The owner of a St. John's brewery has launched an awareness campaign because he says he is being frozen out of a big chunk of the local market.

Dave Rees of Quidi Vidi Brewery said Tuesday his salespeople can't get his product in the door of many big chain restaurants, a battle he has been fighting for 14 years.

He placed an ad in a St. John's newspaper, the Weekend Telegram, saying restaurants such as Boston Pizza, Swiss Chalet and the Keg carry most foreign-owned beer brands.

"I thought it [was] time that we start telling some of the truth about what's happening in the marketplace to Newfoundlanders," he said.

"One time there were Newfoundland brands like Jockey, Dominion, Blue Star, but now they're foreign owned. So when Newfoundlanders purchase those brands today thinking they're supporting local, they're not. They're supporting the U.S. economy, they're supporting the Belgium economy,"

Rees says he can't compete with the incentives big breweries can offer restaurants.

"These companies have the financial wherewithal to construct deals [or] whatever to keep us out of the market. Not all markets, but certain markets," he said.

CBC checked with most of the restaurants that Quidi Vidi says won't carry its products.

Some say they have contracts with Molson and Labatt, while a few say they keep some on hand in case customers ask, but the demand for Quidi Vidi products isn't great.