Alexander Keith's Brewery

This article is about the brewery. For other uses, see Alexander Keith (disambiguation).
Alexander Keith's
Founded1820
HeadquartersHalifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
OwnerAnheuser–Busch InBev
Websitewww.keiths.ca

Alexander Keith's is a brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev, a holdings company based in Leuven, Belgium, which owns over 400 beer brands globally.

The brewery was founded in 1820 by Alexander Keith who had immigrated from Scotland three years previously.[1] In 1928, the business was sold to Oland Brewery, which was in turn sold to the Labatt Brewing Company. Following a number of mergers and acquisitions, Labatt's is now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev.[2]

Since 1928, parent companies kept the brand alive, and by the 1990s Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale (IPA) was the most popular beer in Nova Scotia.[3] A number of other styles is also marketed. Although Alexander Keith products were originally produced in the Halifax brewery only for sale in the Maritimes, they are now produced at Anheuser-Busch InBev plants across Canada and America.

Archived recipes for beer made by the Alexander Keith's Brewery in the early 1900s show high levels of hopping, with large all-malt mash ingredients and no use of corn, typical for beers of that time.[4] In contrast, the modern beer marketed as Alexander Keith's IPA is only 5% alcohol by volume and lightly hopped, which does not meet the accepted criteria for an India pale ale.[5] At the 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards, Alexander Keith's IPA won third place, not in the IPA category, but in the "North American Style Blonde or Golden Ale" category.[6]

  1. ^ "Keith Hall and Brewery". Historic Places. Parks Canada. 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "Anheuser Busch Inbev NV (BUD) Profile". Reuters Finance. July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Haynes, Megan (December 11, 2015). "How to turn 195, the Alexander Keith's way". Strategy Online. Brunico Communications Ltd. Retrieved January 27, 2017. For the last two centuries, the Labatt-owned beer brand has been reflecting Maritime values back to its fanatical drinkers.
  4. ^ Pinhey, Craig (2010-03-11), "Craig Pinhey digs through the records and discovers that Keith's Ale was once brewed with no corn and five times the hops", The Coast, 17 (42)
  5. ^ Doherty, Mike (2011-08-05), "Canadians' love affair with India Pale Ale: Why so many Canadian brewers are making IPAs", MacLean's, retrieved 2018-09-13
  6. ^ The Province (29 May 2016). "Winners announced for 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards". OBN. OBN. Retrieved 16 January 2017.