Wednesday has been designated as the ”official day” by Beer Canada.

Canadian beer sales recovered over the summer following a sharp reduction during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beer Canada reported sales declines of 2.4 percent in March, 4.8 percent in April and 2.5 percent in May. The lower beer consumption was attributed to closed restaurants and bars, as well as the cancellation of sporting events and other public activities.

The tide turned in June and July as service businesses reopened. The return of warm weather saw more Canadians drinking beer on patios. National beer sales in June were up 3.6 percent, followed by another 3.5 percent in July.

Every good brew starts in the field and malting barley production benefited from timely rain and a relatively dry harvest.

“We probably have the largest supply of selectable malting barley in the last five years, maybe ten,” said Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre in Winnipeg. “Quality looks good—nice bright, clean barley. Very little disease and a low incidence of pre-germination, which has been a problem in recent years.”

Canadian barley exports have more than doubled during the first two months of the crop year. The total was 409,600 tonnes during August and September. China is turning to Canada for additional malting barley as a result of a trade dispute between the Chinese and Australian governments.