This Beer Is Made from the Same Barley Champion Racehorses Eat

To promote the new season of Ontario Racing UNFILTERED, Ontario Racing is launching its own beer made from an unexpected ingredient.

UNFILTERED Champion Ale is the world’s first beer made from the same barley champion racehorses eat. The beer is being used to introduce new audiences to the acclaimed documentary series Ontario Racing UNFILTERED. Season one gave new and long-time fans an exclusive look into the raw and unscripted emotions, excitement and storylines behind the sport of horse racing. The overwhelming success of the series led to a second season, streaming now on Crave, CTV.ca, the CTV app and the TSN YouTube channel.

Each can of beer has a QR code on the label that people can scan to stream the documentary series, allowing them to watch it wherever they are. The goal is to help grow the sport of horse racing in Ontario by putting the series, and the sport itself, in front of new audiences of potential fans.

“The documentary series is all about giving people a raw, unfiltered look what it takes to become a champion in horse racing, ” says Gordon Thain, executive director at Ontario Racing. “We wanted to bring that experience to life by turning it into something you can touch, feel and especially, taste.”

UNFILTERED Champion Ale was inspired by Ontario’s champion racehorses, who eat only the finest Ontario-grown barley. To turn it into beer, Ontario Racing partnered with Avling Brewery, one of the province’s most innovative craft breweries that aims to create exceptional and experimental beer, food, and experiences that showcase Canadian flavours and locally farmed ingredients.

The result is a new breed of golden ale brewed with Ontario-grown horse feed barley and left unfiltered to allow each unique flavour to shine through. The beer has allowed Ontario Racing to show up in a new way at some of the province’s most beloved sports and craft beer bars, including The Dock Ellis, Sweaty Betty’s and The Emmet Ray.

“Ultimately, we want to bring people to the racetrack who may never have considered going before,” says Graham Lang, chief creative offer at VML Canada. “We needed to get their attention by putting something unexpected, and delicious, right into their hands .”

UNFILTERED Champion Ale is now available at select Ontario racetracks and bars in 473ml cans, and on draft at Avling Brewery for a limited time. The launch of the beer is being promoted with a Paid Social campaign along with In-Store and POS at bars and racetracks across Ontario.

The campaign was created by creative agency VML in partnership with Ontario Racing.