Agriculture committee  That's right, and then they malt it. In the malting process, basically they bring it to life to a certain point and then they shut it down by kilning the malt. Once it gets down to a certain moisture level, they put it on a train or a truck and they ship it to the brewer.

Agriculture committee  No. The malt comes into the brewery, it gets augered into the mill, and then the mash is done. They add water and steep it. Then they would bring it into the kettle. It's in the kettle that they would put the hops in.

Agriculture committee  Canada put its place on the global map when it comes to malt barley with a variety called Harrington back in the 1960s and 1970s. For the brewing industry and for the malting industry, it was the gold star of malt varieties. Over time, the variety starts to weaken. It doesn't necessarily produce at the same rate it did in the past because it's more susceptible to pests or whatnot.

Agriculture committee  No, there are no GM varieties grown in Canada.

Agriculture committee  I'm not sure. Maybe in China or other countries they have some, I don't know, but not in Canada.

Agriculture committee  That's a great question. Several years ago, in the 2006 budget, there was a progressive excise schedule brought into place for beer. Prior to that, it was a one-size-fits-all excise duty rate. By bringing in a progressive schedule, it recognized that those smaller players, without the economies of scale, needed to have a lower excise burden in order to get into the business of brewing.

Agriculture committee  Beer is a general term that you would use to cover all different styles. Ale is a specific style of beer that is different from a lager or a pilsner.

Agriculture committee  When do the hops get put into the beer?

Agriculture committee  It's not something I've ever been shown, because it's a secret. For every brand it will be very different.

Agriculture committee  That's right. The difference is the type of yeast they use. Ale is brewed or fermented at a warmer temperature, with yeast that floats to the top, and lagers are fermented at much cooler temperatures, with yeast that settles to the bottom.

Agriculture committee  It's when it's in the kettle. After they've brewed the wort, which is that sugary solution they put in the kettle and boil, that's when they would put the hops in.

Agriculture committee  There's feed barley and then there's malt barley.

Agriculture committee  I'm not a hundred per cent sure how it works. I don't know if you get instant access to the entire U.S. market or if different states have different requirements. Are there any tariffs on beer coming in? There were some things that provinces negotiated back before NAFTA that are still in place, but, no, beer moves into Canada fairly freely.

Agriculture committee  From a dollar value standpoint, we've seen the market share of beer go from over 50% to now, just last week, being reported at 44%. Wine has basically taken up that delta, from a value standpoint, so they've gone from 25% to now 30% or 31% of the retail value of beverage alcohol sales.

Agriculture committee  Yes, they're part of global entities, but they have investments here in Canada. They do employ Canadians and they're continuing to invest in their Canadian facilities. They're opening up new canning lines; they're opening up new breweries. Molson opened up a brewery in Moncton just a few years ago.