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It’s Time to Say Something About Canada’s Reaction to Trump’s Tariff (Opinion Piece by Lew Bryson)

Lew Bryson — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 20:30:39 +0000

It’s Time to Say Something About Canada’s Reaction to Trump’s Tariff

Lew Bryson, a remarkable writer about beer, whiskey, and all things Central PA recently posted this on his personal Facebook account, and said he didn’t have an outlet for posting it. So I immediately offered to host it here.

For those who don’t know Lew, check to the end of the piece to see my quick biography of Lew, and including links to his podcast as well as our podcast we did with Lew. But quickly, I will say this – Lew is a remarkable person, a fantastic writer, historian, and has an excellent sense of character, intelligence, and understanding. Empathetic and understanding, he understands people, all people, and even more importantly for this opinion piece – he knows what he’s talking about. This is an incredible piece, and I full heartedly agree with it (thus why I immediately jumped at the idea of hosting it here on the site).

Canadian Liquor Store Shelves (photo courtesy of Google, and selected by Lew Bryson)

Here goes. It’s time to say something about Canada’s reaction to Trump’s tariff sabre-rattling. For those of you who have been in a cave — and I can’t 100% say that I blame you — part of Canada’s response, part of their retaliation, to the threat of tariffs imposed on Canadian goods coming into the US has been focused on the US booze industries: spirits, wine, beer, and, I suppose, cider.

Some provinces, like Ontario, that have government alcohol wholesale/retail monopolies of various breadths, have not only stopped buying American booze, but have taken what they have off the shelves in their provincial stores. The LCBO, Ontario’s monopoly system, is one of the five largest alcohol retailers in the world; they have, to the best of my knowledge, taken all American-made products off their shelves; boxed it up and put it in storage. (It’s not like the spirits and wine, the greatest part of this, are going to go stale, to be fair.)

I know a lot of people in the industry on BOTH sides of the border. They have had various reactions to this. Some Americans are outraged; some are confused (“They’ve already paid for those bottles! Why not sell them and then not buy more?!”); some are tentatively supportive; a few strongly support these moves. Almost all of them feel that this is personally unfair; they didn’t impose the tariffs, after all, and — honestly, it’s true — why is booze always the first American product to feel retaliation?

What’s worse, in my eyes, is that some Americans have the attitude of “so what, Canada, who cares? Their whisky sucks, and I don’t need them, and neither does American whiskey.” I’m embarrassed when I hear people who should know better say things like that. First, their whisky by God DOESN’T suck, but that’s not the point. The point is that NONE OF THIS HAD TO HAPPEN, and we don’t make it better by pretending it doesn’t matter. More on that below.

But if any of the Canadians I know — some of whom I count as friends of long standing — have a reaction other than blazing defiance, I haven’t heard from them yet. The most common reaction has been pure Canada: a non-smiling “Elbows up!”, echoing Mr. Hockey, Saskatchewan-born Gordie Howe, a player who took no shit off anyone. Anyone who tried to slash Howe was getting a fast elbow to the head. Canada’s ready for this, and they’re not kidding.

Any argument by American producers/suppliers/exporters must be seen in this light. I’ve seen people say that the Canadian response, taking everything off the shelves, leaving only blank space behind, is disproportionate, that it makes no sense, that it goes further than the American tariffs.

Well, they’re right. It IS disproportionate to the tariffs. This doesn’t just affect day-to-day, month-on-month sales. This kind of action also attacks something much more valuable: the brand. Raise the price while leaving the bottles on the shelf, and you paradoxically make people think about the brand more, maybe even realize how much they ARE willing to spend to get it.

But take the bottles away, the facing, replacing it with a “BUY CANADIAN INSTEAD” sign, and the product becomes invisible. You’re not thinking about the Jack, or the Mondavi, and what you’d pay for them. No, you’re automatically thinking “Welp, I guess I’ll get some Lot 40 or Gibson’s 12. I’ll get some Quail’s Gate for dinner, or how about that Italian red? I’ve got no beef with the Italians.” The American brands are no longer even a choice, and that does long-term damage to the brand. As Don Draper put it in his icily cutting response, “I don’t think about you at all.”

Now, multiply that times every American product that we send to Canada. Unless it’s absolutely something where buying Canadian isn’t an option, it’s gone, and the memory is fading, or worse, indelibly tinged with anger.

Why anger? Because of tariffs imposed by an ally, a country that has been an ally for so long, in so many things, that for them to turn on Canada isn’t just economics, it’s betrayal, a shocking discard of trust.

And as I said above, none of this had to happen. We have a trade treaty with Canada, we have over 200 years of trade with Canada with only the ‘small hiccup’ of the War of 1812 to interrupt it (kidding, not kidding, you kicked our asses and sent us home, but we’re cool). We have zero legitimate issues with Canadian trade, and the “look at the tariffs Canada puts on American products!!” misinformation you’ve seen lately are all part of that trade treaty. We have no real trade problems with Canada.

But it’s worse than that, much worse. Trump’s constant needling about the “51st state,” and “Governor” Trudeau, about border issues and annexing part or all of the country, whether or not it’s another of his insanely unfunny jokes, has Canadians concerned, and rightly so. They’re concerned about the intentions of a superpower that has set the tone of restraint in international politics for the past 50 years, but has suddenly begun openly talking about grabbing territory. Canada, Greenland, Panama, Cuba, Gaza; why would they not take Trump seriously?

So for the Canadians, this is not about economics, this is not about money. It is about national existence, and the response should not be expected to ‘make sense’ in economic terms. The Canadians did not choose this fight. It was shoved onto them by one man, President Donald Trump, elected by a plurality of American voters, who apparently support him. If they don’t take that seriously, they’re deluding themselves.

Bottom line, then. Canada has been needlessly forced to this point. They’ve been pushed into the corner, and like any good hockey player, they’ve got their elbows up, ready to push it off and deal it out, and we should not be surprised by that. This game is being played at levels above the liquor store, but it still plays out there, like wars, politicians, and soldiers.

Don’t be angry with your Canadian customer; don’t be angry with your American supplier. Neither of them is to blame. Blame the ones who made this happen.

Lew Bryson Biography

Lew Bryson is a renowned journalist and author specializing in beer and whiskey. He began his career in the beverage industry in the early 1990s, initially focusing on beer before expanding to whiskey in 1997. His writing has been featured in prominent publications such as The Daily Beast, All About Beer Magazine, Whiskey Wash, and Craft Spirits Magazine. Bryson’s passion for craft beer was ignited during a visit to a German beer bar in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he discovered the unique flavors of Altenmünster pilsner.

Bryson has been a full-time drinks writer since 1995 and served as the managing editor at Whisky Advocate magazine from 1996 to 2015. He is known for his extensive knowledge and engaging writing style, which has made him a respected voice in the beer and whiskey communities. Bryson has authored several books, including state brewery guidebooks and “Tasting Whiskey,” and more recently, “Whiskey Master Class,” released in 2020.

Throughout his career, Bryson has been recognized for his contributions to the beverage industry. His work spans multiple platforms, including his blog “Seen Through a Glass,” where he shares insights and reviews on beer and whiskey. Bryson continues to be an influential figure, offering guidance and commentary on the evolving world of craft beverages.

Seen Through a Glass Podcast

To be able to listen, watch, and download Lew’s Seen Through a Glass Podcast, you can use one of these services:

Seen Through a Glass – Lew Bryson’s Blog and Podcast
Seen Through a Glass – PodBean
Seen Through a Glass – Spotify

Our Articles With Lew Bryson

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MAPS OF BREWERIES

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The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #5 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #9 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2025.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

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Beer Review: Beer Devil IPA (Niagara Brewing Company)

AmyMWolfe — Mon, 29 May 2023 02:35:00 +0000

Beer Devil IPA by Niagara Brewing Company

Beer Love

Once in awhile you are lucky enough to receive some beer love. What is beer love? It’s when someone thinks of you while vacationing or visiting a new place and brings you beer to try out! We were gifted Beer devil IPA from Niagara Brewing Company when a friend’s kids were visiting the Niagara Falls in Canada.

(Niagara Brewing Company brewery.)

Your girl wasn’t going to go in on these gifted 4 pack without a snack. I grabbed some Beer cheese pretzels from Pretzels.com. This IPA paired wit a cheesy pretzel snack was the perfect afternoon to kick off this holiday weekend!

(The Beer Thrillers and Pretzels.com Affiliateship)

Beer Review

Niagara Brewing Company’s Beer Devil IPA

Beer: Beer Devil IPA
Brewery: Niagara Brewing Company
Style: IPA – English
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 62
Untappd Description: A traditional IPA with earthy tones and a high hop aroma that compliment its caramel-like, toasted malt flavour.

It’s a great beer for a holiday weekend. The ones where you are sitting outside all afternoon and anything higher than a 7% ABV multiplied by a few will put you where you should make sure you have a designated driver! Beer devil IPA comes in with a 6.5% ABV and it doesn’t leave you impaired.

Sadly Beer devil comes in a little low on the untapped rating at a 3.38. And an Untapped reviewed described it as “Taste like someone put hops up their bootyhole then made beer with it.” While everyone is entitled to their own opinions this is something that might be misunderstood. We are still deep in a New England Hazy IPA trend but Beer devil brings a very traditional English-style IPA.

Niagara Brewing Company describes it on Untapped as “The English-style IPA is a stronger version of a pale ale. The English-style pale ale is characterized by a hearty helping of English hope character (earthy, floral) and increased alcohol content. English yeast lend a fruity character to the flavor and aroma, offering a contrast of the earthly English hop additions. Different from its American counterpart, this style strikes a balance between malt and hops for a more rounded flavor.”

Beer and Pretzels

When sipping on this brew and even paired with the Beer Cheese pretzels you can pick out the caramel like maltiness of the brew. The cheese of the pretzels balances out the bitterness of the English style and they pair very nicely together. It ends with a nice hoppy finish. My advice: Give all beer a chance!

Drink More Beer!

-Amy

More Info On Niagara Brewing Company

The following comes from Untappd. Niagara Brewing Company is a brew pub from Niagara Falls, Ontation, Canada. They have 100 unique beers and just over 52,500 ratings, with a global average rating of 3.36 (as of 5.28.23). Their Untappd description reads: Niagara Brewing Company proudly represents Canada’s brewing heritage and today’s innovative craft beer scene by offering unique beers skillfully weaved with locally sourced ingredients.

You can follow them on the following social media:

Amy’s Column Series

This is a two – fer article weekend for Amy’s column. Writing this beer review, as well as talking about Multiple Sclerosis in her “World MS Day” article. (Idiom Brewing has an event on May 30th, to honor, and recognize World MS Day.)

Since getting back to writing for the blog after a short hiatus, Amy has started up a weekly column style writing for the blog. You can find these articles here:

Thank You For Reading

Ben jumping on real quick. Been a busy few days. Friday, Drew and I went to YAH Brew, and then did some filming back at Knights of Nostalgia studios, Saturday we took Scarlet to Zoo America at Hershey, Sunday (yesterday) we had a Lunch and Dinner picnic at my sister’s (we were also supposed to go to Cox Brewing Company for a homebrewing meet up, but timing didn’t allow it), and today, we had a parade in Hummelstown (which Scarlet slept through, including the firetrucks, Civil War re-enactment gun blasts, Lower Dauphin band, and more), and then had a picnic at our house (was also supposed to go to Drew’s for a Knights of Nostalgia filming with Josh from MasterMind X Studios, and streaming session, but once again, timing didn’t quite work out). So its certainly been a busy weekend!

Thanks for reading everyone!

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

You can check out our different directories here: Beer Reviews, Hike Reviews, Book Reviews, Brewery News, Brewery Openings, Brewer Interviews, and Travelogues.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. As well as our brand new Tumblr page. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

The Beer Thrillers on LinkTree can be found here: The Beer Thrillers LinkTree.

The Beer Thrillers are a blog that prides itself on writing beer reviews, brewery reviews, travelogues, news (especially local to the Central PA brewery scene), as well as covering other topics of our interests – such as hiking, literature and books, board games, and video games which we sometimes stream with our friends over at Knights of Nostalgia. We are currently listed as #7 on FeedSpot’s “Top 100 Beer Blogs” and #8 on FeedSpot’s “Top 40 Pennsylvania Blogs”. (As of January 2023.) Thank you for reading our site today, please subscribe, follow, and bookmark. Please reach out to us if you are interested in working together. If you would like to donate to the blog you can here: Donate to The Beer Thrillers. Thank you!

If you would like to reach out to us for product reviews, beer reviews, press release writing, and other media – please contact us at thebeerthrillers@gmail.com. Thank you.