Maritime favourite Alexander Keith’s will now be brewed in three new provinces

SYDNEY, N.S. (CUP) — Labatt’s trademark “Good things brewing” has been up for debate after the company announced that they would be moving some production of the popular ale Keith’s out of Nova Scotia.

The production is being moved to Newfoundland, Quebec and Ontario, and will cost over 40 full-time and temporary workers their jobs. The move also means that the majority of Keith’s still brewed in Nova Scotia will remain in the Maritimes, instead of being shipped across the country.

Labatt released a statement regarding the move as a way to share in the popularity of the beer from “coast to coast,” citing the accommodation of growth as the number one reason for the change.

“The quality and taste of Alexander Keith’s will not be compromised,” Keith’s Brewmaster Emeritus Graham Kendall assured faithful drinkers, but many consumers have been left with a sour taste in their mouth.

Vince Dezagiacomo, from Glace Bay, N.S., is one dissatisfied customer.

“Keith’s won’t taste the same coming from Ontario,” he said.

Residents in Ontario seem generally impressed, bringing Keith’s closer to consumers there.

London, Ont. mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best spoke with London Free Press and noted that the change “is really positive” and will keep jobs and opportunities in the city.

Labatt will cut costs through a decrease in transportation costs by moving production closer to consumers across the country, but some Nova Scotians are now refusing to buy the product.

“I no longer be consuming or purchasing Labatt’s products following their blatant disregard for Nova Scotians as shown by their recently announced layoffs here,” said Tony Tracy, a resident of Halifax.

But this isn’t the first time Labatt has outsourced part of its brewing. In the summer of 2009, the company moved a portion of its Keith’s production to a sister brewery in Creston, B.C.

Despite controversy over the recent move, the company says it remains dedicated to Nova Scotia, even after the layoffs.

Labatt will invest $500,000 for improvements to the Halifax brewery and will continue to create an estimated 3,600 indirect jobs in the province.

Although the shift of production of Keith’s seems positive, many Nova Scotians, in particular the 40 staff members being laid off, will have to make some changes themselves, perhaps including a new drink of choice.