Fort Garry Brewing Company

History

The company was bought by the Hoeschen family in 1930, and operated by them until it was sold to Molson in 1960, and incorporated as Molson's Fort Garry Brewery Ltd. In 1990, Molson merged with Carling O'Keefe and closed the Fort Garry facility. In 1994, Richard D. Hoeschen resurrected the company. At the time, Fort Garry Brewing was the only micro-brewery in Manitoba, and the beer was originally intended only to be available in kegs. Before opening the doors, Hoeschen hired Gary De Pape as brewmaster and the two developed the company's flagship beer Fort Garry Dark. Richard D. Hoeschen died on September 16, 2002.

In 2003, Fort Garry Brewing amalgamated with Winnipeg's Two Rivers Brewing Company (established in the 1990s), keeping the Fort Garry name, but adding some of Two Rivers’ brands to its product line.

On 15 October 2004, Fort Garry Brewing signed an agreement with its former Manitoba rival, New Manitoba Brewing, to warehouse, distribute and market the Agassiz Brewing brand, Catfish Cream Ale. In 2010, Fort Garry Brewing ceased production of the product.

Since 2005, Fort Garry Beer is sold in Manitoba and Alberta.

In 2007, Fort Garry began to brew and bottle Nubru Blend, the first gluten-free beer in Manitoba, for FarmPure Beverages of Regina, Saskatchewan. On October 22 that year, Fort Garry Brewing Company amalgamated with Russell Brewing Company as wholly-owned subsidiaries of Russell Breweries Inc., of Surrey, British Columbia, in a deal worth $4 million in cash and stock.

In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the brewery produced a custom brew for Winnipeg's Folklorama festival, called "Folklorama Beer".

In 2012, Fort Garry Brewing Company partnered with the Winnipeg Goldeyes to produce a pilsner called "Angry Fish" to promote the team's new secondary logo. As of May 2021, the current brewmaster at Fort Garry is Josh Berscheid.

References

References

1. Waytiuk, Judy. (1 May 1995). "Tapping beer tastes: how Rick Hoeschen founded a brewery.". Manitoba Business.
2. (19 September 2002). "RICHARD HOESCHEN". Winnipeg Free Press Passages.
3. Reimer, Dallas. (December 2025). "Fort Garry Brewing". United Nations of Beer.
4. Kirbyson, Geoff. (29 January 2010). "Agassiz ale no longer made in Manitoba". [[Winnipeg Free Press]].
5. (17 December 2007). "New Winnipeg-brewed beer light, crisp — and gluten-free". CBC News.
6. (December 2025). "Our Story". Fort Garry.
7. (29 May 2007). "Russell Breweries tries to swallow Fort Garry". Canada.com.
8. (17 July 2009). "Folklorama beer returns". [[Winnipeg Free Press]].
9. Preprost, Matt. (16 August 2010). "Folklorama on top of the world". [[Winnipeg Free Press]].
10. Baxter, David. (11 May 2012). "Goldeyes hope to score homerun with Angry Fish beer". Metro Winnipeg.
11. "Meet the Brewmaster".