Published by Leonardo Calcagno
The Coule pas chez nous! Foundation is proud to announce a unique new awareness campaign: Coule pas chez nous! beer. This limited release microbrew will be available only during the month of March, in select convenience stores and bars across Quebec.
The campaign is the result of a unique collaboration between the Coule pas chez nous! Foundation, the Oshlag brewery and some 20 other Quebec microbreweries (see annex). The scope of this collaboration represents an unprecedented partnership in Quebec’s brewing industry.
In addition to being on tap at the 21 participating microbreweries, over 12,000 bottles are being put into circulation to bring a taste of this campaign to communities across Quebec. The idea behind the beer is to bring attention to the importance of protecting Quebec’s drinkable water.
“When we look at the route of Energy East and the map of microbreweries in Quebec, we’re immediately struck by the extent to which the two overlap,” explains William Garant, tasting room manager at La Barberie. “Many breweries take their water from rivers, and Energy East would cross 860 rivers in Quebec alone. In case of a leak near a water intake where a microbrewery takes its water, production would shut down immediately. For those of us who have chosen to get involved in this campaign, that risk is intolerable.”
Alexandre Caron is co-founder and brewer at Ras L’Bock, one of the microbreweries which initiated the project. “The Energy East pipeline threatens our tourism industry, our streams and rivers, our landscape and above all our supply of fresh water. That’s our primary ingredient. No water, no beer; no beer, no fun!”
Brewing is a booming economic sector in which Quebecers take great pride, and which provides 3,800 jobs across the province. By comparison, TransCanada promises 33 jobs over 40 years if their Energy East project is built. By saying NO to Energy East, these microbreweries are choosing a locally-based, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible economy.
“When we started approaching microbreweries we were shocked at how easy it was to get them on board,” added Anne-Céline Guyon, coordinator of the Coule pas chez nous! Foundation. “They immediately saw the eventual negative impacts of the Energy East project on their sector. For the Foundation, that means one thing: it isn’t true that all sectors of the economy support this pipeline. We’re always talking about these so-called positive economic impacts, but never the negative ones for economic sectors like microbrewing. Now we certainly will be!”
With this campaign, Quebecers can raise a beer to the health of their favourite rivers and streams while having fun and supporting the work of local citizens’ committees fighting the pipeline. For each beer sold, the microbreweries have generously agreed to donate part of their profits.
The full list of participating microbreweries is available at www.coulepascheznous.com. To find the retailers where you can buy the bottles brewed by Oshlag, use the BROUEMAP tool.
PARTNERS
– Brasserie et Distillerie Oshlag, Montréal
Brewer and distributor of 12,000 bottles distributed across Quebec: Centre-du-Québec, Estrie, Laurentides, Laval, Montréal, Outaouais, Rive-Sud de Montréal, Saguenay.
– La Barberie, Québec
Official brewer of the Coule pas chez nous! and principal distributor
Microbrewery partner
– Le Griendel – Artisanal brewery, Québec
Microbrewery partner
– Les Grands Bois, St-Casimir
Creator of the recipe
Brewer of the Coule pas chez nous!
Bottle distributor: regions of Mauricie, Portneuf et Québec
Microbrewery partner
– Ras L’Bock, St-Jean-Port-Joli
Instigator of the recipe
Brewer of the Coule pas chez nous
Bottle distributor: Bas-Saint-Laurent, Chaudière-Appalaches
Microbrewery partner
– Ma Brasserie et ses partenaires, Montréal
Brewer of the Coule pas chez nous!
Microbrewery partner
– Boswell, Montréal
Microbrewery partner
– À la Fût, Saint-Tite
– Boquébière, Sherbrooke
– Broue Pub Brouhaha, Montréal
– Dieu du Ciel, Montréal
– HopEra, Jonquière
– Isle de Garde – Brasserie, Montréal
– La Captive, Amqui
– La Succursale – Petite brasserie du Vieux-Rosemont, Montréal
– Le Barrage – Brasseurs, Longueuil
– Le bien, le Malt, Rimouski
– L’Esprit de clocher, Neuville
– Noire et Blanche, Saint-Eustache
– Le Bateau de nuit, Québec
CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE – REGIONAL EVENTS
March 1 – Media launch, Québec
March 2 – Event at Ras L’Bock, St-Jean-Port-Joli
March 4 – Event at Les grands Bois, St-Casimir
March 4 – Event at La Barberie, Québec
March 6 – Event at Griendel + Conference on Energy East, Québec
March 8 – Event at Boswell, Montréal
March 11 – Event at la Fût, Saint-Tite
March 14 – Event at Dieu du Ciel, Montréal
March 15 – Event at Boquébière, Sherbrooke
March 18 – Event at L’Esprit de clocher, Neuville
March 22 – Event at Ma Brasserie, Montréal
March 22 – Partnership with the DRÔLD’R show with Jici Lauzon,
Le Capitole de Québec
March 23 – Event at Le bien, le Malt, Rimouski
source: Fondation Coule pas chez nous