Archive record · Brewery
E. L. Drewry Brewery
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Also known as Drewry Brewery, Drewry's Brewery, Redwood Brewery, Drewrys Limited, Drewry's Limited, The Drewrys Limited, Carling Brewery (Winnipeg)
- Founded
- 1877
- Closed
- 1957
- Archive ID
- TB-32FCY1MR
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
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From the record
Summary
Historical production brewery. Drewry's Redwood brewery continued through the Drewrys/Western Canada Breweries corporate phase. Statistics Canada lists Western Canada Breweries Limited (Drewry's Manitoba Division) at Redwood & Main in 1954. This is treated as ownership/corporate lineage of the same Redwood production operation rather than an extra physical brewery row. The site became Carling Brewery in 1957. FILLED 2026-09-24. POSSIBLE DUPLICATE: redwood-brewery-drewry-s-brewery (TB-V0XXTJ4N, 1877-) describes the same Redwood Avenue brewery; not merged here — a merge is a decision for a person with both records open. No Regina plant found; 'Drewry's Dry Ginger Ale' as a brand name not confirmed.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
Edward Drewry bought an idle brewery at Redwood and Main in 1877 and started what became the longest-running brewing site in Manitoba. His name stayed on it through the Drewrys and Western Canada Breweries corporate phases — Statistics Canada still listed Western Canada Breweries, Drewry's Manitoba Division, at Redwood and Main in 1954 — and the plant kept brewing long after his name came off it, as Carling from 1957. The archive treats the whole sequence as one production operation under changing owners rather than a row per corporate entity, which is the difference between a brewery's life and its paperwork.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1877Drewry takes the Redwood site
Buys the idle Herchmer & Batkin brewery and restarts it.
- 1907The bottling house
"In 1907, a three-storey brick and stone bottling house... 68 feet by 200 feet, was designed by Kushner and Company of Chicago... built by contractor William Horner at a cost of about $30,000" at the Redwood Avenue brewery E. L. Drewry (1851-1940) had taken over from Herchmer & Batkin in 1877 (the Society's site page says 'the 1880s'; both kept). The three brands of the 1910s: Redwood Lager, Drewry's Extra Stout, Drewry's Old Ale.
- 1924Drewry retires; The Drewrys Limited
Drewry sold to a Winnipeg syndicate on his retirement in 1924 (George Black president, per a summary of the Society's brewing history — not quoted directly). The brewery had come through Prohibition making soft drinks and selling distilled water.
- 1926Standard Lager
"In November 1926, Drewry's introduced a new brand... called Standard Lager to celebrate its 50th anniversary" the following year.
- 1936The American Drewrys
The company "purchased the Sterling Brewers of Evansville, Indiana, in 1936" and then Muessel Brewing of South Bend — the Drewrys of South Bend was Winnipeg's expansion, not a namesake; sold to G. Heileman in August 1972.
- 1954Western Canada Breweries
Statistics Canada lists Drewry's Manitoba Division at Redwood & Main.
- 1957Becomes Carling
The site passes to Carling; the operation continues uninterrupted.
- 1997Molson closes Redwood
"In 1957, it became Carling Brewery and later Carling-O'Keefe. Bought by the Molson Brewing Company, it was closed in 1997"; "The former brewery building was demolished in 1999 and the site stood vacant at the time of a 2024 visit" (Manitoba Historical Society).
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's Manitoba master, Pass 26, which cited https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/statcan/32-205/CS32-20... 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
Lineage dates as recorded in Manitoba Pass 26: 1877, 1954, 1957.
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 E. L. Drewry Brewery
- Is E. L. Drewry Brewery still open?
- No. E. L. Drewry Brewery has closed (1957). Historical production brewery. Drewry's Redwood brewery continued through the Drewrys/Western Canada Breweries corporate phase. Statistics Canada lists Western Canada Breweries Limited (Drewry's Manitoba Division) at Redwood & Main in 1954. This is treated as ownership/corporate lineage of the same Redwood production operation rather than an extra physical brewery row. The site became Carling Brewery in 1957. FILLED 2026-09-24. POSSIBLE DUPLICATE: redwood-brewery-drewry-s-brewery (TB-V0XXTJ4N, 1877-) describes the same Redwood Avenue brewery; not merged here — a merge is a decision for a person with both records open. No Regina plant found; 'Drewry's Dry Ginger Ale' as a brand name not confirmed.
- When was E. L. Drewry Brewery founded?
- E. L. Drewry Brewery was founded in 1877 in Winnipeg, Canada.
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