Sad news from Friday -- Creemore Springs, one of my two favourite Ontario microbrews (the other being Steamwhistle), is now the property of Molson Canada.

An excerpt from the Globe story:

Molson Canada is buying Creemore Springs Brewing Co., a small Ontario microbrewery that makes what connoisseurs say is one of Canada's finest beers.

The purchase price was not disclosed, but industry sources said Molson paid about $25-million for the privately-held brewery.

The Globe and Mail first reported April 16 that Molson was in talks with Creemore, seeking to cash in on the growing popularity of microbrews. Canada's flagship beer brands -- Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue -- have both been losing market share to discount beers, imports and microbrews.

In on-line beer chat rooms yesterday, drinkers fretted Molson would mess with one of their favourite brews. But Howard Thompson, Creemore's chief executive officer, vowed there will be no changes to the beer's formula or manufacturing. "We're not doing our jobs if we change our approach to either making beer or marketing it," said Mr. Thompson, who plans to remain at the brewery.

He said the only difference consumers may notice is that the 355-ml drink will be packaged in the standard industry bottles that Molson and Labatt use for their other beers, instead of the distinctive bottles used by Creemore.
 
We shall see if Mr. Thompson is forced to backtrack.
 
Molson Canada's accountants likely won't be amused if Creemore isn't posting the expected results. What if the parent company starts demanding "compromises" to increase those returns?
 
I would argue Molson doesn't understand the good beer business. They've made their money in the good-enough beer business.
 
Those more knowledgeable about beer than myself might wish to educate me on the successful craft beers Molson has managed to produce on its own.
 
In any event, if I'm still drinking Creemore two years from now, perhaps I'll have been proved wrong. But this development does worry me.