"My older sister Manjit (age 19 at the time) and I, Ravinder, at the age of 18 decided to start a company called Mountain Crest Liquors Inc. (MCLI)." Read More >

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The History Behind the Minhas Micro Brewery and Some of the Best Beer in Canada

How we rose to the top of the Canadian beer market

Our Canadian beer baron story starts in 1993, when the Alberta Government was progressive enough to privatize the retail liquor industry in Alberta. Overnight the liquor industry was changed where small and private businesses were able to open retail liquor stores throughout the province. Also entrepreneurs and companies like us could introduce products into the province of Alberta as long as we took all the risks and met all the provincial regulations and paid all the taxes and mark-ups. This is in contrast to most other provinces, where to this day, government appointed tasting panels decide what products are available for sale in those provinces. Of course this poses an extremely large barrier for small companies entering the liquor industry to succeed. In other words, welcome to the great Alberta advantage!

Minhas Micro Brewery - Finest Brew in Calgary
Youngest Brewers Ravinder & Manjit Minhas

We, Manjit and Ravinder Minhas (siblings) are Petroleum Engineers by profession, were born and raised in Calgary and still call Calgary home. My older sister Manjit (age 19 at the time) and I, Ravinder, at the age of 18 decided to start a company called Mountain Crest Liquors Inc. (MCLI). The mandate of Mountain Crest Liquors was to bring design, create recipes, and market high quality premium liquor and sell them at a discounted price in Alberta. We started with rum, rye, gin, blended scotch and vodka. Things went well for us but our big break came when Tequila prices in Canada sky-rocketed due to a ‘so-called’ blue agave shortage in Mexico (the main ingredient in making tequila). We quickly secured a supply of tequila at an amazing price and gained a large market share of the Tequila business in Alberta.

The Liquor business was great but our dream, and the engineers in us, wanted us to be in the Canadian beer business, so in 2002 we incorporated a company called Mountain Crest Brewing Company (MCBC) to create and sell premium beer at discounted prices. Upon entering the Alberta market, Mountain Crest Classic Lager (our flagship brand) had instant success and quickly became a household name, arguably one of the most popular beers in Canada. The consumers loved the beer so much that they suggested the slogan ‘Damn Good Beer’ and we happily obliged. The “Damn Good Beer” slogan can now be found on many of our Canadian beers – including Mountain Crest Classic Lager, Mountain Crest Blonde and Clear Creek Ice. Of course, we also have another 20 craft and session types of brews in almost all genres of beers produced in the world.

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The consumers loved the beer so much that they suggested the slogan Damn Good Beer and we happily obliged.

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My sister and I also believe in being socially responsible in all facets of our business. We were the first of the Canadian breweries to voluntarily put a Management Warning on all our cans and bottles that we produce. The Management Warning on the cans reads as; “MANAGEMENT WARNING: Please do not drink and drive – ever. Expectant mothers should avoid drinking alcoholic products. Enjoy this product responsibly – Respect yourself and others“. We have recently put this on all our products because we believe that as a responsible Canadian beer company and citizen of this country, it is important that we do our part to educate Canadians on the harms caused by alcohol. We were recognized for this initiative and were awarded FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) Recognition Award.

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We purchased the Joseph Huber Brewing Company, the second oldest brewery in the United States, in 2006 in Monroe, Wisconsin and quickly renamed it to "Minhas Craft Brewery". This officially made us the
Youngest Brewery Owners in The World.

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The Brewery

The Minhas Micro Brewery in Calgary culminates 15 years of a dream that siblings Ravinder and Manjit Minhas had to place a genuine Canadian brewery in the city they were born and raised (and still call home). The Minhas' goal was to place a state-of-art Craft Brewery at which they could not only produce some of their very popular and award winning Canadian beer brands such as Boxer, Clear Creek Ice and Mountain Crest. But also to experiment and make some amazing Canadian craft beers such as Chocolate Cherry Stout, Authentic IPA ( What is an IPA you ask, you will learn on the tour!), Hazelnut Bock and many more! So come and join us at one of Calgary's largest Canadian breweries, for one of the best Canadian brewery tours and taste the best beer in Canada! While you are here, join us at our award winning tap room Pizza Brew.

Visit the Minhas Micro Brewery's Tap room - Pizza Brew to taste some of the best craft beers we brew
On the Brewery Tour, you can see how the beer is brewed and bottled
Started in 2013, the Minhas Micro Brewery & Pizza Brew Restaurant welcomes everyone to come taste some of our finest brews and enjoy our hand tossed pizzas.
You are sure to learn a lot about craft beers, brewing, and the history of our business

Best Canadian Brewery Tour in Alberta

Let us take you behind the scenes where we make the finest Canadian beers in the world. We believe our story is like our Canadian beer itself – full of character and best served among friends. Please accept our invitation, and our warmest thanks for letting us share our story, our Canadian brewery and most importantly-our Canadian beer brands with you.

Minhas Brewery Calgary Tour

CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE TOUR

$10 45mins approx.
includes BEER SAMPLING TAKE HOME SAMPLER GLASS MIXED BEERS AND SODAS
TUESDAY - SATURDAY 12:30pm | 3:30pm | 7:00pm
Be sure to book your private events early to ensure availability
Location
1314 44 Avenue NE
Calgary,
AB T2E 6L6
403-695-3706