Canada: Molson Coors acquires Le Trou du diable

Six Pints Specialty Beer Company, Molson Coors’ Canadian craft division, announced the acquisition of Le Trou du diable, a microbrewery from Shawinigan, Quebec, a city of about 50,000 on the Saint-Maurice River roughly halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. The transaction, whose terms were not disclosed, includes brand, trademarks, and production facility but not the brewpub and restaurant, which will remain independent.

“The founders, managers and employees will remain on at the microbrewery, as will the employees of the Shop du Trou du diable,“said Molson Coors Canada in a press release. The statement goes on that “the microbrewery's brewing operations are to continue unchanged. For the time being, sales and distribution to retailers that deal with Trou du diable will continue to be handled internally by their team. The company's suppliers, as well as sport, culture, social and community partnerships, will also be maintained.”

Isaac Tremblay, a former machinist for a large film production company in Montreal,  co-founded the artisanal microbrewery Le Trou du Diable in December 2005 together with his friend André Trudel, a talented brewmaster. In 2013, a second, more industrial brewery was opened with a brewing capacity of 50hl per brew, a state-of-the-art bottle line and a distribution network. A leader in oak barrel-aging since 2008, the brewery moved to the plant and re-established itself as the largest beer cellar in Canada, squarely positioning itself on the global stage.

Trou du diable beers are distributed in 10 provinces and territories in Canada. They are also imported in 20 US states, around 10 European countries and a few countries in Asia and Oceania.

It is the fourth Canadian craft brewery Molson Coors has acquired in recent years, joining Creemore Springs (2005), Granville Island Brewing Company (2009) and Brasseur de Montreal (May 2016), each of which fall under its Six Pints division.

 

Six Pints Specialty Beer Company was created in May 2011 by Molson Coors Canada to better participate in the craft and specialty beer market, the fastest growing segment of the Canadian beer industry. The brands in the Six Pints portfolio, and the company itself, operate separately from Molson Coors and develop their own unique strategies around price, product, distribution and promotion.

Share this article: