SASKATOON Saskatoon craft brewers are pouring new suds, paying homage to their roots with a homegrown ingredient. 9 Mile Legacy Brewing in Riversdale introduced a new craft beer made with durum wheat grown in southwest Saskatchewan. According to the brewery, this is one of the few times, if not the first time, the Saskatchewan staple crop has been used in beer production. “As a kid that grew up in southwest Saskatchewan, we hauled a lot of durum, so I really wanted to make this beer work,” said Garrett Pederson, Chief Operations Officer and co-founder of 9 Mile Legacy Brewing. Pederson and co-founder Shawn Moen grew up in Abbey and Cabri in southwest Saskatchewan.
Rip Current Brewing adopted screw top crowlers in 2020, and (unrelated) may have new ownership in 2021
It will surprise exactly no one that most of the biggest beer and beverage stories of 2020 revolve around the most impactful happening of this or any year: the covid-19 pandemic. Public response to the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the everyday business of serving beer.
Workers catch the brunt of the pandemic
The beer industry came into the year credited with making a billion dollar-plus economic impact annually, while directly employing about 6,500.
The loss of such jobs has been the most widespread impact of the pandemic, as shutdowns and heavily restrictive social distancing guidelines forced many breweries to cut employee hours, furlough staff, or lay them off altogether.