SUDS IN THE CITY
Great Western reflects on 25 years
When Greg Kitz received news at the start of 1989 that the brewery he had worked at since 1975 would close within the year, little did he know how that would change his life.
TheO’ Keefe brewery, which had operated under a number of names since it was built in 1927, had amalgamated with Molson Brewing Company and, with provincial trade barriers coming down, they had decided to close the Saskatoon plant.
Kitz didn’t sit still. Instead, he began a letter campaign across North America in search of a buyer, but nothing came of it.
“Then one day in February of 1989, I was filling up the truck with gas and I was complaining to (his wife) Brenda how we couldn’t get anybody to buy the plant,” Kitz said. “She said, ‘Well, if you can’t sell it, why don’t you buy it yourselves.’ ”
That conversation led to 16 employees pooling their resources and on March 26, 1990, the ‘original 16’ launched the Great Western Brewing Company.
“The first summer we worked 16-hour days Monday to Friday and 12-hour days on Saturday and eight on Sunday,” Kitz said.
They have witnessed everything from rocky times through the mid-1990s to the wildly successful launch of the Original 16 premium beer in 2011.
Of the original 16 owners, four are still working at the brewery, eight are retired and four have died.
Tonight the company is commemorating its quarter century anniversary at a special event and a number of the founders will be in attendance, including co-founder John O’Connor, who is flying in from Australia to take part in the celebrations.
“We are extremely proud to mark this milestone and honour our achievements together, with the people of Saskatchewan … and Western Canada” said president and CEO Michael Micovcin. “As one of Canada’s most successful regional brewers we’ve been internationally recognized for our worldclass beer, but we remain a real part of the fabric of our province in every way. It’s a great time to remember the 25 years past while looking forward to an exciting future.”
For Kitz, who became a supervisor at the plant in 2012, and Brenda, the brewery is more than just an investment.
“My wife and I don’t have children, so this is our baby,” he said. “To see this place do well is not just as a shareholder, but on the emotional side as well. ”
Here are some memorable moments of the last 25 years provided by Kitz and Micovcin:
January 1989 — O’Keefe amalgamates with Molson Brewing Company and announces the Saskatoon plant will close.
March 17, 1989 — Molson OKs the idea for employees to buy the brewery.
June 21, 1989 — The first employee group is formed. “After the meeting people started signing up and we got a government grant to do a feasibility study,” Kitz said.
Jan. 9, 1990 — The original 16 employee/owners sign a seven-figure mortgage.
Jan. 17, 1990 — The group takes possession of the plant. “We walked in here, got the keys and the combination to the safe and we knew it was real. We were here,” Kitz said.
March 26, 1990 — Great Western Lager and Great Western Light are launched. “It was supposed to officially go on sale March 26, 1990, on a Monday, but because of the way liquor stores ordered it actually went on sale on the Friday,” Kitz said. “And we were all sitting in our vehicles outside the liquor store, watching people walk out with cases of Great Western and Great Western Light. It was such a feeling to see people walking with your product out the door ... That was top of the heap as far as moments.”
April 1990 — The brewery has a bottle shortage. “We had ads in the paper and made up T-shirts asking people to bring the bottles back,” Kitz said. Soon after they installed a canning line.
1991 — First pancake breakfast. “This will be No. 25 coming up,” Kitz said. “It started in conjunction with Exhibition week. Every year we choose a charity or two and all proceeds go to the charity.”
Mid-1990s — Brewhouse beer introduced to Alberta — “Today that beer represents 60 per cent of our total company sales,” said Micovcin. “That not only saved the brewery in the 1990s, but it also helped us build scale to allow us to do other things and establish strong credibility in the Alberta market.”
Spring 2002 — Local entrepreneurs Vaughn Wyant, Ron Waldman and Maurice Duval strike a deal to acquire the government’s interest in the brewery — “You have three successful entrepreneurs who are making the investment to help the brewery succeed long term,” Micovcin said. “And they still remain our major shareholders today.”
2008 — Great Western invests in a new kegging/draft system — “That allowed us to begin selling draft beer throughout Western Canada,” Micovcin said.
March 2011 — Original 16 beer is launched. “It has been an absolute gamechanger for the company,” Micovcin said. “It is now the No. 1 selling premium beer in Saskatchewan and the No. 1 selling draft beer in Saskatchewan. It has exceeded all expectations.”
2012 — Named the official beer of the Tim Hortons Brier. “I can recall TSN doing a whole feature on the brewery and that gave us national coverage,” said Micovcin.
2013 — Named official beer of the Grey Cup (which the Saskatchewan Roughriders won) — “We launched a commemorative CFL Grey Cup beer for the fall of 2013 with a dollar of each case being donated to Saskatchewan amateur football,” Micovcin said.
“To see cans of that beer being poured on the player’s head was really interesting,” added Kitz.
2014 — Great Western Light is voted the best light lager beer in the world at the World Brewing Awards held in England. “That was pretty special because we had made some changes to the recipe earlier that year, so it was validation to us that our recipe change was working,” said Micovcin.
2014 — Company has a record year. “To have a record year in a very challenging and cutthroat industry during our 25th was the cherry on top. The financial health of the company has never been better,” Micovcin said.