Moosehead is Canada’s oldest independent brewery still owned by the same family, and its lager is one of the most exported Canadian beers in the world despite being genuinely hard to find outside its home turf on the East Coast. Here is the actual story behind the brand and what reviewers consistently say about the beer in the bottle.
A Brewery That Started as the Army and Navy
Moosehead Breweries traces back to 1867, when Susannah Oland founded what was then called the Army and Navy Brewery in Saint John, New Brunswick. The Oland family has owned and run the brewery ever since, which makes it Canada’s oldest independent brewer still under its founding family’s control. Saint John, a working port city on the Bay of Fundy, remains the company’s home base to this day.
What Moosehead Lager Actually Tastes Like
Moosehead Lager sits at 5% ABV and is built as a straightforward, easy-drinking pale lager rather than anything trying to compete with craft beer. Reviewers land in a similar place on it: Sublime Imbibing described it as having a “nice light body” with “floral hop notes adding enough intrigue to keep you sipping,” while Guru of Brew rated it four stars, calling it “crisp and clean malty with a balancing hop bitterness” among Canadian lagers specifically. Drinkhacker was less enthusiastic, noting “a big vegetal, heavy corny/grainy character” typical of a mass-market North American lager, though even that review called it “harmless” and easy to drink. The consistent theme across reviews is that Moosehead is a competent, sessionable lager rather than a beer built for complexity.
Why It Is Harder to Find Than You Would Expect
Moosehead is genuinely popular in export markets, especially the US and UK, but it sits outside the AB InBev and Molson Coors distribution machines that dominate shelf space for most mainstream lagers. That independence is part of the brand’s identity, but it also means availability can be patchy depending on where you are shopping. If you do track it down, it is worth trying alongside other under-the-radar independent lagers rather than judging it against the giant multinational brands it is not really trying to compete with.
Moosehead at a Glance
| Style | Pale lager |
| ABV | 5% |
| Brewery | Moosehead Breweries, Saint John, New Brunswick |
| Founded | 1867, as the Army and Navy Brewery |
| Ownership | Still owned and run by the Oland family |
If Moosehead is not on the shelf where you are, our light beer brands guide covers other easy-drinking lagers worth trying instead.
FAQs
Is Moosehead a Canadian beer?
Yes. Moosehead Breweries has been based in Saint John, New Brunswick since 1867, and it remains an independent Canadian company owned by the founding Oland family.
What percent alcohol is Moosehead?
Moosehead Lager is 5% ABV, a standard strength for a mainstream pale lager.
Why is Moosehead hard to find in some places?
Because it stays outside the major AB InBev and Molson Coors distribution networks that control most shelf space for mainstream lagers, availability can vary a lot by region even though the brand exports widely.
