Because I get all my news from beer blogs, Draft magazine was how I learned that today was Victoria Day, Canada’s holiday for Queen Victoria’s birthday. I was dismayed, however, to see that the Phoenix-based magazine paid tribute to the holiday by naming Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue two of “Canada’s Best Exports.”

Of course it’s good to occasionally revisit the dregs of the beer world for perspective. And it’s one thing for a writer to dig deep to fill out a themed list. But two garbage macrobrews on a list of six is slim, even offputting for a newcomer trying to learn about Canadian beer. And it would be a shame for that person to miss out on high-quality exports such as Le Trou du Diable‘s Weizgripp weizenbock or Sainte Source‘s earthy, East Coast-style IPA.

These are very small Quebecois breweries that we are lucky to have in D.C., so maybe they just don’t ship to Arizona. If you’re looking for a decent, widely available Canadian beer, there’s Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale (now owned by A-B InBev, of course). And if Washingtonians really are so singularly fortunate to get those French-Canadian specialties, well that’s another good reason to celebrate today.

Photo by James Cridland via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution License