Beer (alcohol) production is a huge rabbit hole. Most alcohol on the planet is produced by 4 or 5 companies.
Moosehead, Original 16, and Big Rock are all (real!) Canadian beers sold in the US. Almost everything else you find will be owned by Molson-Coors, Heineken N.V.,or Anheuser-Bush InBev. That's true for ALL beer!
If you can't find the beers I mentioned, consider supporting local microbreweries. They're probably hurting pretty badly.
You could also look for local brews that share your ideology.
Labatt Brewing Company is owned by AB InBev, which is actually not American but Belgian. Definitely not Canadian though.
The answer probably depends on where you are. There are tons of small Canadian breweries that ship to the US. Steam Whistle Brewing is a very large independent brewery that just makes a Pilsner. They're probably big enough to be fairly widely available. Buy it in cans though. They're idiots for packaging in green bottles.
Thank you all for the recommendation! Im in west Michigan so there may be a fairly good chance I can some of the recommended. Thank you again!
James Ready, made by the folks who make mooshead, which is also a fine brew. AFAIK still independently owned and operated
Some of my information might be outdated, it's been a while — I worked in a high end liquor store, brewing supply, and I'm a home brewer.
It might vary by state, but best bet is to go smaller. Molson, Kokanee, Sleeman, Alexander Keith's, Coors and Moosehead are all made in Canada and they've all been pretty hostile to the craft beer industry. When I was living in Nova Scotia there were strict guidelines on minimum output to be considered a craft brewery that made it harder for small businesses to start up. And that was because of Keith's. Personally, I can't stand moosehead because they use some skunky fucking hops that overpower everything with pot stank.
Don't even try molson, it's the bud lite of Canada.
Unibroue for sure is sold is some states, and they're owned and operated in Quebec. They do belgian, so they've probably got some lighter lager/pilsner style brews.
Big ones I think I've seen in the states are: Parallel 49, Granville Island Brewing (I love their winter ale,) and Fort Gary. Maybe Half Pints.
You might be surprised how much liquor store employees know if you ask someone who's been there a while. We did product tests and talked to reps all the time where I worked. The Cariboo rep straight up gave everyone working a six pack whenever they delivered.
By the way, if you see Cariboo, they make the kind of light-but-friendly swill you're looking for, and are extra-Canadian. I'm obviously biased because free beer, but hey, the marketing tactic worked.
Any micro micro brewery beer from Québec 😀
I know there are a lot being sold in the US. And they're top notch!
Beer is a pretty centralized industry, compared to the multitude of brands out there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AB_InBev https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heineken_N.V. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlsberg_Group
These brands make international brands locally for tax and other reasons.
Craft breweries may be available as exports, but they can be risky because a lot of craft breweries are financially struggling and take it out on their employees.
Buying euro beer is a perfectly good option too!
Beer.
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