By Ryan Cavani

The life and times of Ben Ginter

Apr 5, 2019 | 3:45 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Ben Ginter is a name that may not stick out for some people, it might only be recognizable if you have taken your dog for a walk. But Ben Ginter was a titan of his era, a man who revolutionized the beer industry and put Prince George on the Map. 

Ben Ginter might be best known for his legacy in the beer industry. A Polish immigrant, Ben Ginter grew up on a farm in rural Manitoba. Ben wasn’t one to take orders and decided to drop out of school at 14 and forge his own path.

He started his own construction company and quickly made significant amounts of money building highways for the government. He eventually bought the failing Caribou Brewing to use as a service yard for his construction equipment. 

Ben quickly changed his mind and decided that he actually did want to open a brewery and opened Tartan Brewing in 1962. Ginter quickly began innovating the B.C. brewing industry. He was the first to bring canned beer to the province and the first to offer a 10 cent refund on beer. 

As with many innovators, often times the progress they represent can upset the status quo. With Ben Ginter, his rough and tumble style combined with a gruff persona made him many enemies in the brewing industry. His Pil-can beer, in particular, drew the attention of his competitors in the form of several lawsuits.

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Ben decided to try and avoid another lawsuit for a while, so he changed the name to Uncle Ben’s. Ever the narcissist, Uncle Ben decided to put his own likeness on the canned Malt Liquor and hatched a plan to better appeal to local residents.

Ben decided that his image on the can needed to reflect the people in Prince George. To look like a regular mountain man Ginter glued a fake beard on for the initial picture. In the later years, he would eventually grow his beard out.

While the ’60s were a decade of prosperity for Ben Ginter, the ’70s would be less inviting. Lawsuits and government regulations would slow down his various endeavours and eventually, the Brewery would go into receivership and Ben would be forced to liquidate assets to pay off debts.

People only had two opinions of Ben Ginter, either you loved him or hated him. Ben’s gruff personality and generally abrasive personality rubbed many people the wrong way, and Ben was never able to gain acceptance in Prince George.

He would die of a heart attack while living in Richmond in 1981.