Archive record · Brewery
Capilano Brewing Company
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Also known as Capilano Brewery, Sicks' Capilano Brewery, Molson Vancouver Brewery (Burrard Street)
- Founded
- 1934
- Closed
- 2019
- Archive ID
- TB-0Z1ZHXYA
- Last checked
- 2026-09-24
Who owns this brewery?
Not yet mapped as a company, so the chain above it is still open.
From the record
Summary
ONE BREWERY THAT MOVED, not two operations - the same finding as Edmonton. Opened 1934 by Fritz Sick at 1445 Powell Street, in the building originally built for the Vancouver Malt and Sake Brewery Co. Ltd. City of Vancouver Archives records that when the business outgrew that brewery a new one was built at 1550 Burrard Street, and VancouverNowAndThen describes it as a move. Molson purchased it in 1958. MOVE DATE DISPUTED: sources give 1953 and 1954, and Vancouver Archives says Sick's operated the brewery by itself from 1953, which may describe sole operation rather than the move itself. Neither date is asserted; both sites are recorded. Brewing continued at Burrard Street until the 2019 move to Chilliwack. [Sicks Pass 01]
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Where it brewed
- 1445 Powell Street, Vancouver1934Vancouver, British Columbia
BREWERY
Operated by Capilano Brewing Company
Site detail
The first Capilano brewery, in the building originally built for the Vancouver Malt and Sake Brewery Co. Ltd. The company outgrew it and built a new brewery on Burrard Street. END YEAR NOT SET: the move is dated 1953 or 1954 depending on the source. Building status UNKNOWN and not assumed. Predecessor at this site: Vancouver Malt and Sake Brewery Co. Ltd.. Successor at this site: Capilano — Burrard Street.
- 1550 Burrard Street, Vancouveruntil 2019Vancouver, British Columbia
BREWERY
Operated by Capilano Brewing Company
Site detail
Purpose-built to replace Powell Street, at the south end of the Burrard Bridge; later Molson. START YEAR NOT SET: 1953 or 1954 depending on the source. Brewing continued here until the 2019 move to Chilliwack. Predecessor at this site: Capilano — Powell Street.
These are different physical places. A brewery moving premises is not the same brewery continuing, and the archive keeps them apart.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1934Fritz Sick's Vancouver brewery
"Capilano Brewing Company was founded in 1934 by Fritz Sick" at 1445 Powell Street, after his retirement from Lethbridge (Galt Museum: "In 1934, Fritz Sick started the Vancouver Capilano Brewery").
- 1953Burrard Street
The brewery's later home at 1550 Burrard Street is "the property and its 1953-built building"; the year of the move is reported as 1954, unverified. Whether Old Style Pilsner was brewed here: UNKNOWN.
- 1958Molson
"Capilano Brewing was purchased by Molson's in 1958" — the year Molson took the Sicks' chain.
- 2017Sold
December 2017: "Molson Coors confirms that we have identified a preferred purchaser for the Vancouver Brewery on Burrard Street and we have entered into an agreement to sell the property." Concord Pacific paid just under $200 million (a CBC figure of $185 million was seen, not read).
- 2019Brewing moves to Chilliwack
Molson "relocated to a new and expanded production hub in Chilliwack" in 2019; the proposed Quantum Park on the Burrard site is "entirely contingent on the City of Vancouver and Metro Vancouver Regional District permitting site uses other than traditional industrial". Final brewing day on Burrard: UNKNOWN.
Straight answers
Common questions about Capilano Brewing Company
- Who owns Capilano Brewing Company?
- Capilano Brewing Company is recorded as owned by Sick's Breweries Ltd., which does not yet have a full company profile in this archive.
- When was Capilano Brewing Company founded?
- Capilano Brewing Company was founded in 1934 in Vancouver, Canada.
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