Archive record · Brewery
The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company
Canmore, Alberta, Canada
- Founded
- 1996
- Archive ID
- TB-EPY8Q9NG
- Last checked
- 2026-10-02
Who owns this brewery?
The archive is still digging. That is a gap in the research, not a finding of independence.
Know who owns it? Tell us, and we will correct the record.
From the record
Summary
Founder: Niall Fraser. Canmore brewery founded in April 1996 by Niall Fraser from the original Main Street pub. A second dedicated brewery location opened in 2012 on Old Canmore Road; current hospitality venues remain one canonical brewery entity.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Where it is
51.08858, -115.34507
Supplied by the research pass; method not recorded
Open on a mapThe Museum
Timeline
- 1996-04-29Opens as Canmore's first craft brewery
Opened on Main Street, Canmore with three beers; first craft brewery in town. Source: "the Grizzly Paw Brewing Company welcomed thirsty patrons through its doors on April 29, 1996"
- 2013Expands to new brewing facility
Outgrew the Main Street pub and expanded to a new facility with three times the brewing capacity (also began a soda line, undated). Source: "the Grizzly Paw outgrew their Main Street joint and expanded to a new facility in 2013"
The People
Behind the beer
Provincial listing identifies President; not treated as owner without share evidence.
The Beer Library
Beers
Grumpy Bear Honey Wheat
CURRENT / 1996 ORIGINALHoney Wheat Beer
Current 30th-anniversary first-party pack identifies Grumpy Bear as one of the brewery's 1996 hits; 5.0% ABV / 14 IBU.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Rundlestone Easy IPA
CURRENTEasy IPA
Current first-party beer shop.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Beavertail Raspberry Ale
CURRENT / EARLY CLASSICRaspberry Ale
Current 30th-anniversary first-party pack gives 5.0% ABV / 10 IBU; 2026 historical reporting says Beavertail followed the opening lineup within weeks.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Three Sisters Pale Ale
CURRENT / 1996-ERA CLASSICPale Ale
Current 30th-anniversary first-party pack gives 4.5% ABV / 10 IBU and presents Powder Hound among the brewery's 1996-era hits.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Powder Hound Blonde Ale
CURRENT / 1996 ORIGINALBlonde Ale
Current 30th-anniversary first-party pack identifies Rutting Elk Red among the 1996 hits; 5.0% ABV / 16 IBU.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bighorn Nut Brown
CURRENTNut Brown Ale
Current first-party beer shop.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Hat Trick Blonde Ale
Blonde Ale
Tourism Canmore 2025 promotion labels beer as brewed by The Grizzly Paw at Canmore address and gives 4.5% ABV. (CURRENT/RECENT) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Travel Guide
Plan a visit
On the record
Awards
- 2024
Gold — Pale Ale/Bitter — Three Sisters Pale Ale
Alberta Beer Awards
- 2024
Gold — Pale Ale/Bitter
Alberta Beer Awards
- 2020
Bronze — Three Sisters Pale Ale (Pale Ale/Bitter)
Alberta Beer Awards
- 2020
Bronze — Pale Ale/Bitter — Three Sisters Pale Ale
Alberta Beer Awards
Only awards we could attribute to a named body and year appear here. An empty section means unresearched, not unawarded.
1 organisations
Connected suppliers & bodies
- alberta beer awardsAwarded2020Bronze — Pale Ale/Bitter
- alberta beer awardsAwarded2020Bronze — Three Sisters Pale Ale (Pale Ale/Bitter)
What the archive does not know yet
Open questions
- UnknownownerOwner not established. Searched 2026-10-01 (the brewery's about and story pages). The brewery's own story says Niall Fraser founded it ('Niall Fraser forges what we know today'); no source found states a current owner.
- UnknownownerOwner not established. Searched 2026-10-02. A 2016 blog post (This Cannot Be It, February 2016) says "While Grizzly Paw owner Niall Fraser was living in Sydney, Australia he got the idea of opening a brewing company"; Avenue Calgary (12 June 2026) calls him the founder and names Dominique Lagloire-Galipeau as CEO. A ten-year-old blog is a lead, not a current owner, and nothing is recorded as an owner from it.
Know the answer? Write to [email protected] with a source, and the record is corrected and credited to you.
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's Alberta master, Pass 26, which cited https://www.rmoutlook.com/mountain-guide/canmores-oldest-brewery-cheers-30-years-of-craft-beer-community-12186063 for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's Alberta master, Pass 26 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 2026-08-19 - ownerUnknown
Owner not established. Searched 2026-10-01 (the brewery's about and story pages). The brewery's own story says Niall Fraser founded it ('Niall Fraser forges what we know today'); no source found states a current owner.
The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company: page searched for its owner · thegrizzlypaw.com
BreweryMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-10-01Brewery-statedClaim last checked 2026-10-01 - ownerUnknown
Owner not established. Searched 2026-10-02. A 2016 blog post (This Cannot Be It, February 2016) says "While Grizzly Paw owner Niall Fraser was living in Sydney, Australia he got the idea of opening a brewing company"; Avenue Calgary (12 June 2026) calls him the founder and names Dominique Lagloire-Galipeau as CEO. A ten-year-old blog is a lead, not a current owner, and nothing is recorded as an owner from it.
The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company: page cited for its owner · thiscannotbeit.com
SecondaryLow reliabilitySource accessed 2026-10-02Claim last checked 2026-10-02
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
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