The Emergence of Ontario Microbreweries: a Socio-Historical Analysis
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The Emergence of Ontario Microbreweries: A Socio-Historical Analysis by Kevin James Roche Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) in Sociology School of Graduate Studies Laurentian University Sudbury, Ontario © Kevin James Roche, 2014 THESIS DEFENCE COMMITTEE/COMITÉ DE SOUTENANCE DE THÈSE Laurentian Université/Université Laurentienne School of Graduate Studies/École des études supérieures Title of Thesis Titre de la thèse THE EMERGENCE OF ONTARIO MICROBREWERIES: A SOCIO- HISTORICAL ANALYSIS Name of Candidate Nom du candidat Roche, Kevin James Degree Diplôme Master of Arts Department/Program Date of Defence Département/Programme Sociology Date de la soutenance June 12, 2014 APPROVED/APPROUVÉ Thesis Examiners/Examinateurs de thèse: Dr. Aurélie Lacassagne (Supervisor/Directrice de thèse) Dr. Robert Segsworth (Committee member/Membre du comité) Approved for the School of Graduate Studies Dr. François Dépelteau (Committee member/Membre du comité) Dr. David Lesbarrères M. David Lesbarrères Dr. Anna Lyn Haines Director, School of Graduate Studies (External Examiner/Examinatrice externe) Directeur, École des études supérieures ACCESSIBILITY CLAUSE AND PERMISSION TO USE I, Kevin James Roche, hereby grant to Laurentian University and/or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or for the duration of my copyright ownership. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also reserve the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that this copy is being made available in this form by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner. ii Abstract Since the 1980s microbreweries in Ontario have gained in popularity, winning over beer drinkers in the province and earning the support of the provincial government that funds the expansion of this creative industry. The Emergence of Ontario Microbreweries, adopting the theoretical perspectives of Margaret Archer and Michel Foucault, looks at the factors explaining the emergence of the craft beer industry. Through the morphogenetic approach, which sees enablements take shape through entrepreneurial pursuits, and disenablements through Foucauldian disciplinary processes, we observe that Ontario microbreweries were constrained by strict government laws. Enforced by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, these laws acted upon the individuals and their ability to consume alcohol both privately and publicly. Over time, the strict governmental regimes which constrained beer drinkers and micro-brewed beer producers gradually transformed to allow for the expansion of microbreweries that create unique, distinct and authentic products that have specific geographic links to community. iii List of Acronyms AB InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev AmBev Companhia de Bebidas das Américas BASR Beverage Alcohol System Review CAMRA Campaign for Real Ale DDD Discernment, deliberation, and dedication GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ICONI Internal Conversation Indicator InBev Merger of Interbrew and AmBev LCA Liquor Control Act LCBO Liquor Control Board of Ontario MADD Mothers Against Drunk Driving MTO Ministry of Transportation OCB Ontario Craft Brewers OCSA Ontario Convenience Stores Association SOP Special Occasion Permit UFCW United Food and Commercial Workers VQA Vintners Quality Alliance WCTU Women’s Christian Temperance Movement WTO World Trade Organization TBS The Beer Store iv Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSRCH) for generously providing the funds that made this project possible. I am indebted to Dr. Aurélie Lacassagne, my thesis supervisor, for her patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement, and her useful critiques of this research work. Over the years, I have worked on countless projects with Dr. Lacassagne and I thank her for all of the support, care, and friendship she has given me. I look forward to continuing to work with her in the future. I would like to give special thanks to Dr. Jonathan Paquette of the University of Ottawa for including me on the “Les enjeux sociaux du développement des industries créatives et culturelles: le terroir, son invention et l'entrepreneuriat créatif” project. I have had the opportunity to conduct research with Dr. Paquette at Laurentian University, and it was a real pleasure to be able to continue working with him through the University of Ottawa. Thank you very much to Dr. François Dépelteau, for his valuable and constructive suggestions during the planning and development of the theoretical concepts in this research work. His willingness to give his time so generously has been very much appreciated. I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by Dr. Robert Segsworth for his thorough and detailed analysis of my draft copy of my thesis. Thank you to Dr. Anna Lyn Haines, of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, for her contributions to this project as my external reader. I would like to extend a very sincere thanks to each of the microbrewers who participated in this project. Scott Wood, Ashburnham Ale House, Peterborough; Ron Keefe, The Granite Brewery Ontario Inc., Toronto; Aldo and Noreen Lista, Old Credit Brewing Co. v Ltd., Port Credit; Doug Warren, Olde Stone Brewery, Peterborough; John Romano, Nickel Brook, Burlington; Hirsch Goodman and Kevin Snow, Snowman Brewing Co. Ltd., Richmond Hill; and, Shawn Mailloux, Stack Brewing Corp., Sudbury. The discussions that were held during these interviews were insightful and have allowed me to develop an expert perspective on the Ontario microbrewery industry. I want to wish great success and fortune to all microbrewers in Ontario, and especially for those who participated in this project. There are many more people who were involved in this project and I want to acknowledge each of them. Letisha Concetta May Pisani, my girlfriend, I extend a very sincere thank you for reading every word, scrutinizing every sentence, and providing me with the most helpful advice and support throughout this project. Thank you to Aaron St. Pierre, who worked with me daily on this thesis and, quite literally, was there with me from the beginning to the very end. Thank you to Louis-Philippe Desjardins Larose, a colleague who is simultaneously one of the most dedicated, passionate, and knowledgeable local food producers I have ever met. During this project, Louis and I participated in the Laurentian University’s History Society 2013 conference, where I spoke on the history of beer in Ontario and Louis discussed his passion for the farming of hops. Thank you for all the great moments and experiences. Thank you to Dale A. Turner, who from September to December 2013 gave me a break from my research and set in motion a course of events that not only motivated me to complete this project but has given me a future career to look forward to. Thank you to Ian Ridsdill, who welcomed me with open arms, provided a place to crash at, and gave me a place to study beer at. I would also like to thank Leslie de Meulles, for assisting me with vi obtaining the original Liquor Control Act (Ontario) 1927 from the Ontario Legislative Library. Thank you to everyone that has helped me on this project. Thank you to all the friends that I made during this journey. Every one of you have been invaluable throughout each step of this project. The Emergence of Ontario Microbreweries: A Socio-Historical Analysis simply would not have happened without all of your contributions, discussions, and friendship. vii Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter One: Theoretical Concepts 8 1.1 Archer, Critical Realism, and Microbrewers as Entrepreneurs 9 Critical realist theory 9 Reflexivity 14 The internal conversation 18 Morphogenesis, morphostasis, constraints and enablements 21 1.2 Foucault, Alcohol Surveillance, Discipline, and Constraint of the Individual 25 Disciplinary technologies, surveillance, and the LCBO 25 Panoptic power 32 Biopower and the repressive hypothesis 38 1.3 Conclusion 41 Chapter Two: Regulation of alcohol in Ontario 44 2.1 The Beginning of Prohibition 46 2.2 Alcohol consumption immediately following Prohibition 52 2.3 Beer parlours and moral and social regulation practices 57 2.4 The Growth of the Three Major Brands 63 2.5 The Rise of Microbreweries 71 2.6 Ontario Government Polices 75 Chapter Three: Current government alcohol policies 79 3.1 The Government of Ontario 82 3.2 Controversies within the government’s alcohol retailing system 86 3.3 Moral regulation continues to prevent microbrewery emergence 98 Chapter Four: Perspectives on Ontario micro-brewing 105 4.1 Professional life stories of Ontario microbrewers 107 4.2 Microbreweries as tools of neolocalism 111 4.3 Challenges facing Ontario microbrewers 119 4.4 Discussion 126 Conclusion 131 viii References 136 List of Figures and Tables 153 Appendix I: Overview of microbrewery participants 155 Appendix II: Liquor Control Act (Ontario) 1927 158 Appendix III: Liquor Control Act (Ontario) 1990 213 Appendix IV: Bill 199: An Act to amend the Liquor Control Act to permit the sale of VQA wine and Ontario microbrewery beer at convenience stores 234 ix Introduction Anyone can drink beer, but it takes intelligence to enjoy beer.