Archive record · Brewery
Great Western Brewing
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Founded
- 1989
- Archive ID
- TB-VDCF0B9Z
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
Not yet mapped as a company, so the chain above it is still open.
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Employee-owned in Saskatoon since 1989, when the plant's closure was the alternative. Saskatchewan kept a brewery by buying it.
Ownership & corporate history
- Owned by The Original 16 founding employee shareholders1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0387 ("FOUNDING SHAREHOLDER GROUP; 20% VERIFIED IN 2002"). The exception that proves the unnamed-collective rule: this collective IS the historically recorded identity. When Molson (having absorbed Carling O'Keefe in 1988) moved to close the 1928 Saskatoon plant, sixteen employees and managers bought the facility and assets in late 1989 — severance packages plus government assistance, 80% of the equity — and renamed it Great Western Brewing in 1990. The brewery's flagship beer is named Original 16 for them. Saskatchewan's CIC sold its remaining interest in 2002. Individual names are a registry-grade research lead.
- Owned by Greg Kitz1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0409 ("FOUNDING EMPLOYEE-SHAREHOLDER / BOARD CHAIR"). One of the Original 16 founding employee shareholders — 'we went like gangbusters' on the first shelf day. The pass dates the moment to the day (1990-01-17); the cited sources carry the year, so YEAR precision is asserted here. Now 3 of the 16 are named in canonical events; the GROUP event from batch 22 stands for the collective.
- Founded by Greg Kitz1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0409 ("FOUNDING EMPLOYEE-SHAREHOLDER / BOARD CHAIR"). Founding employee-shareholder of the renamed Great Western.
- Owned by Ian Senterre1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0410 ("ORIGINAL 16 FOUNDING EMPLOYEE-OWNER"). Original 16 member — emigrated from England in 1980, a founder within the decade, and the last of the 16 still working at the brewery.
- Founded by Ian Senterre1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0410 ("ORIGINAL 16 FOUNDING EMPLOYEE-OWNER"). Founding employee-shareholder.
- Owned by Don Ebelher1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0411 ("ORIGINAL 16 FOUNDING EMPLOYEE-OWNER"). Original 16 member; served as Director of Operations.
- Founded by Don Ebelher1990
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0411 ("ORIGINAL 16 FOUNDING EMPLOYEE-OWNER"). Founding employee-shareholder.
- Acquired by Ron Waldman / Vaughn Wyant / Maurice Duval-led private investor groupJuly 2002
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Government release names the leaders of the private purchasing group; current shareholder positions are not inferred.
- Owned by UNKNOWN — private shareholdersDate unknown
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
March 2026 SREDA evidence says Great Western remains 100% locally owned and brewed. A Sept. 1, 2026 Government of Saskatchewan statement quotes CEO Michael Brennan describing profits from Great Western operations as reinvested in Saskatchewan. Exact current shareholder names/percentages remain unpublished in the evidence reviewed; do not carry 2002 buyers forward.
- Owned by Crown Investments Corporation (CIC)until July 2002
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Government release explicitly states CIC sold its 80% interest in 2002. Start date of the 80% equity position is not asserted.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1989Sixteen employees buy the plant from Molson
The 1927 Hub City / Drewry's / O'Keefe plant on 2nd Avenue North was to close after the Carling O'Keefe–Molson merger; "a group of sixteen employees and management succeeded in purchasing the brewery from Molson, at which point The Great Western Brewing Company was formed in 1990" — Original 16 is named for them.
- 1990Independent since
"The brewery has operated independently since that time" (Wikipedia). A 2002 sale of a Crown-held stake and any later private-equity owner: UNKNOWN here; the exact street number: UNKNOWN.
The People
Behind the beer
Contemporary Spring 1990 Worker Co-op profile identifies Kitz as a leader in the worker buyout, board chair and one of the worker-shareholders. Exact individual share percentage is not stated.
Direct interview and current brewery story identify Senterre as one of the Original 16 founders/investors. Exact individual share percentage is not stated.
2011 industry article identifies Ebelher as one of the company's original founders. Combined with the documented Original 16 employee-owner structure, he is preserved as a founding owner-group member; individual percentage remains UNKNOWN.
The Beer Library
Beers
Original 16
Year-RoundAmerican Pale Ale
Molson closed the Saskatoon plant in 1989 and sixteen employees bought it rather than lose their jobs. The beer is named for them, which makes it one of the few flagships that is genuinely a monument to something.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Straight answers
Common questions about Great Western Brewing
- Who owns Great Western Brewing?
- Great Western Brewing is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Saskatoon, Canada.
- Is Great Western Brewing independent?
- Yes. Great Western Brewing is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- When was Great Western Brewing founded?
- Great Western Brewing was founded in 1989 in Saskatoon, Canada.
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