Colonial Brewery
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada · Est. 1859
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Second into a town that had had a brewery for exactly one year, and it lasted thirty-seven. The interesting part is the ending. A Milwaukee Brewing Co. is recorded as its successor but never operated in 1897 — and the archive keeps that non-event, because a brewery that was announced and never brewed is a different fact from a brewery that closed, and the difference is usually the first thing lost.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1859Opens
Victoria's second brewery, a year after the first.
- 1896Closed
SFU's BC Beer History Archive dates the run 1859 to 1896.
- 1897Successor never brews
A Milwaukee Brewing Co. successor is recorded but did not operate.
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's British Columbia master, Pass 57, which cited https://www.sfu.ca/archives/archives-program/research/bc-beer-history-archive/bc-beer-history-archive-resources/timeline-pre-prohibition.html for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's British Columbia master, Pass 57 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19 - historyProbable
Lineage dates from SFU's BC Beer History Archive as recorded in BC Pass 57: 1859, 1896, 1897.
Tally's British Columbia master, Pass 57 (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 Colonial Brewery
- Is Colonial Brewery still open?
- No. Colonial Brewery has closed. BC Pass 57. SFU BC Beer History Archive dates Colonial Brewery in Victoria from 1859 through 1896; a Milwaukee Brewing Co. successor did not operate in 1897.
- When was Colonial Brewery founded?
- Colonial Brewery was founded in 1859 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
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