Labatt's massive beer tank shipment arrives after 2-day trek across London

Four massive beer tanks en route to London's Labatt brewery arrived late Wednesday morning, capping off a slow and careful two-day journey.

After crawling their way down Hamilton Road and Horton Street, the tanks made a final turn onto Richmond Street at around 10 a.m., where large trucks rolled them toward the brewery entrance. Large cranes will hoist them into place, one-by-one, next to the brewery's existing tanks.

The convoy entered the city Tuesday afternoon after setting off from Lambton County. It's arrival snarled rush hour traffic and saw hydro crews lifting electrical wires over the tanks as they travelled across the north end of London on Fanshawe Park Road, turning south down Highbury Avenue to Hamilton Road.

Due to delays, and the hazards of working with live powerlines in the dark, the shipment stopped overnight on Hamilton Road, about 3 km away from the brewery at Horton and Richmond streets.

The tanks, part of a $13.5 million dollar expansion at the Labatt Brewery, can hold a total volume of over 59 million litres.

Labatt spokesperson Hannah Love wouldn't say what the new tanks will be used for, except that an announcement is expected next week.

According to one Toronto-based beer writer, the investment and the size of the new tanks signals a shift in strategy for one of Canada's largest beer producers.

"They're paying attention to the future, and it's pretty serious as an investment goes," said Jordan St. John, the co-host of the Ontario Craft Beer Guide and the author of several books on brewing in Ontario. "It's a real boon for the province. What they're doing is actually onshoring manufacturing into Canada."

Over the course of the pandemic, brewers like Anheuser-Busch, Labatt's parent company, realized that shipping product internationally can be not only costly, but also unreliable, St. John said. 

"If there are two things that I've learned about beer, it's that beer is very heavy, and the way you get it to its' destination can be fraught with problems," he added, speculating that the move is related to the decision to brew Corona in London alongside Stella Artois, which is already brewed in the local brewery.

More beer, more jobs

An increase in production will likely mean a boost to the local economy, according to St. John.

"They are investing in the community in a really significant way. It's going to create jobs. It's going to create tertiary jobs that support the brewery itself," he said, adding that Labatt's increased production could also help local breweries.

"You're dealing with these Budweiser style, Corona style brands that are huge monoliths really in terms of their marketing. You need a mass market product. You can't have the gourmet local product without that."

LISTEN | Four enormous beer tanks make their way to London: