Calgary, AB: Feb 22, 2011 - Ravinder & Manjit Minhas of Minhas Creek Brewing Company  announced today that they will voluntarily change the labels on Boxer Lager and other beers they market in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan to state that they contain Malted Barley.  The beers with the warnings will start showing up on the shelves within a few weeks. 

As widely reported in the media, Health Canada has recently brought new rules requiring food manufacturers to identify allergens such as barley; however, the brewers have been given a reprieve from the changes in rules and are not  required to identify that their beers contain barley.  The new rules are being introduced to help about 4% of adult Canadians who are Celiac and allergic to food products such as barley that contain gluten. 

The Minhas siblings have chosen to add warnings to their beers as part of their desire to always operate in a socially responsible manner.   They believe that this is the correct course of action for the industry.  More Canadians are being diagnosed with Celiac disease everyday, making consumption of beer by them as potentially harmful.

The Minhas siblings were also the first beer company to put an Alcohol Warning labels on all of their beers.  They call upon the rest of the brewing and distilling industry to follow their lead and also put warnings on beer and other alcoholic products.  They believe these voluntary actions would enhance the reputation of the entire industry and will continue to urge greater transparency in the industry.

The warning label will now read: 

WARNING:  This product contains malted barley.  Please drink responsibly. Never Drink and Drive.  If you are pregnant, avoid alcohol.

Contact Information:

For further information or to arrange interviews, please call (403) 875-3535 or e-mail at Minhas@BoxerLager.com