History of Molson Brewery (1786) 

The founder of the company known today as Molson Breweries Limited was John Molson, who was 22 years old when, in July, 1786, he built a small log brewery on the banks of the St. Lawrence near the fortified settlement of Montreal. He had sailed from England earlier that year, bringing with him a few barrels of barley, some hops and a booklet which may still be seen in the Reception Room of Molson's Brewery today: "Theoretical Hints of an Improved Practice of Brewing," published in 1777.

Two other enterprises of that era still survive - the "Montreal Gazette" and the merchant tailoring firm of Gibb and Company, both founded in 1775, but Molson's is the only one of the three that can claim unbroken continuity of ownership and location.

John Molson, who lived until 1836, was a farsighted businessman whose wide-ranging activities were of immense importance to Canada's industrial development. Molson operated foundries, gave Canada its first steamboat, opened up the St. Lawrence to successful steam navigation and initiated the first railway. The story of these ventures is told more fully in the history of manufacturing in this issue.

John Molson's equally vigorous descendents, while carrying the brewery business from strength to strength, continued the family's other interests, which at various times included steamboats and steamboat agencies, the railway and foundry, mines, gas and water works and the famous Molson's Bank. The Bank, founded in 1825 and chartered in 1855, operated until 1925 when it was acquired by and merged with the Bank of Montreal. William Molson, who was President of the Bank for 20 years until his death in 1875, was a generous benefactor of McGill University. Successive generations of the Molson family have worked to develop the arts, universities, hospitals and public utilities of their native city.

Molson's celebrated the first million-gallon year in its history in 1907. Substantial additions to the Montreal brewery were made in 1922 and again in 1929. In the six years 1947-1953 an almost continuous building program tripled the Montreal plant's capacity; it is now the largest single brewery in Canada.

In 1945 Molson's became a public joint stock company; on February 15 of that year participation in the ownership of Molson's Brewery by persons outside the Molson family was made possible for the first time.

The company's first major venture outside Quebec was the completion in 1955 of an ultramodern plant for Molson's Brewery (Ontario) Limited, in Toronto. Since then Molson's has expanded to include breweries in six of the provinces, in the cities of Regina, Winnipeg, Prince Albert, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Vancouver.

Molson Timeline

1786: In a January 18 letter to an English relative, John Molson writes: 'My beer has been universally well-liked beyond my most sanguine expectations'.

1788 : Brewery produces 258 hogsheads of beer (13,932 gallons).

1800: First use of glass bottles.

1821: John Molson is one of a group of private citizens who founded Montreal's first public hospital, Montreal General Hospital.

1844: Of 11,500 gallons of beer sold in May, 3,250 quarts are in glass containers. This signals beginning of change in marketing techniques, which later leads to packaging and branding.

1846: Brewery reaches 100,000 gallon production milestone.

1855: Molson's Bank receives financial institution charter. It later merges (1925) with the Bank of Montreal.

1859: Molson commences direct retail sales and introduces pint bottles.

1886: Brewery celebrates its 100th anniversary and a 175-fold increase in beer volume since founding year.

1900: Electricity replaces steam; refrigeration is introduced (allowing brewing to continue throughout the year for the first time); and packaging methods are modernized.

1907: Brewery reaches production milestone of 1 million gallons in one year.

1945: The company offers up public ownership in the brewery.

1949: First million barrel year (25 million gallons).

1957: Senator Molson and T.H.P. Molson purchase Canadian Arena Company (Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Forum).

1959: The Molson Canadian brand is introduced.

1971: Molson reaches the 100 million gallons production milestone.

1976: Molson becomes principal sponsor of Hockey Night in Canada.

1989: Molson Breweries merges with Carling O'Keefe, becoming Canada's largest brewer and the fifth largest brewer in North America.

2000: Molson enters the South American market by acquiring Bavaria, a leading beer brand in Brazil, formerly owned by Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (AmBev).

2002: With the acquisition of Cervejarias Kaiser, the second leading brewer in Brazil, Molson becomes the 13th largest brewing company in the world. Molson subsequently merges Bavaria, its existing operation in Brazil, with Cervejarias Kaiser and enters into a partnership with Heineken which acquires 20% of the newly formed entity.

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