Executives at Molson Coors, the oldest and largest beer company in Canada, are not very happy with this whole NHL lockout thing. The brewing giant says the lockout is to blame for a sobering decline in beer sales.

According to Molson Coors CEO Peter Swinburn, the ongoing labor dispute has turned out to be one heck of a party foul. "Whether it's people not actually physically going to the venues and consuming there, consuming in venues around the outlet before that, or indeed having NHL-sort-of parties at home," said Swinburn, "all of those occasions have disappeared off the map and you just can't replicate them."

Molson Coors vastly surpassed analysts’ expectations last quarter with reported revenue of nearly $200 million. Still, the brewery claims its Canadian sector is taking it on the chin, which according to Swinburn will cause the “fourth quarter to be the most challenging this year.”

In a twist, the brewer plans to ask the league to repay them for their losses. "There will be some redress for us as a result of this," said Swinburn. "I can't quantify that, and I don't know because I don't know the scale of how long the lockout is going to last."

Perhaps it's time to teach the Canadians about the beauty of drinking just for the sake of drinking ... or maybe just introduce them to basketball.

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