiltered Voices: Marginalized Experiences in Beer
Speakers from marginalized groups in the craft beer industry shared their experiences, as both guests and employees, and shared how it impact their career paths. They also introduced efforts to make breweries more inclusive and safe.
“We have created a space for people to drink beer, eat food and gather with community without having to worry about their experience or how they present themselves. And I want that to be attainable for all spaces in craft beer.”
Danielle Fauquier, The Wooly Pub
Next year’s conference will again be held in Hamilton.
BeerBards will post a gallery of conference photos here on Thursday.
Beer Bards 