Vancouver: A Boozy History

It goes without saying that John “Gassy Jack” Deighton made an indelible mark on our city. In 1867, his hotel and saloon, Deighton House, on the southwest corner of Carrall and Powell, was the first drinking establishment in Vancouver.

 

 

 

It goes without saying that John “Gassy Jack” Deighton made an indelible mark on our city. In 1867, his hotel and saloon, Deighton House (2 Water Street – southwest corner of Carrall and Powell (Water) Streets, was the first drinking establishment. Gastown, later renamed Granville, grew up from this intersection, and on April 6, 1886, it was incorporated as the City of Vancouver. John died in May 1875 and the Great Fire destroyed his business a short time after this photo was taken in June 1886.

In 1887, Vancouver’s first brewing operation opened up at 1025 Seaton Street (W. Hastings at Burrard), called The City Brewery. The operation was driven by steam. By 1890, under new management, it was rehauled and renamed The Red Cross Brewery, John Williams and Ernest E. Barker, proprietors. Barker was a pioneer Vancouverite, and built the first residence in Mount Pleasant.

 

 

 

 

Craft Breweries of Vancouver – 1800s

The Vancouver Brewery

Winding its way through Mount Pleasant, and now buried deep underground, is the old Brewery Creek, which was a 40-foot ravine travelling roughly from 15th and Sophia (the old Tea Swamp) to False Creek. In 1888, the city’s second brewery – The Vancouver Brewery – utilized this creek as its water and power source, and was located at 7th & Scotia. A substantial and spacious four-story structure, it was owned by Charles Doering, later (1892) partnering with Otto Marstrand (Doering & Marstrand Brewing Co.). Portions of these buildings survive today.

In 1893, Alexandra Brewery on 6th Ave was part of the expanding Doering and Marstrand empire.

 

 

The company had its own ice plant and bottling works, and produced porter, Alexandra Lager, English ale, Vancouver ale, and Cascade Ale “The Beer Without Peer.” The Cascade Room on Main St. takes its name from this last beer.

Charles Doering would become a Vancouver Alderman (1890-1891).

In 1902, Red Cross Brewery merged into the Vancouver Breweries. In 1904, the company expanded and a new building at 280 E. 6th Avenue was constructed. Fell’s Candy was also housed here.

San Francisco Brewery

The San Francisco Brewery Company was founded in 1888 by Henry and his brother Jacob (Jack) Reifel (of Delta Bird Sanctuary fame), and Charles Miller. They were located at the northwest corner of 11th and Main. They turned to bootlegging and selling liquor on Sundays without a license, and went out of business in March 1889, auctioning their property in April. It then became the very short-lived Red Star Brewery 1890-1891.

Canadian Brewing & Malting Co.”“ BC Breweries Ltd ““ Vancouver Breweries Ltd.

 

 

In 1908, Henry Reifel, formerly of San Francisco Brewery, built the Canadian Brewing & Malting Company. He had previously opened the Union Brewing Company in Nanaimo. On November 1, 1912, BC Breweries Ltd. closed a $2.5M deal to amalgamate four existing breweries: Vancouver Breweries (Doering & Marstrand), Canadian Brewing & Malting, plus two Island companies: Union Brewing and Pilsener Brewing (Cumberland). By 1913, they were brewing Heidelberg, Cascade, UBC Bohemian, and BC Export Pilsner. The brewery was located on the west side of Yew Street at W. 11th Avenue (recently, Tapestry Village has recreated the old tower).

In 1953, Carling O’Keefe acquired the brewery, and in 1989, Molson merged with Carling.

 

The Mainland Brewery

The Mainland Brewery, owned by Robert Riesterer / Reisterer, was situated along False Creek on Western Avenue (E. 10th Ave at Columbia Street). The Brewery & Vinegar Factory operated between 1887-1892, when the brewery was destroyed by fire. In 1893, he moved the operation to Nelson, BC (Nelson Brewing Company; in 1928 name changed to Kootenay Breweries Ltd; in 1956 to Interior Breweries, and closed three years later). Robert died May 1951 in Nelson.

 

 

 

 

 

Columbia Brewery

 

In 1889, the Columbia Brewery was established on Powell Street; Messrs. Kappler & Co., proprietors. This brewery served the sawmill workers of Hastings Township and Cedar Cove. Columbia beer was sold by all the leading hotels and saloons. Their malt house supplied much of the city and they sold lager, ale and porter.

Joseph Kappler passed away in August 1904.

Andrew Miller, one of the brewery proprietors, refused to pay poll taxes for himself and his employees in 1902; the case went to Police Court. The Columbia Brewery site was sold in April 1907. Mrs. Miller remained the proprietor and resident on the property, through several floods and was in constant litigation with the City between 1908 and 1912.

 

Other Vancouver Breweries

In 1905, Lansdowne Brewery was established in the former Lion Brewing Company (1896) building at 288 Front St. (E. 1st Ave at Scotia). In July 1906,  the brewer August Hasenfratz closed shop with the intention of moving to Nanaimo. It remained in business for 32 years.

Cedar Cottage

George Raywood opened the Cedar Cottage in 1900. A new company, known as the Royal Brewing Company Ltd., took possession of the small brewery on Westminster Road (Kingsway) in January 1902. The specialty brew was a heavy English ale.

Stanley Park Brewery

Stanley Park Brewery, located at 725 Park Rd. (Chilco), was established in 1896 by Frank Foubert and John Dyke (brewer). They produced English Ales and stouts, plus an India Ale which will “give you health ““ physicians highly recommend it as a tonic,” according to an 1899 newspaper advertisement.

In January 1902, the Royal Brewing Company leased the Stanley Park Brewery.

In 1910, it was vacant and listed for sale at $18,000; it was expropriated by the City.

Capilano Brewery

Outside the main timeline of the rest of the breweries in this story, but important nonetheless. Fritz and Emil Sick, who had been busy with breweries in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and eastern BC, expanded west. Initially located at 1445 Powell Street, the brewery opened in 1934 in what had once been a vinegar plant. After outgrowing the confines of that site, they moved to 1550 Burrard Street in 1953. In 1958, Molson’s bought the well-known property at the south foot of the Burrard bridge (along with Sick breweries in Edmonton and Lethbridge).

Prohibition Act

On October 1, 1917, British Columbia succumbed to the pressure of prohibition. While the manufacture of alcohol was not illegal, the sale and purchase was, and subsequently driven underground. One could drink in the privacy of their own homes, but to do so, they had to stock up in advance or import unlawfully. Doctors could prescribe alcohol as medicine ““ in 1919 alone, 315,000 prescriptions were sold. Speakeasies, jitney bars, and private clubs abound, organized crime moved in, and the Vancouver Police were busy.

 

 

Brewery Creek had disappeared, and along with it, all the breweries who relied on that water source.

Henry Reifel survived the prohibition years by taking his two sons and their skills to Japan, where they established a successful brewery business. He built his mansion in 1922, at 1451 Angus Drive in Shaughnessy. His son George built Casa Mia, and son Harry, Rio Vista, both on SW Marine Drive. The family owned breweries, distilleries, and had associations with the Commodore and Vogue venues.

Charles Doering purchased three Ashcroft properties, where he engaged in cattle ranching and horse breeding on an extensive scale. He died in April 1927 at the Hotel Vancouver, and is buried at Mountainview. His former partner Otto Marstrand returned to his native Copenhagen in 1906 and passed away in December 1911.

More information on Vancouver during prohibition

 

References

Nostalgic Portal – Soda Pop / Ginger Beer Companies, Pioneers

Scout Magazine – The Craft Beer Atlas of Vancouver

Demon Rum or Easy Money: Government Control of Liquor in BC; Robert A. Campbell, 1991

Brewed in Canada: The Untold Story of Canada’s 350-year-old Brewing Industry; Allen W. Sneath

 

Photos

Vancouver Brewery 1926 – City of Vancouver Archives (CVA) 99-3069

Maple Tree Square & Deighton House – CVA 256-06

Looking West from Hastings Mill 1886 – CVA 1477-414

Jackson T. Abray in front of the Cosmopolitan Hotel – 1900 – CVA 371-1302

Columbia Brewery, 1973 Powell Street – CVA AM54-S4:Bu P127

Red Cross Brewery carts, 400 Cordova Street 1890 – CVA Bu P128

Columbia Brewery, corner of Powell, Wall & Victoria – CVA Bu P728

G.G. MacKay’s later to become Stanley Park Brewery – CVA Pk P115

Cedar Cottage Brewery 1902 – CVA Dist P69

Cascade Beer on top of the Regent Hotel, circa 1910s – CVA LGN999

Dry Squad 1917 – VPD-S214 -: CVA 480-215