Canada, BC: The town of Chilliwack open to hosting Molson Coors new brewery planned in British Columbia

Chilliwack, BC is currently home to one successful craft brewery currently getting settled in a new location, with another one set to open next month, Chilliwack Times reported on April 28.

But could the city one day be the western home of Molson Canadian?

Rumours have swirled for weeks about a possible location for Molson Coors new brewery, one specifically focused on the Agricultural Food Processing land at Kerr Avenue and Yale Road West.

But no deal is done, although communities are rolling out the welcome mat and the brewery is looking for a home.

“When Molson announced they would be seeking a new brewery location in B.C., we connected and invited them to consider Chilliwack,” Chilliwack Economic Partners Corporation (CEPCO) president Brian Coombes confirmed to the Times.

The City of Abbotsford went further, finding three potential sites for the brewery, but a city report said the beer giant is eying properties elsewhere in the Lower Mainland.

According to a report to the City of Abbotsford’s committee for business innovation, growth and attraction, Molson was pitched three local sites. The report notes, however, that the company is “under negotiations with a couple of properties, none of which are located in Abbotsford but are in the Lower Mainland.”

When asked directly, Molson Coors said the company would make a statement when a site was chosen.

“Molson Coors continues to search for a site to locate a new brewery to be built in British Columbia,” director of corporate affairs Jennifer Kerr told the Times. “There has not been a site chosen at this point. There are a number of complex factors that we are continuing to review on a number of prospective sites.”

Molson announced in December 2014 it would move from its three-hectare site near the Burrard Bridge in Vancouver. Then in November 2015, the company confirmed to Postmedia News the building was sold, and experts estimated the sale at about C$190 million.

As of November, the brewery had 214 plant employees and a sales staff of 44.

As for Chilliwack, Combes has heard the rumours but he is as in the dark as everyone else.

“I am aware that Molson is looking for a new brewery location in British Columbia. There seem to be lots of rumours out there at the moment, however my understanding is the same as what they have told you, that a location has not yet been finalized.”

29 April, 2016