Toronto-based Labatt breweries will launch its first ale in Ontario's value beer segment this month.

Labatt Wildcat Mountain Ale, the fifth Wildcat brand in a national family of discount-priced products, is being supported by a province-wide radio and tv campaign created by Toronto's Ammirati & Puris.

Troy Taylor, manager of public relations at Labatt, says if the brand proves popular in Ontario, it will likely be distributed across Canada.

Taylor says the new ale rounds out the whole Labatt family presence in the value segment.

"Labatt hopes to take away from the Molson Export drinker, who is traditionally more of a blue-collar type of guy, and hopes that person would look at the quality brand Labatt's brews at a value price and try it," he says.

The value segment has an 18% share of the total beer market in Ontario. PS