Archive record · Brewery
Crown Brewery
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
- Founded
- 1888
- Closed
- 1895
- Archive ID
- TB-Y2R6XFN8
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
The archive is still digging. That is a gap in the research, not a finding of independence.
Know who owns it? Tell us, and we will correct the record.
From the record
Summary
Historical brewery. MHS documents Crown Brewery as a separate Brandon brewery operating from 1888; after ownership changes it closed in 1895. The plant later became the basis for Empire Brewing.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
A separate Brandon brewery from 1888, closed in 1895 after a run of ownership changes — and then the part worth keeping: the Manitoba Historical Society records the plant becoming the basis for Empire Brewing in 1899. Crown's seven years ended, but the building went on making beer for another thirty-two. In this archive that turns out to be the rule rather than the exception. A brewery dies far more often than a brewhouse does.
Ownership & corporate history
- Owned by J. F. Woodley1888
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Initially managed Crown and became owner in 1890. Pass source id: SRC-CA-1797
- Owned by Joseph Neumeyer1891 – 1895
What the sources say
Purchased Crown in 1891; Wolfgang Kohler joined as partner in 1894.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1888Opens
A separate Brandon brewery from the 1885 company.
- 1895Closed
After ownership changes.
- 1899Plant becomes Empire Brewing
The building outlasts the company by decades.
The People
Behind the beer
Partnered with Neumeyer at Crown and operated Lion Brewery from 1895 to 1898.
Managed Crown, then became owner in 1890.
The Beer Library
Beers
Pale Ale
RetiredPale Ale
MHS records brewmaster Arthur Brain producing Pale Ale at Crown. (HISTORICAL) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Porter
RetiredPorter
MHS records brewmaster Arthur Brain producing Porter at Crown. (HISTORICAL) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26, which cited https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/mb_history/56/beveragerooms.shtml for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 2026-08-19 - historyProbable
Dated evidence as recorded in the source pass: 1888, 1895, 1899.
Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 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 Crown Brewery
- Is Crown Brewery still open?
- No. Crown Brewery has closed (1895). Historical brewery. MHS documents Crown Brewery as a separate Brandon brewery operating from 1888; after ownership changes it closed in 1895. The plant later became the basis for Empire Brewing.
- When was Crown Brewery founded?
- Crown Brewery was founded in 1888 in Brandon, Canada.
Drinking Crown Brewery? 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 Crown Brewery, 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.
No payment affects this record — editorial policy