Hot on the heels of the re-launch of its Conclave beer, Ottawa’s Beyond the Pale is getting in on the action of race weekend with its Last Mile Lager.
On Wednesday, Run Ottawa announced that the Ottawa brewery would be the official beer partner for the 2025 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, May 24-25.
As part of the agreement, Beyond the Pale will serve a selection of its beers in the Beyond the Pale Beer Garden in Marion Dewar Plaza, or Festival Plaza, at City Hall. More than 20,000 participants in the marathon, half-marathon and 10-kilometre races will receive a free beer, non-alcoholic beer or soda from Beyond the Pale.
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A new signature event is set to grace the Ottawa business and philanthropic calendar this summer. CHEO Foundation and the prestigious The Royal Ottawa Golf Club are proud to announce
A new signature event is set to grace the Ottawa business and philanthropic calendar this summer. CHEO Foundation and the prestigious The Royal Ottawa Golf Club are proud to announce
“This is a marquee spring event in Ottawa and we are thrilled to partner with Run Ottawa & Tamarack Race Weekend,” said Beyond the Pale co-founder Rob McIsaac in a press release.
“(Beyond the Pale’s) great tasting beers and community spirit are the perfect match for the energy of our event, taking the celebration to a whole new level,” said Mike Vieira, executive director of Run Ottawa, in the release.
The brewery is already connected to the running community as its original location at City Centre is a weekly gathering place for one of the city’s largest run clubs, Ottawa City Run Club.
Last week, the re-introduction of Beyond the Pale’s semi-annual Conclave lager happened to coincide with the age-old ritual that occurred to replace Pope Francis. The brewery’s social media department jumped into action with a cheeky post on X featuring a can of the brewery’s Pale Ale Project being laid to rest while a group of new Conclave cans stood by, with the obligatory white smoke wafting in the background.
“We thought we’d have some fun with it,” McIsaac told OBJ last week. “Pale Ale Project is going away, and we’re having a conclave before we announce the new brand. It seemed like an appropriate and timely play for us.”
He said the ongoing trade war with the U.S. has had one positive effect on his business – a resurgence of “Canadian pride” and a “buy local” sentiment that has, anecdotally at least, led more consumers to gravitate toward craft breweries like BTP.
“We’re seeing a little uptick from that as well with people wanting to support their local brands,” McIsaac said. “It’s been a good spring for us so far.”
At the same time, Beyond the Pale, like craft breweries across the country, is trying to figure out how to keep its product mix relevant with a younger generation of drinkers who aren’t quaffing down beer at the same rate their parents did.
Over the past few years, BTP has introduced new products such as lower-alcohol beers and its Side Hustle line of premixed vodka-and-soda beverages and ciders.
BTP has yet to come out with a completely non-alcoholic beverage, but McIsaac said that will likely happen in the near future.
“We’re starting to dip our toes into it, but we haven’t found a product that we’re ready to roll with yet.”
Beyond the Pale opened a second location in the ByWard Market last year, taking over the former site of the Courtyard Restaurant. McIsaac said last week that business there is “picking up” as the temperature rises and bookings for wedding receptions, birthday parties and corporate gatherings come pouring in.
– With files from David Sali
