Archive record · Brewery
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Founded
- 2001
- Archive ID
- TB-YRRN9KT6
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
Not yet mapped as a company, so the chain above it is still open.
From the record
Summary
A cornerstone of the BC craft scene. Operates its own custom malthouse and remains a dominant independent force on the West Coast. Independent / employee-centric ownership; exact current cap table unresolved.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
They built their own malthouse, which almost no brewery does. Controlling your own malt supply is a decade-long commitment, not a marketing line.
Ownership & corporate history
- Founded by Matt Phillips2001
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0009 ("Founder / continuing owner"). Founded 2001 as a one-man operation in an Esquimalt garage, financed on maxed-out credit cards after every bank refused him; Phillips brewed, packaged, delivered and slept at the brewery.
- Owned by Matt Phillips2001
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0009 ("Founder / continuing owner"). Founder-owner; in 2023 Phillips invited employees to become part-owners while staying on — a future ownership event once the employee stake is evidenced (research lead).
- Owned by Phillips employees2022
Open questionRecorded, not yet proven. It stays open until a source settles it.
What the sources say
Eligible employees offered ownership; employee stake described as substantial and growing, exact cap table unresolved.
- Owned by employee owner group2022
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
First-party: after 21 years of sole ownership, Phillips moved toward broad employee ownership with Yellow Point investment; Matt Phillips remains active; exact percentages not public.
- Owned by Yellow Point Partners2022
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
First-party: after 21 years of sole ownership, Phillips moved toward broad employee ownership with Yellow Point investment; Matt Phillips remains active; exact percentages not public.
- Owned by Matt Phillips2022
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
First-party: after 21 years of sole ownership, Phillips moved toward broad employee ownership with Yellow Point investment; Matt Phillips remains active; exact percentages not public.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
Where it brewed
- 2010 Government St., Victoria, BC V8T 4P1Victoria, British Columbia
PRODUCTION
Operated by Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
Site detail
Active Victoria brewery; first pass intentionally leaves founding year and ownership fields unasserted pending dedicated history verification.
Events
- Phillips announced transition from 21 years of sole ownership toward broad employee ownership supported by Yellow Point Partners.2022-01-05
OWNERSHIP TRANSITION
Founder Matt Phillips remains active; employees with 3 years eligible; exact current percentages unknown.
- CIPO records assignment from Phillips Brewing Company Ltd. to Phillips Brewing Limited Partnership effective 2023-01-01.2023-01-01
Change in title registered 2023-01-12.
The Museum
Timeline
- 2001A windowless apartment and a mountain of credit-card debt
"It all began with a 27 year old brewer, a windowless apartment and a mountain of credit card debt" — Matt Phillips's first brewery in Esquimalt; a flood, a move to the old lumber store on Government Street (2008, reported), and the Maltworks (2015). Still independently owned; an equity investor is reported.
The People
Behind the beer
Started on credit cards after every bank refused him; later built his own malthouse.
The Beer Library
Beers
Blue Buck Ale
Year-RoundPale Ale
Matt Phillips started the brewery on credit cards after every bank turned him down. Blue Buck is the beer that paid them off.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Dinosour Passionfruit Orange Guava
Current / award documentedFruit Beer
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Dinosour Dragonfruit Lychee
Current / award documentedFruit Beer
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Dinosour Stone Fruit
Sour Ale
Official current product page. (CURRENT) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Super Power Hazy IPA
RetiredImperial / Hazy IPA
2024 BC Beer Awards bronze in Imperial IPA; exact ABV not captured in this pass. (HISTORICAL/AWARDED) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →On the record
Awards
- 2025
Bronze — Dinosour Passionfruit Orange Guava (Fruit Beer)
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Gold — Dinosour Dragonfruit Lychee (Fruit Beer)
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Bronze — Crooked Tooth Nitro (Spiced Beer)
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Fruit Beer — Dinosour Passionfruit Orange Guava
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Fruit Beer — Dinosour Dragonfruit Lychee
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Spiced Beer — Crooked Tooth Nitro
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Fruit Beer
BC Beer Awards
- 2025
Spiced Beer
BC Beer Awards
- 2024
Bronze — Imperial IPA — Super Power Hazy IPA
BC Beer Awards
Only awards we could attribute to a named body and year appear here. An empty section means unresearched, not unawarded.
2 organisations
Connected suppliers & bodies
- bc beer awardsAwarded2025Bronze — Dinosour Passionfruit Orange Guava (Fruit Beer)
- bc beer awardsAwarded2025Gold — Dinosour Dragonfruit Lychee (Fruit Beer)
- bc beer awardsAwarded2025Bronze — Crooked Tooth Nitro (Spiced Beer)
- phillips maltingDivision ofMalting division operating within the brewery, supplying Vancouver Island brewers.
Straight answers
Common questions about Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
- Who owns Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.?
- Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Victoria, Canada.
- Is Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. independent?
- Yes. Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. 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 Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. founded?
- Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. was founded in 2001 in Victoria, Canada.
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