Archive record · Brewery
Silver Spring Brewery Ltd.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Founded
- 1902
- Closed
- 1957
- Archive ID
- TB-1A6MW03M
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
Independent ownership is recorded. No parent company is held in the archive.
From the record
Summary
SFU Archives dates Silver Spring Brewery 1902-1957; federal 1930/1952 brewing-industry lists independently confirm operation at 303 Esquimalt Road.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
Fifty-five years at 303 Esquimalt Road, and the rare Victoria brewery confirmed twice over: SFU's archive dates it 1902 to 1957, and the federal brewing-industry lists of 1930 and 1952 independently record it operating at that address. Silver Spring Lager Beer and Old English Stout are the beers held against it. It was the last of Victoria's old brewing houses to go, closing three years after Victoria-Phoenix — and with it the city stopped brewing at scale for a generation.
Ownership & corporate history
- Merged into Coast Breweries Ltd.1928
What the sources say
Quote (BC Archives, Silver Spring Brewery fonds PR-0219): In 1928, the company was amalgamated into Coast Breweries Ltd. CONTRADICTION kept: BC Archives' Labatt Breweries of British Columbia fonds (PR-0613) says Coast Breweries was formed in 1921; the Silver Spring fonds, MemoryBC and Evans (Victoria Historical Society, 2007) give 1928. Source: https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/silver-spring-brewery-fonds
- Merged into Lucky Lager Breweries Ltd.1959
What the sources say
Quote (BC Archives, Silver Spring Brewery fonds PR-0219): in 1959 was dissolved when absorbed by Lucky Lager Breweries Ltd. Lucky Lager Breweries was Coast Breweries Ltd. under a new name from 1954 (Evans, Victoria Historical Society newsletter, Summer 2007). Source: https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/silver-spring-brewery-fonds
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
Where it brewed
- 303 Esquimalt Road, Victoria, BCVictoria, British Columbia
PRODUCTION
Operated by Silver Spring Brewery Ltd.
Site detail
SFU Archives dates Silver Spring Brewery 1902-1957; federal 1930/1952 brewing-industry lists independently confirm operation at 303 Esquimalt Road.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1902Opens on Esquimalt Road
303 Esquimalt Road.
- 1928Amalgamated into Coast Breweries Ltd.
BC Archives: "In 1928, the company was amalgamated into Coast Breweries Ltd." BC Archives' Labatt fonds dates Coast Breweries to 1921; three other sources give 1928.
- 1930In the federal list
Federal brewing-industry list records it operating at that address.
- 1952Still listed
Confirmed again in the federal brewing-industry list.
- 1957Closed
The last of Victoria's old brewing houses, three years after Victoria-Phoenix.
- 1959Dissolved, absorbed by Lucky Lager Breweries Ltd.
BC Archives: "in 1959 was dissolved when absorbed by Lucky Lager Breweries Ltd." Lucky Lager Breweries was Coast Breweries Ltd. renamed in 1954 (Evans, 2007).
- 1961Plant demolished
Evans (Victoria Historical Society, 2007): the rest of the brewery "was demolished in 1961 after a number of years of inactivity."
The Beer Library
Beers
What the archive does not know yet
Open questions
- UnknownpeopleFounder not established. Searched 2026-10-01. BC Archives gives only the 1902 incorporation. A local history blog names Robert Tate and his sons in 1902; Evans (Victoria Historical Society, 2007) names Harry Maynard and associates from 1908 without naming a founder; a claim of an 1895 brewery built by a John Tait could not be traced to a source that could be opened. None of these is chosen.
Know the answer? Write to [email protected] with a source, and the record is corrected and credited to you.
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 reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 2026-08-19 - historyProbable
Lineage dates from SFU's BC Beer History Archive as recorded in BC Pass 57: 1902, 1930, 1952, 1957.
Tally's British Columbia master, Pass 57 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-19Claim last checked 2026-08-19 - peopleUnknown
Founder not established. Searched 2026-10-01. BC Archives gives only the 1902 incorporation. A local history blog names Robert Tate and his sons in 1902; Evans (Victoria Historical Society, 2007) names Harry Maynard and associates from 1908 without naming a founder; a claim of an 1895 brewery built by a John Tait could not be traced to a source that could be opened. None of these is chosen.
Victoria Historical Society — Brewery consolidation history
ScholarlyMedium reliabilitySource accessed 2026-08-23Claim last checked 2026-10-01
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 Silver Spring Brewery Ltd.
- Who owns Silver Spring Brewery Ltd.?
- Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Victoria, Canada.
- Is Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. independent?
- Yes. Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. 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.
- Is Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. still open?
- No. Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. has closed (1957). SFU Archives dates Silver Spring Brewery 1902-1957; federal 1930/1952 brewing-industry lists independently confirm operation at 303 Esquimalt Road.
- When was Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. founded?
- Silver Spring Brewery Ltd. was founded in 1902 in Victoria, Canada.
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