Andrew Oland, Mr. Moosehead

Before consolidation, before global beer conglomerates, before craft versus industrial lager was even a conversation, before hazy IPAs, tall boy cans, and 340 Ontario breweries, there was 1867.

The year Canada became a nation, in the year a woman named Susanna Olin started brewing beer on her family farm in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, not as a grand business plan, not with investors, and certainly not with a brand deck.

She did it to support her family.

She couldn't even put her name on the business at first.

It was S. Olin & Sons because she simply couldn't put the name Susanna on a brewing operation in 1867.

So think about that for a second.

That was the beginning of what we know now as Moosehead Breweries.

You've likely heard this story a time or two.

A company that has survived two world wars, the Halifax explosion of 1917, in which a family member lost his life.

Prohibition, the Great Depression, devastating fires, a move across provinces, competition from foreign-owned breweries, mergers and acquisitions, obstructive trade barriers a global pandemic and more offer sheets to sell than most people in in this industry will ever know about one family six generations one answer to those offers every single time no thank you we're not for sale Now I want to spend a moment on today's guest before I bring him on because for me, this one's a bit personal.

Andrew Olin, one of the most recognized names in Canadian brewing.

He and I first crossed paths in the early 2010s back when Ontario craft beer world was still finding its legs and everyone kind of knew everyone.

Even then, with everything that Moosehead was carrying as a brand the history the scale the weight of that name Andrew was never that guy he was always approachable curious to chat about other breweries both big and small open with his experiences in a way that a lot of other people at this level at his level simply aren't Always willing to share, always happy to talk.

That made an impression on me early and it has stuck with me ever since.

We sat down for an interview and ended up putting back a whack of beers in the process.

A president and CEO of a national brewery who walks the walk and talks the talk.

Then in 2023, I had the opportunity to go out and visit the brewery in St. John, New Brunswick.

And I'll be honest with you, you can read all about Moosehead.

You can study the history.

There is a great book about the company and the family called Last Canadian Beer by Harvey Swaller that I recommend.

But you don't really feel it until you're standing inside those walls.

We sat down to talk about what it means to take a company like GLB into a third generation of modern leadership.

The responsibility that comes with that, the decisions that keep you up at night, what you protect and what you're willing to change.

It was one of the more memorable conversations I've had in this industry and I knew walking out of there that it needed to be in an episode.

So here we are.