The following videos, uploaded to youtube by coldplay871, have a much wider selection of Newfoundland beer labels. Again, I didn’t make these, so the music choice was not mine!
Monthly Archives: February 2012
Additional Information on Bennett Brewing
Thanks to Anthony Cashin who pointed out he has an entry on his blog about the history of the Bennett Brewery.
It’s here.
Filed under Bennett Brewing
Black Horse in Newfoundland
Black Horse is not, technically, a Newfoundland beer, but since it’s only brewed there now and it’s a big part of the culture it counts! It actually dates back to around 1811. Black Horse was first owned by Dawes Brewing in Lachine, Quebec, who merged with Dow (a bigger brewer, bigger than Molson at the time) to form National Breweries Limited (1909). This was bought by Canadian Breweries Limited in 1952, which changed the name back to Dow’s Brewing (as seen on this bottle). Carling O’Keefe bought them out in the 1960s and Carling O’Keefe was bought by Molson in the 1980s. The brand was national throughout Canada in the 1980s under the name Dow brewing, but as of 1997 the name Dow was dropped.
Black Horse label, 1969
Black Horse label, 1970
Black Horse label, 1972
Filed under Black Horse, History
Overview: Yellowbelly Brewing
Yellowbelly Brewing (2008-)
Location: 288 Water Street.
Brands: Fighting Irish Red Ale, St. John’s Stout, Wexford Wheat, Pale Ale. Plus sessional beers.
Opened by Craig Flynn with brew master Liam Mckenna in July of 2008, Yellowbelly was the first full brewpub in Newfoundland (I’ve been told that Fog City in the Avalon Mall and the Duke of Duckworth had, for at least a little while, brewing operations also). This brewery is a little too recent to really be covered historically, so check out their webpage and this overview from Occasions Magazine for more information. I mean, if I can still remember drinking a pint of each of their beers on opening night, its not that historic, right?
Filed under History, Yellowbelly
Overview: Storm Brewing
Storm Brewing (Freshwater Brewing Co. 1995-)
Location: Carbonear (as Freshwater), Mount Pearl (as Storm)
Brands: Irish Red, Island Gold, Raspberry Wheat, Coffee Porter. (Retired, or out of common circulation: Hemp Ale, Killick, Kyle mild. The Duke’s Own is also reported to be brewed by Storm using the Duke’s recipe.)
Freshwater brewing was founded in Carbonear, Newfoundland, in 1995 around the same time as Quidi Vidi Brewing, by Nick Murray and Dave Rodgers. In 1997 the partnership has fizzled and it was purchased and renamed Storm Brewing by Michael McBride, a native of North York, Ontario. Overall Storm is a much smaller, more niche, producer of craft beer than Quidi Vidi Brewing. Originally marketed in stubby bottles and industry standard bomber (650 ml) bottles, in 2010 they switched to long neck bottles for their 6-packs. They report that their 7 hectolitre system was imported from the Santa Rosa brewing company of California. A report in The Telegram indicates that they brew only around 300 hectolitres a year.
References:
“STORM BREWING in Nfld. Ltd.” Storm Brewing, last accessed February 17, 2012.
Moira Baird, “The Big Idea: Storm Brewing in Newfoundland Ltd.,” The Telegram August 16, 2004.
Filed under History, Storm Brewing
Overview: Quidi Vidi Brewing
Quidi Vidi Brewing (1996-)
Location: Quidi Vidi Village
Brands: 1892, Eric’s Cream Ale, Iceberg, Honey Brown, Premium, and Light.
Quidi Vidi Brewing, founded in 1995 (and first brewing in 1996) by David Rees and David Fong, was the first independent brewery to open in Newfoundland since 1962. It was built, and is currently, on the site of the old Cabot Seafood Plant in Quidi Vidi Village, St. John’s. On their website they say that they were inspired by the craft beer scene in North American and wanted to import a little of that spirit back into Newfoundland by breaking with “the non-descript beer styles being produced by the larger breweries.” They produce using only water, malt, hops and yeast without additives or preservatives, with the exception of honey in their Honey Brown.
In many ways Quidi Vidi has attempted to compete with the major macros by focusing on Canadian lager (“QV”) and light lager (“QV Light”) styles, providing a high alcohol lager (“7”), and attempting to innovate with a beer-cooler which was flavoured with Purity syrup (“Cranberry Cloud”). Both 7 and Cranberry Cloud have since been discontinued. A recent rebrand of their bottles, making QV simply “Premium Lager” and QV Light with “Light Lager,” and rebranding “Eric’s Red Cream Ale” to “Eric’s Cream Ale” to avoid the constant expectation that it may actually be a red beer. “1892” is what they call a “traditional ale” which has been designed to emulate what beer may have tasted like in 1892, the year of the great St. John’s fire, by using the hop varities which would have been imported to Newfoundland at the time (largely Saaz hops, if memory serves). In 2011 they updated their Christmas “Mummer’s Brew” into a seasonal beer series, the second of which is a British IPA, making it the first IPA to be brewed commercially in Newfoundland since the demise of “India Pale Ale” by the Newfoundland Brewing Company. World-wide they are known for their “Iceberg beer,” which comes in a unique blue bottle and is made from melted iceberg water.
Just for full disclosure, I have probably drank more 1892 than any other beer. It’s very, very close to my heart.
The beer wall at Quidi Vidi Brewery circa 2011/2012
Bonus! A video from user CanadianTourism’s youtube channel (click on the video for more from CanadianTourism) where Dave discusses Iceberg beer. It’s not actually 15 minutes outside of St. John’s, it’s just on the outskirts of the East End. It’s actually about a 15 minute walk from where I grew up!
References:
“Occasions Magazine – Newfoundland Liquor Corporation: Quidi Vidi Brewery – Celebrating 15 Years” Newfoundland Liquor Corperation Summer 2011
“Our Story” Quidi Vidi Brewing Company 2012, last accessed February 17, 2011.
Filed under History, Quidi Vidi Brewing
Overview: Kavanaugh and Company
Kavanaugh and Company (1890-1936?)
Location: Military Road and 18 Water Street West.
Brands: Mostly “aerated water” but listed as a brewery.
Likely cause of death: Unknown.
References:
Joseph R. Smallwood and Robert D.W. Pitt (editors) Encyclopaedia of Newfoundland, Volume 1 (Newfoundland Book Publishers, 1981, under the Breweries entry)
Filed under History, Other Brewers
Overview: Lindberg Brewing Company
Lindberg Brewing Company Limited (1877-1912?)
Location: Signal Hill Road.
Brands: Bavarian Beers and imported Guinness and Bass.
Likely cause of death: Liquor restriction laws (bars to close at 9 p.m.) (1911) and Newfoundland Prohibition (1917-1924).
Bavarian Brewing advert from McAlpine's Newfoundland directory, 1894 to 1897
References:
Joseph R. Smallwood and Robert D.W. Pitt (editors) Encyclopaedia of Newfoundland, Volume 1 (Newfoundland Book Publishers, 1981, under the Breweries entry)
McAlpine’s Newfoundland directory, 1894 to 1897.
Filed under History, Other Brewers
Overview: Bennett Brewing
Riverhead Brewing Company / Bennett Brewing (1827-1962)
Location: 258-260 Water Street West.
Brands: Haig Ale and Stout (prohibition sub-2% “near beers”), Dominion Ale and Stout, Rainbow Beer, INVALID STOUT (“for those with delicate health”).
What Happened: E. P. Taylor’s Canadian Breweries Limited (1951) (which already had Black Horse and O’Keefe’s Old Stock in NL).
Further: Canadian Breweries Limited shifted over time into Carling-O’Keefe, which was then taken over by the Molson Brewing Company in 1989 (which is now, as of 2005, Molson-Coors).
For more information see posted tagged with “Bennett Brewing.”
Rainbow Beer, 1956
Dominion Pale Ale, 1950
Advert for the Riverhead Brewery from McAlpine’s Newfoundland directory, 1894 to 1897
Bennett Brewing advert from the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland
Close-up of the text from the above advert.
From Industry ’67 Centennial Perspective, published by The Canadian Manufacturers’ Association in May 1967 as found here:
Charles Fox Bennett, who founded The Bennett Brewing Company, Limited, St. John’s, in 1827, is one of the most colorful figures in the history of Newfoundland. Born in the West of England, he came to the island colony in his teens and when he died in 1883, at the age of 91, he left his mark indelibly on its politics and economics. Bennett’s foresighted mineral speculations, at a time when faith in the colony’s min ing potential was practically non-existent, made possible mining developments that did not come to their triumphant fruition until the 1960’s. And his leadership of the anti-Confederate Party in the famous election of 1869 was instrumental in keeping Newfoundland outside the Canadian Confederation until 1949. He became Premier of Newfoundland at the age of 77 and remained in office until 1873.
In Bennett’s day the brewery was known a s Riverhead Brewery. It did not assume its present name until after it was taken over in 1884 by Edward W. Bennett, who was no relation of the founder.
In early years the brewery did its own malting and the old malting floor still exists. Today Bennett Brewing is one of the most modern in Newfoundland. 100 per cent automatic equinment ensures that the product is untouched by human hands from the time return bottles are washed until the beer is opened for drinking.
In 1902 the company converted to a limited liability public company and in 1962 it was purchased by Canadian Breweries Limited.
Principal products: Dominion Ale, Haig Light Beer, O’Keefe Ale and Old Vienna Lager Beer.
References:
Joseph R. Smallwood and Robert D.W. Pitt (editors) Encyclopaedia of Newfoundland, Volume 1 (Newfoundland Book Publishers, 1981, under the Breweries entry)
McAlpine’s Newfoundland directory, 1894 to 1897
Industry ’67 Centennial Perspective, published by The Canadian Manufacturers’ Association in May 1967
Filed under Bennett Brewing, Dominion Ale, History, Rainbow Beer
Overview: Newfoundland Brewery
Newfoundland Brewery Limited (1893-1962)
Location: Elizabeth Ave and Rennie’s River.
Brands: India Beer, India Pale Ale, and Irish Cream Porter.
What Happened: Taken over by Molson (1786-2005) Coors (1873-2005) Brewing Company (2005, USA/Canada).
India Pale Ale label circa 1954
India Beer Label circa 1954
Irish Cream Porter label circa 1952
Filed under History, India Beer, Newfoundland Brewery
newfoundlandbeer.org 