Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co.
Montréal, Quebec, Canada · Est. 1790
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The beginning of Dow, and of Montréal brewing outside Molson's. Thomas Dunn founded at La Prairie in 1790 and moved the enterprise to Montréal by 1808, acquiring brewery lands on Notre-Dame Street — the McCord Stewart Museum and Quebec heritage records document both. William Dow arrived as his foreman, became a partner, and the firm traded as Dunn, Dow & Co. before taking his name alone after Dunn's death. Worth stating plainly, because this archive got it wrong once: this Thomas Dunn is the brewer. He is not the Thomas Dunn who administered Lower Canada and owned a brewery at Quebec City. Two men, one name, and a founding city that moved 250 kilometres as a result.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1790Founded at La Prairie
Thomas Dunn, brewer, south of Montréal.
- 1808Moves to Montréal
Acquires brewery lands on Notre-Dame Street.
- 1829Dunn, Dow & Co.
William Dow, formerly foreman, is a partner by November 1829.
- 1834Dunn dies
The enterprise becomes William Dow & Co.; the Quebec register dates the name to 1841.
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's Quebec master, Pass 83, which cited https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/blog/urban-tours-griffintown-evolving-montreal/ for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's Quebec master, Pass 83 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19 - foundedProbable
Founded 1790 at La Prairie, south of Montréal; 1808 is the year Thomas Dunn moved the brewery to Montréal and acquired the Notre-Dame Street lands, not the year it began.
DOW, WILLIAM — Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9 · University of Toronto / Université Laval · 2026
ScholarlyHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19 - historyProbable
Lineage dates as recorded in Quebec Pass 83: 1790, 1808, 1829, 1834.
Tally's Quebec master, Pass 83 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co.
- Is Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co. still open?
- No. Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co. has closed. Quebec Pass 83. McCord Stewart Museum and Quebec heritage records document brewer Thomas Dunn moving his brewing enterprise to Montréal by 1808, acquiring Notre-Dame Street brewery lands, and later partnering with William Dow. Quebec heritage records describe the partnership as Dunn, Dow & Co. before the enterprise became William Dow & Co. after Dunn's death.
- When was Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co. founded?
- Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co. was founded in 1790 in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Drinking Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co.? Stamp it in your passport.
Discover it here — collect it in the Passport. Track every beer, earn stamps, and build your own beer passport.
Every brewery deserves its full story told.
If you're the owner or team behind Brasserie de Thomas Dunn / Dunn, Dow & Co., we'll build out your complete profile — history, the people, every beer — and feature you in a Tally's documentary. No cost, just your story.