Since it's #CanadaDay, I'm drinking Carling Black Label, South Africa's most popular beer and a beer that originated in Canada. So how did a relatively obscure Canadian beer become South Africa's bestseller? It's a story about soccer, advertising and international trade...

If you don't live in Quebec and don't buy the cheapest beers, there's a good chance you've never seen Black Label in Canada (I understand that in many parts of the country, only Black Label Ice, "a strong, low-priced ice beer" is available)

But at one point, the Carling Brewery was a major player. In 1927, the brewery offered a $25,000 prize to the first person to fly from London, Ontario to London, England. The first attempt, in a plane named Sir John Carling, ended with a crash somewhere in the North Atlantic

In the 1950s, after several mergers (as happens so often with brewers) the makers of Carling Black Label, then known as Canadian Breweries, began an international expansion, first to the United Kingdom, where Carling, as it's known now, remains relatively popular

And in 1966 to South Africa. Here in SA, Black Label was aimed at working men, sold as a "masculine" beer, with the focus on its strength: 5.5% ABV, stronger than most other beers on the South African market (something that remains true)

There's also an association with soccer both through sponsorships and Black Label's nickname: Zamalek. The nickname comes from the Egyptian soccer team of the same name and its colours, red, white and black, the same as Black Label's.

It's claimed that the nickname came after Zamalek beat the Kaiser Chiefs, one of South Africa's two most storied soccer teams (the other being my favourite, the Orlando Pirates), and people started saying that the beer was "as strong as Zamalek"

That may be a story made up by the company's marketing department, but the nickname has stuck, you can walk into any bar or bottle shop in SA and ask for Zamalek and they'll know what you want

For a stronger beer, Zamalek is relatively light, quite drinkable and the price is right, just over CAD$5 for a six pack with the current exchange rate

But while Carling Black Label may have started in Canada and the Canadian and SA versions continue to share some branding elements (I don't know about recipe or taste), there's no longer any connection between the makers of Black Label in Canada and South Africa

Carling Brewery, later Canadian Breweries, later Carling O'Keefe, is now part of Molson Coors, while the brewer of Black Label in South Africa, South African Breweries aka SAB, is now part of AB InBev

In 2018, SA Twitter found out that Black Label – which has become an iconically South African beer – was Canadian, with some amusing results https://www.businessinsider.co.za/carling-black-label-is-canadian-and-south-africans-are-freaking-out-2018-11

And that's how an obscure Canadian beer became South Africa's favourite. And, let's be honest, one of my favourites.