When we started thinking about how we wanted to celebrate Manitoba Crop Alliance’s fifth anniversary, we knew we wanted to give back to our farmer members, industry partners and the broader agriculture community, who have all helped the organization become what it is today. After much consideration, we decided the best way to do that was with some special food and drink made from MCA crops grown right here in Manitoba.

The result was three unique and delicious anniversary collaborations:

Beer

Our anniversary beer was brewed in collaboration with Trans Canada Brewing Co., a mainstay in the Winnipeg craft brewing community. For the anniversary brew, we couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Trans Canada, which shares our belief in the importance of supporting local farmers, buying (and drinking) local and giving back to the community. The beer was produced using malt from Scythe Malting Co. in Springstein, MB, which is owned and operated by MCA director Jeffrey Stobbe-Wiebe and his family.

Our “Stronger Together” light lager was distributed to MCA delegates during the 2026 all delegates meeting in Brandon, handed out to attendees following the 2026 MCA AGM and also made available to all CropConnect attendees during the Farmer Saloon portion of the conference.

Bread

Our anniversary white pan bread was created by our friends and longtime collaborators at Cereals Canada. Given our strong, existing ties with Cereals Canada through our membership in the organization, and the important market development and access work they do on behalf of our farmer members, it was a natural partnership. The bread was distributed to all farmer members who attended the 2026 MCA AGM.

Coming Soon: Whisky

Our final collaboration is a special anniversary whisky produced with Winnipeg’s Patent 5 Distillery. The base spirit was made from a mixture of locally grown corn, wheat and barley for a unique, Made-in-Manitoba flavour. The anniversary whisky is currently aging in barrels, where it will remain for the next several years, with plans to bottle and release the final product in 2030 when we celebrate MCA’s 10th anniversary. We are sure it will be worth the wait!