Molson Announces Grand Opening Celebration of Moncton Brewery

"This will be a milestone weekend for Molson and we are excited to share it with Greater Moncton and the Maritimes," said Strat Kane, VP Market Development, Atlantic. "It has been over 52 years since Molson has opened a brewery and we are planning a celebration to remember."

Members of the Molson family and the senior management team will be on hand for the Moncton celebration.

In addition to the Official Opening Ceremonies on Friday, the two-day festivities will include a Molson Canadian Rocks Revealed Concert, a Coors Light Experience Party, a Backyard BBQ with brewery tours and a "Moncton White Night" street party in downtown Moncton. The weekend will be a mixture of public access, win-to-get-in and invitation events.

Kane also announced that, leading up to the opening, a local band can win the chance to open for the Molson Canadian Rocks Revealed Concert on Friday night through the Molson Canadian Ready to Rock band competition happening from September 20 to October 11.

At the centre of the celebration is the $35-million state-of-the-art brewery with a brewing capacity of more than 6 million 12-packs annually (or 250,000 hectolitres). Initially, the brewery will brew Molson Canadian and Coors Light with the possibility of adding additional brands in the future.

"This brewery is amongst the leading breweries in the world, it's a jewel in the Molson crown" said Jim Pomeroy, Moncton Brewery Manager. "Currently, the brewery team is doing test brews and fine-tuning the keg and packaging lines. It is expected that Moncton-brewed Molson Canadian and Coors Light will be on the streets of Moncton by late-September."

Moncton-brewed Molson Canadian will feature special commemorative packaging for 6 months from September through to February 2008. The bottle will have a cream-coloured heritage label, a first for Molson Canadian, and will feature the logo developed especially for the Moncton brewery.

About Molson

With roots dating back to 1786 and a time-honoured tradition of brewing quality beers, Molson Canada is proud to be the nation's preferred brewer. Molson employs 3,000 Canadians and will operate six breweries when the Moncton brewery opens. This is the first brewery opening in over 50 years for the company. Molson also invests in communities from coast-to-coast through its various charitable initiatives and sports and entertainment sponsorships. The company proudly offers the most popular brands in Canada with an award-winning brand portfolio which includes Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Molson Export, Molson Dry, and Rickard's. Molson Canada is part of the Molson Coors Brewing Company.

kpurcell@bristolgroup.ca