Archive record · Brewery
Swans Brewery
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Founded
- 1989
- Closed
- 2024
- Archive ID
- TB-6P1X5S9Z
- Last checked
- Not yet checked
Who owns this brewery?
Named in dated ownership records. No parent company is held, and each owner's sources are shown below.
Tally Answers Beta
- Who owns this brewery?
- University of Victoria (since 2001)Verified
From the record
Summary
Brewing operations ceased Aug. 31, 2024 while Swans Pub, hotel and liquor store remained open. Current brewery pages appear stale and should not be treated as evidence of active brewing.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Tally’s Take
Brewing stopped on 31 August 2024. The pub, the hotel and the liquor store did not — and that distinction is the whole reason this record reads the way it does. Swans is still very much open as a business, while its own brewery pages still read as though beer is being made on site. The archive marks the brewery closed and says why, because a page nobody updated is the most common way a closed brewery stays open on the internet.
Ownership & corporate history
- Founded by Michael Williams1989
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0023 ("Founder / original redeveloper-owner"). Williams bought the rundown 1913 granary at Pandora and Store in 1987 (the pass's date) and opened Swans there in 1989.
- Owned by University of Victoria / UVic estate property lineage2000
Open questionRecorded, not yet proven. It stays open until a source settles it.
What the sources say
Swans and UVic sources say Williams' estate, including Swans property, passed to the University. Current business operator structure remains distinct/unresolved.
- Transferred to University of Victoria2001
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0023 ("Founder / original redeveloper-owner"). Williams died in 2000 and left Swans, nine other city properties and his art collection to the University of Victoria — a public university (institution), recorded LEGAL_ENTITY under rule 94's vocabulary. Revenue supports scholarships and the Legacy Art Gallery. Brewing operations later closed while the pub and hotel stayed open — a lifecycle lead, not an ownership event.
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
Where it brewed
- 1601 Store St., Victoria, BCVictoria, British Columbia
PRODUCTION
Operated by Swans Brewery
Site detail
Brewing operations ceased Aug. 31, 2024 while Swans Pub, hotel and liquor store remained open. Current brewery pages appear stale and should not be treated as evidence of active brewing.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1989Opens
Brewery, pub and hotel in one building.
- 2024Brewing ceases
Brewing ends 31 August 2024; the pub, hotel and liquor store remain open.
The Beer Library
Beers
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
Official current beer page. (CURRENT) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Muy Hoppy IPA
American IPA
Official current beer page. (CURRENT) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Pitch Black
Black Pilsner
Official current beer page. (CURRENT) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Czech Pilsner
Pilsner
Official current beer page. (CURRENT) [Canada Pass 102]
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's British Columbia master, Pass 57, which cited https://bc.thegrowler.ca/news/craft-beer-pioneer-swans-closing-brew-operations-but-pub-and-hotel-will-stay-open/ 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: 1989, 2024.
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
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 Swans Brewery
- Is Swans Brewery still open?
- No. Swans Brewery has closed (2024). Brewing operations ceased Aug. 31, 2024 while Swans Pub, hotel and liquor store remained open. Current brewery pages appear stale and should not be treated as evidence of active brewing.
- When was Swans Brewery founded?
- Swans Brewery was founded in 1989 in Victoria, Canada.
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