Montreal’s craft beer scene is facing renewed challenges as La Brasserie Harricana, a popular microbrewery founded in 2014, announced its closure Friday. The decision comes amid increasing economic pressures and a competitive market that has seen a decline in Quebec brewing companies for the second consecutive year, with eight closing in 2025 alone.While the brewery’s founder, Marie-Pier Veilleux, expressed a possibility of future iterations of the brand, the immediate closure marks a loss for both loyal customers and the province’s independent brewing industry.
Montreal-based microbrewery La Brasserie Harricana announced its closure Friday, marking another challenge for Quebec’s craft beer industry.
“Despite our constant efforts, we have now explored all possible options to stay afloat, and today we must accept a new reality,” founder and CEO Marie-Pier Veilleux wrote on social media Friday morning. “It is with great emotion that I announce the closure of Brasserie Harricana.”
Veilleux’s message, thanking employees, customers, and loved ones, offered few details regarding the reasons behind the decision. The establishment was closed to the public Friday.
Founded in 2014 by Marie-Pier Veilleux, the brewery, located at the corner of Jean-Talon and Saint-Urbain streets, offered a diverse range of beers to suit all tastes. Its menu was categorized from classic brews to more original creations, and Harricana also distributed its products through various retail outlets. The closure underscores the increasing pressures facing smaller breweries as they navigate a competitive market.
“A Part of Our History”
Messages of support and gratitude from customers and regulars quickly flooded social media following the announcement, commemorating the brewery as a unique destination for its beer, food, and atmosphere.
“Harricana had a really special place in my heart,” said Audrey Dionne, recalling her first date with her partner nearly 10 years ago.
“Since then, it’s been like our go-to place for special occasions. Whether it was Valentine’s Day, birthdays, we even spent New Year’s Eve there,” she said in an interview with Le Devoir.
Her partner informed her of the closure Friday morning. “It hit me a little bit,” Dionne explained.
For her, few breweries compare to Harricana in terms of both ambiance and product quality. “I’m really saddened, especially by the fact that we didn’t get to enjoy one last visit before it closed.”
“My boyfriend and I have been together for almost 10 years, and we already had plans to have a party with our friends there next year,” she said. “It’s a part of our history that’s disappearing.”
Difficult Times for Microbreweries
“Our hearts go out to the company,” said Marie-Eve Myrand, Executive Director of the Association des microbrasseries du Québec (AMBQ), in an interview with Le Devoir. “These are not easy decisions to make.”
According to an AMBQ report published in October, the number of brewing companies in Quebec decreased in 2025 for the second consecutive year, after increasing annually from 2002 to 2023. The number of closures reached a peak last year, with eight microbreweries shutting down – representing 2.5% of all businesses in the sector.
Myrand noted that this trend isn’t unique to microbreweries, adding that several industries are feeling the economic pressure of recent years.
“Once you’ve paid the mortgage, groceries, and juggled the ever-increasing cost of living, disposable income is harder to come by,” she explained. “That directly impacts the restaurant, cultural, and microbrewery sectors.”
She also highlighted competition from multinational beer producers operating in Quebec. “The reality of a multinational and that of a Quebec producer, a small to medium-sized enterprise, are completely different. Consequently, our products are a bit more expensive – our production costs are higher.”
Myrand cited the example of Trou du diable, a Shawinigan microbrewery acquired by Molson Coors in 2017. “Consumers often forget that it’s owned by Molson within a conglomerate. There’s a need for education, but it’s a daily battle.”
She praised the adaptability and reinvention shown by many microbreweries in navigating the “turbulences” of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation that followed. “I salute their resilience,” she said.
There’s a glimmer of hope for Harricana’s fans, however. In her message, Veilleux mentioned “a pause to reflect on the future and the form that the Brasserie Harricana beer brand could take.” The entrepreneur may not have made her final statement.
