History of The Original Walkerville Brewing Company

At the turn of the century, Walkerville was known across North America for the exceptional quality of its beer. Until 1952, Walkerville was home to one of the oldest and largest brewing operations in Ontario. Its celebrated beers were delivered in wagons stocked with oak kegs and drawn by stately draft horses.

In 1998, Karen Bethune and her husband Michael Plunkett obtained the right to use the name Walkerville Brewing Company and in an unused Hiram Walker warehouse two blocks from the original brewery began brewing Walkerville Lager, the regions first and only high calibre microbrewery.

After fifty three years the Walkerville delivery vehicles are back on the streets of the Border Cities with their motto: World-class beer, Made right here.

The following article was written by beer afficianado Bill Marentette, who worked at the orginal Walkerville Brewing Company in his teens.

Researched AND Compiled BY William L. Marentette C.B.S. # 194

The Early Years

Hiram Walker was a man who never rested on his laurels. Having lived through two bankruptcies, the Civil War in the USA, a depression to rival the Great Depression of 1929, he was constantly innovating his businesses and expanding his empire.

In 1885, he embarked into the field of lager making. Walker proposed to brew the finest and purest lager beer ever made in Canada from the choicest Canadian malts and hops. Like his whisky business, Walker accepted no compromise with any venture he entered into- nothing but the finest ingredients and equipment would do.

With the entire wealth of Walker’s empire backing the Walkerville Brewing Company, the most modern brewing equipment of the day was obtained. A magnificent building was unveiled on Fifth St. (now Walker Road) at Wyandotte, at a cost of $180,000. Walker boasted that his brewing process, using a vacuum fermenting system pioneered by a young German named C. Pfaudler, would completely revolutionize the brewing industry. Walkerville beer would become as famous among beer drinkers of Canada as Walkers "Club" and Imperial Rye was amongst whisky drinkers in the Dominion of Canada.

The five story brewery had quarry stone foundation and cement mortar 8 feet deep; the building’s face was Detroit red brick shipped by the Walkerville ferry (one of many Walker owned enterprise). As described in the "Walkerville Mercury" on the opening of the brewery in August, 1890, a 12 x 30 office was located on the second floor, the brew house contained a brewing kettle with a capacity of 2,300 gallons and a room where hops shipped from Hiram Walkers farms and the United States were kept at a temperature of 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The brewery featured two 45 horse power steel boilers, along with various pumps and brine tanks, condensers for racking off beer and an ice machine that took first prize at the 1889 Paris, France exposition, beating over 36 other machines of its kind. The main advantage with this brewing system was that aging and storage was greatly reduced- beer could be turned out in 28 to 35 days from brew kettle to market.

A two story bottling plant was soon built, along with offices for the company, two barns each with 5 stalls for the company’s horses that helped deliver kegs. A spur line from the Lake Erie, Essex and Detroit River Railroad (a Walker owned railroad) was connected to the plant, enabling the company to ship beer to all parts of Canada.

Although Hiram Walker remained only 2 years as president of the Walkerville Brewery before turning it over to his son Edward Chandler Walker in 1892, he guided the brewery with the same enthusiasm as all his ventures.

In August 1890, the Walkerville Brewing Company produced their first brew, soon to become their famous lager- the first batch consisted of 70 barrels holding 32 gallons. By October, 1890 the brewery was receiving lager orders faster than they could meet demand. In October, an Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition was held in nearby Windsor- the brewery had an impressive exhibit of their already famous lager brew both in bottles and casks.

The brewery soon established agencies in London, Sarnia, Toronto and east to Montreal, where their vacuum lager was well received. In November, the shipments began to Goderich, Kincardine, Palmerston and Wingham. In December 1890, the company registered their trade mark, which consisted of a series of crosses, procured from the Department of Agriculture in Ottawa; this was used until 1945 on all their products, buildings, trucks and advertising items. It may be that the Walkerville registration was Canada’s first beer trade mark! The company soon sent out over 500 embossed signs with their trade mark for use outside hotels or public houses.

A common sight on the streets of the Border Cities was the dappled grey draught horses hitched to their brightly painted wagons delivering kegs of Walkerville beer and ale to the neighbourhood Inns and Hotels. Its beer was "PURITY, CLEANLINESS, SKILL AND UNEXCELLED MATERIAL", and advertised their products as "Beer that is brewed in Glass".

In the spring of 1890, Walkers’ distillery hired a maltster by the name of John Bott, born in the Channel Islands, Great Britain, who arrived in Canada at the tender age of 18. Bott had been engaged in the barley trade in Toronto for ten years before moving on to Chatham, Ontario. There, he worked for Howard & Northwood as a maltster for 8 years. Botts’ wine malt and stout were legendary. "BOTT’S MALT PREPARATIONS" received the highest award in its category at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, giving considerable fame to the Walkerville Brewing company where he was now employed. Using a German brewing method, he renamed Walkerville lager Kaiser Beer. Shortly after, a Ô’BARBAROSSA’’ brand was introduced named for Frederick the first of Germany (1123-1190), who sported a red beard.

In 1895, Bott was named manager of the Walkerville Brewing Company, operating on 4 acres of land with newly remodelled ale and porter cellars. By now, the brewery was one of the finest and most complete breweries in Canada.

That same year, Edward Chandler Walker hired his schoolboy friend Stephen E. Griggs as manager of the breweries’ United States operations, located at 131-146 Beaubien St., in downtown Detroit. The Walkerville Brewery purchased the Duncan Malt House and established a Detroit bottling plant with a capacity of 400,000 dozen bottles. All brewing was done in Walkerville and shipped in kegs to Detroit, thus saving on excise duties.

Through this agency, ale and lager was shipped all over the United States under the Robin Hood label. By 1897, the plant increased capacity to 150,000 barrels annually, a far cry from the 3,000 barrels produced just 7 years prior. Shortly after taking charge of the Detroit operation, Mr. Griggs was named managing director of the main plant in Walkerville, and by 1905, became vice president and managing director of the brewery.

Griggs was doing so well at the brewery Edward Chandler Walker asked him to assist at the Canadian Club distillery; he was made a director of Hiram Walker & Sons in 1908. By 1911, shipments of Walkerville Brewing lager, ale and porter were delivered as far west as Rainy River & Kenora. The main brands included Superior Lager, St. George’s and Rob Roy Ale.

Griggs resigned as director of the CC distillery and devoted himself to making Walkerville Brewing a showplace. Located in the centre of Walkerville, it soon became a top tourist attraction, with thousands touring the bottling shop and large cellars, where barrels of the amber nectar were stored.

In 1913, E. Chandler gave Griggs $5,000 worth of Walkerville Stock- later Griggs purchased shares held by John Bott, the former manager of the brewery, effectively giving him control of the company. Griggs was then made president of the Walkerville Brewing Company.

That same year, the company employed over 55 employees, the plant consumed over two million pounds of malt, thirty thousand pounds of hops, filled thousands of glass bottles and four thousand new kegs annually. The brewery introduced Continental, marketed XXX Porter and a stout for medicinal purposes- despite Hiram Walker’s passing in 1899, the brewery was living up to his lofty standards!

Hiram Walker’s son, Edward Chandler Walker, in poor health for a number of years, died on March 11 1915, at the age of 64. Among the many legacies in his will was a large amount of money left to his schoolboy friend, Stephen E. Griggs, who became the full owner of the Walkerville Brewery.

By 1916, with the "war to end all wars" raging in Europe, the provincial government enacted the Ontario Temperance Act, banning the selling of liquor or beer; this lasted until the end of the war. In October 1919, a referendum was held to determine whether the act should be repealed or retained on a peacetime basis. The citizens of Ontario voted with a four hundred thousand majority to establish Ôprohibition’ as the permanent law of the province.

By 1920, the USA also went dry when Congress passed the Volstead Act, prohibiting the manufacturing or selling of intoxicating alcohol; this remained in force until 1933. Like many other breweries during prohi-bition, Walkerville produced non-intoxicating beverages containing less than 1% alcohol. The company claimed it as refreshing as full strength beer, under the labels Continental Lager and Scotch Boy Ale.

During prohibition, the brewery established "export docks" in Lasalle; boats would load Walkerville products day and night. It also had a "Night Order Only" shipping clerk at the brewery and would ship to various export docks.

Griggs continued to guide the company until the age of 74; in 1925, he disposed of his major holdings in the company to Detroit investors and retired. After a change in ownership in 1925, the company invested $500,000 in capital improvements. A $50,000 bottling line extension was installed- the most up to date in the province at the time.

No human hands touched the bottle nor its contents until after the bottle had been filled, capped and sterilized. Storage capacity was increased to 200,000 barrels, staffed by 140 men, with an additional 25 bodies during summer months, to handle increased production.

In May 1925, the Ontario Government legalized the sale of 4.4 proof spirit beer called "Fergies Foam". The Walkerville Brewery shipped approximately 4,500 cases and 750 eight gallon and 13 gallon kegs in its first day! Huge crowds paraded the streets and jammed hotel lobbies and beverage rooms in the Border Cities, anxious to quaff the new 4.4 beer.

The Liquor Control Act of Ontario came into effect on June 1st 1927; pre- prohibition beer was made available to the public, effectively ending Prohibition in Canada. Of the forty-four breweries that operated prior to prohibition only 15 remained; Walkerville Brewery was one of them.

Full strength beer was for home consumption only, and hotels and taverns were only allowed only to serve 4.4 beer or ale. In 1927, the Brewer’s Warehousing Company was granted a charter for the distribution and sale of all brewery products along with the retail outlets attached to the breweries and a government inspector at each store.

A Detroit newspaper hailed the Motor City as the wettest city in the United States, despite continuing prohibition in the USA. Though four separate government agencies were enforcing prohibition laws, Canadian breweries and distillers were able to creatively move product across the border. In 1928, a $75,000 office building was built next to the plant.

Walkerville introduced John Bull Ale about this time. With the collapse of the stock market in October 1929, and the beginning of the Great Depression, the market for beer also collapsed. Only the export business kept the company afloat, but with prohibition still in force in the USA, many breweries operated at less than 20 % capacity. In 1934, the Ontario Liberal Government announced the legalization of full strength beer by the glass, allowing standard hotels to operate beverage rooms.

In Windsor, the first license was issued to the Norton Palmer Hotel- by 10:30 am on July 24th, beer was being flowing in most of the local hotels and clubs, to great aplomb. To promote the sale of Walkerville beer products, the company resumed its traditional delivery system using teams of horses hauling old beerwagons, as in the early days of the brewery.

By 1939, the brewery entered foreign markets, including Trinidad, British West Indies, Jamaica and the Barbados. At the start of World War II, Walkerville’s industrial centre generated machinery for the war effort. With a huge demand for labour, men and women migrated into the region, generating strong demand for beer and ale; sales of Walkerville products soared.

The brewery was producing well over 100,000 barrels of their "Old Style Lager, Rob Roy Ale" along with porter and stout. Windsor soon faced a beer shortage, due to government restrictions imposed by the War Measures Act (industrial alcohol was used to make smokeless powder, synthetic rubber and pharmaceutical products.

This severely curtailed beer production by all breweries across the country- less than 10% of the 1942 total-while demand continued to grow. Windsor Mayor Art Reaume wrote to Prime Minister W. L. MacKenzie King, proposing a beer rationing scheme.

In May 1943, a ration book was introduced for home consumption. Four cou-pons, each good for six bottles, were issued to those 21 years of age and over upon application; these coupons continued in use until January 1947. For some time, Canadian Breweries, under instructions of E.P. Taylor, had been buying Walkerville Brewery shares on the open market.

On March 18th, 1944, Canadian Breweries announced they had purchased the majority of all outstanding shares at a cost of $1,500,000. When Canadian Breweries took control of the Walkerville Brewery, Charles S. King, president of the British American Brewery, stated the plant would continue to operate under the Walkerville name but could consolidate at a later date with the British American firm.

The following year a change was made, not to consolidate with British American but with another Canadian Breweries subsidiary, Carlings Breweries of Waterloo. D. Clive Bette, president of Canadian Breweries, stated all Walkerville labels would change to Carling Breweries Limited (Walkerville) and would produce both "Carling’s Red Cap Ale, and "Carling’s Black Label Lager".

All Walkerville brewing production came under Carling’s Waterloo control. During this period, alterations to the plant were carried out. This new name change was short lived, and in 1947, a subsidiary of Canadian Breweries, O’Keefe’s, took control of the Walkerville plant.

A new retail store was opened and modifications to the plant carried out. Because "O’Keefe’s Old Vienna Lager" was the company’s flagship beer, the name was changed from O’Keefe’s Brewery to O’Keefe’s Old Vienna Brewery. On Sept. 15th 1956, an official statement from Canadian Breweries head office in Toronto announced the closing of the Walkerville Brewery (which was still producing over 100,000 barrels a year), effective November 1st, 1956. A. F. Fuerth president of the Bradings Brewery in Windsor, another Canadian Breweries subsidiary, stated that sales staff and the retail store would remain in Windsor and the building would be kept intact in the event it was needed in the future.

However, the days of brewing beer in Walkerville were over. In January 1962, a permit was issued for the demolishing of the old brewery; demolition was completed by June ’62. The retail store remained on site until 1965; when sales transferred to Brewers Retail in 1973, the former O’Keefe’s retail store was demolished. Today, nothing remains at the site of one Canada’s finest breweries, and the location is now a Credit Union and Storage Centre. But some things are too good to be left to history books.

In 1998, the rights to use the name Walkerville Brewing Company were obtained once again. In an empty Hiram Walker warehouse, two blocks from the original brewery, Walkerville Lager is brewing once again- the region’s first and only high calibre microbrewery. Thus, after fifty four years, Walkerville delivery vehicles are back on the streets of the Border Cities with their motto “World-class beer, Made right here.”

As it was in the beginning...

About the author: Bill Marentette worked at The Walkerville Brewery as a teenager. His collection of Walkerville Brewery memorabilia is second to none.

Sources

Amherstburg Echo; American Breweries, Donald Bull, Manfred Freidrich and Robert Gottschank; Border Cities Star; Directories of Canadian Breweries, Richard Sweet; Evening Record; Taylor E. P. , Biography of Edward Plunket Taylor, Richard Rohmer; Shea, Albert A., Visions in Action, The Story of Canadian Breweries Ltd. 1935-1955 ; The Sheaf "The Canadian Breweries Employees Newspaper"; Windsor & District Telephone Directory 1927, Fall & Winter; Windsor Daily Star; Windsor Record; Windsor and Area City Directories; Windsor, Essex County Historical Scrap Books; Windsor Ontario 1931, Published by Windsor Record, Garner, H.; Windsor Public Library Main Branch, History & Literature

back