Geoff Molson and Me

Cracking open foaming cans of unpasturized Rickard’s Red plucked directly from a speeding canning line and a brewery tour by Mr. Rickard himself painted, with satisfying strokes, the backdrop of a great night after a hard day at work. Held by members of the Molson crew and Dave and Meghan, Brew 2.0 was a fulfilling night of drink, food and making connections.

One of the night’s many special guests, Geoff Molson, the great-great-great-great grandson of company founder John Molson, gave a folksy opening speech. He explained how the inaugural Molson bought a large tract of arable land in Montreal and invited settlers to farm it in exchange for their raising beer crops.

It’s about community, Molson explained. Throughout the company’s history (Canada’s second oldest next to HBC), its leaders have been dedicated to serving not only beer drinkers but the country.

I approached Molson after his talk and goaded him into revealing more about his great-great uncle who he’d mentioned served as senator. Which party had he belonged to? Surely the Molson clan, like a number of other well-to-do Canadian families, harboured political aspirations.

I was wrong.

When Geoff Molson said that his family was dedicated to serving the community, he meant it and pointed out that his great-great uncle was, in fact, an independent senator, meaning he was neither Liberal nor Conservative.

Molson clarified that the key to the company’s longevity was because it never tied itself to any kind of government or party; it truly offered itself to the wider community. With the rise and fall of a litany of Canadian political personalities, the institution endured.

And with Brew 2.0, the company offered itself in a new kind of way, nonetheless to a group of regular folk, hoisting the brewery into a new era of community service.

(Thanks to Tonia for the picture).

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