As I have done many times since 1987, when Creemore Springs Brewery opened, I went to this year’s Copper Kettle Festival. Creemore Springs has long been the commercial engine of the village of Creemore, Ontario. Although the festival is centred on the brewery, it involves the whole Creemore area. Like the village, the festival has gentrified slowly and nicely over time.

Molson Coors Canada acquired Creemore Springs in 2005. From all outward appearances, it has let the Creemore Springs be the independent craft brewery it started out as [1].

But this year’s festival had a distinctly more corporate feel to it. This was most evident when Creemore Springs representatives made announcements to the gathering around the live band stage. Of particular interest was the statement that,

 

“

We’ve got some great news that has not been made public yet, but soon will be. Creemore Springs (Light Lager?) is going to be the official craft beer of The Toronto Blue Jays! And here to talk about other exciting news is our Creemore Springs Brewmaster and our Toronto Brewmaster…” [2]

The ‘Toronto Brewmaster’ comment is interesting in combination with the ‘official craft beer’ one. Could Molson Coors be planning to brew the official (high volume) craft beer in their Carlingview (Etobicoke, ON) brewery?

There is some history that supports our speculation here. Molson Coors acquired Vancouver’s Granville Island Brewery in 2010/2011. By 2015, most Granville Island beer was being produced at Molson’s Burrard Street brewery, while the original Granville Island site became a taproom/brewpub concentrating on one-offs and smaller releases. The brewery continues to call itself a craft brewery. Molson Coors does so as well, though often in a historical context.

Admittedly, there may be a simpler explanation—Kevin Clarke, the ‘Toronto Brewmaster’, was Creemore Springs Brewmaster for 10 years until 2025. There may have been a personal reason for him to be there, rather than a nefarious corporate one.

We’ve talked about craft beer authenticity and Creemore Springs brand previously in Marketing Wilderness: CRAFT & AUTHENTICITY. This post leads us to conclude that if my recollection and interpretation of what was announced at this year’s Copper Kettle Festival is accurate, Creemore Springs should no longer be considered a craft beer. Just like its sister brand, Granville Island. And Steam Whistle can still call itself craft, even with its Evans Avenue (Etobicoke) facility given that the company brews only one original beer.

What a shame this would be. Molson Coors had 20 years to premiumise Creemore Springs. Instead, they’ve been on the long, slow, slippery path to commoditise it instead. This would be the final stage in that direction.end-of-post-symbol

Notes and references:
  1. An exception might be the 2019 ‘rebranding’ of Creemore that cause surprising customer backlash and ended up being an unsupported repackaging—meaning Molson Coors did not communicate the benefits of fire/flame brewing in any significant way.
  2. I’m paraphrasing from memory and I did have a Creemore Pilsner under my belt at this point, so this isn’t an exact quote. The two individuals who spoke briefly were Cory Jarvis and Kevin Clarke. Cory is Brewing Team Leader, Creemore Springs Brewery. Kevin is Brewmaster for Molson Coors, Toronto and was Creemore Springs Brewmaster from 2015 to 2025.