James Ready

James Ready

The story of James Ready Brewing Co. begins in the late 19th century in Saint John, New Brunswick, when Irish immigrant James Ready founded his own brewery on Canada's East Coast, laying the foundation for a beer brand that remains firmly woven into the history of the Maritimes to this day. In 1928, George Bauld Oland of the legendary Oland family acquired the James Ready Brewery in Saint John – the very site on which Moosehead Breweries operates to this day – taking over not only the buildings and facilities but also discovering among the old company records the previously unused trademark «Moosehead», which in 1933 became the foundation of what would grow into Canada's most iconic beer brand.

While the Moosehead name went on to conquer the world, the James Ready name disappeared from the Canadian beer market for several decades, before the brand was revived in 2003 – around 75 years after the Olands' purchase of the brewery – and deliberately repositioned as a standalone, accessible and value-conscious brand within the Moosehead portfolio. Today, James Ready is brewed as a full member of the Moosehead family of brands in Saint John, Toronto and Montréal and is available in five different strengths, with James Ready 5.5 being the best-known and best-selling product in the range.

The James Ready Lager stands for a grounded, honest and uncomplicated beer character that relies neither on elaborate marketing nor on complex flavour promises – a crisp, clean and lightly malty lager that delivers on its no-nonsense promise in every bottle and thereby embodies the values that have connected founder James Ready and the Oland family on Canada's East Coast for over 150 years: simplicity, reliability and genuine Canadian beer character without any pretence.