PEISome P.E.I. craft breweries saw such an uptick in demand this summer that they ran out of beer and seating space. Meanwhile, liquor store shelves were quickly depleted.Some enjoyed a double-digit sales boost as tourists flocked to the Island this summerSavannah Awde · CBC News · Posted: Sep 03, 2025 8:07 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoBump in beer business has P.E.I. craft brewers racing to keep cans on the shelvesA buy-Canadian push, a jump in tourism numbers and a hot, dry summer — all have combined to create a beer crunch on the Island. Lone Oak’s Jared Murphy (shown) says local breweries are struggling to keep up with demand, and some are even running out of product. CBC’s Wayne Thibodeau reports. As Canadians chose to vacation closer to home and enjoyed lower costs to use the Confederation Bridge and Northumberland Ferries, Prince Edward Island breweries have been enjoying a banner summer. Craft breweries have seen such a jump in sales that some have been struggling to keep enough beer on the shelf.Owner-operator Alex Clark says it’s been “unlike any summer before” at Summerside’s Evermoore Brewing Co. “We saw it right from the beginning of June — it hit hard and fast,” Clark said. “Every day we talked to different tourists. It was a wide demographic this year … American, Canadians, from all over, young and old.” Some days, he said the brewery was so busy it had to turn people away.Alex Clark of Evermoore Brewing Co. in Summerside says they had to turn people away at times this summer. (CBC)”We have not been great at keeping up with demand this summer,” he said. “You always assume you might grow with a good summer, but we would have never expected this.” Evermoore Brewing Co. was not the only local producer scrambling to meet a higher-than-normal demand.According to Jared Murphy, president of the P.E.I. Craft Brewers’ Alliance, some craft breweries had sales show a double-digit increase this summer. Murphy is also the CEO at Lone Oak Brewing Company, one of several local producers that ran out of beer as a result. “It is a problem, but a good problem,” he said in an interview at Lone Oak Brewing Company’s new location, formerly home to Upstreet Craft Brewing.Some craft breweries on Prince Edward Island had double-digit sales increases this summer. (CBC)”People are choosing Canada. And if Canadians are looking for a place to vacation, what better place than P.E.I.?”Clark was surprised to hear several American tourists coming to Evermoore say they had sought out a Canadian destination because of the trade tensions. “We heard a lot, you know, ‘Canadians aren’t visiting us, so we are going to visit you,'” he said. “[It] was a really nice sentiment to share.” Meanwhile, he said reduced bridge and ferry costs in August also brought more day trippers from the mainland into the brewery.An early-September lookback on the summer with the head of the P.E.I. Tourism Industry AssociationThe P.E.I. Tourism Industry Association says it’s been a busy summer. With tolls down, visits to the province seem to be up. But could the lower tolls also have a negative impact on where locals spend their money? CBC’s Sheehan Desjardins asked CEO Corryn Clemence (pictured) about that. ‘A very good year’Kevin Murphy, chairman of Murphy Hospitality Group and founding partner of P.E.I. Brewing Company, has also seen more people opting for a local pint.”A lot played into making this year a very good year for tourism,” he said. “Everybody will refer to the whole Trump factor, and how Canadians decided to stay at home, maybe travel domestically … interest rates coming down, you know, the bridge fare being cut to $20.”Kevin Murphy, chairman of Murphy Hospitality Group and founding partner of the P.E.I. Brewing Company, says the nice weather may have played a part in depleting beer supplies this summer. (CBC)Kevin Murphy speculated that the hot, dry summer weather also likely drove tourism up.Now that September has arrived, he believes there’s still time to get the shelves re-stocked to capitalize on the rush for local beer. Our spring was busy, last fall was busy. We really haven’t seen the slumps that we’ve experienced in the past.— Alex Clark, Evermoore Brewing Co.”There’s no reason to think that the season won’t continue,” he said. “We have Fall Flavours, we have Shellfish Festival, we have Sommo Festival. P.E.I. has a lot going on.”As for Clark, he said Evermoore’s anticipated slow periods have yet to materialize this year. P.E.I. operations are hastening to get the shelves re-stocked and capitalize on the rush for local beer as the tourism shoulder season brings festivals this fall. (CBC)”Our spring was busy, last fall was busy. We really haven’t seen the slumps that we’ve experienced in the past,” he said.”We have to stop saying, ‘Oh, the slump’s going to be this week.’ We have to start adapting a little quicker.”ABOUT THE AUTHORSavannah Awde is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick. You can contact her with story ideas at savannah.awde@cbc.ca.With files from Wayne Thibodeau
P.E.I. breweries rush to keep pace with unprecedented demand for their craft beer
