Archive record · Brewery
Taylor & Bate Brewery
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
- Founded
- 1834
- Closed
- 1935
- Archive ID
- TB-VFM6BQFF
- Last checked
- 2026-09-24
Who owns this brewery?
Named in dated ownership records. No parent company is held, and each owner's sources are shown below.
From the record
Summary
Status: CLOSED. Address: Eastern bank of Twelve Mile Creek at Brewery Street, St. Catharines — historical brewery site; buildings razed 1979 for Highway 406. St. Catharines Museum source establishes 1834 founding, 1857 Taylor-Bate partnership, long family management, later Sandell ownership context, 1935 sale/closure and 1979 demolition. Final 1935 buyer is deliberately unresolved. [Canada Pass 101] FILLED 2026-09-24: founded 1834, closed 1935 (museum) or 1938 (Wikipedia, via Taylor's group) — both kept. Exact street address beyond Brewery Street: UNKNOWN. Confidence stays as set.
A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.
Ownership & corporate history
- Founded by James Taylor1834
What the sources say
Resolves held claim HOC-0395 ("OWNED / FOUNDED"). Established 1834 on the eastern bank of Twelve Mile Creek along the old Welland Canal as The St. Catharines Brewery; renamed Taylor & Bate on the 1857 partnership with Thomas B. Bate (a research lead), and in its day the largest brewery in Canada, supplying virtually the whole Niagara Peninsula. Family-held into the 1920s (sold to E.D. Sandell), closed 1935, demolished 1979 for Highway 406.
- Owned by Thomas B. Bate1857
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Thomas B. Bate entered partnership in 1857; family ownership/management continued into the 1920s. Source: https://stcatharinesmuseumblog.com/2021/05/09/history-from-here-taylor-bate-brewery-at-brewery-street/comment-page-1/
- Subsidiary of Brewing Corporation of Ontario / Brewing Corporation of Canada1930 – 1935
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Government corporate history says Brewing Corporation of Ontario acquired Taylor & Bate in 1930; company became Brewing Corporation of Canada later that year.
- Owned by Edward T. (E.D.) SandellDate unknown
Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.
What the sources say
Brock identifies Sandell as owner. St. Catharines Museum says brewery was sold and then closed in 1935; final buyer remains NOT YET. Source: https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/a-snapshot-of-st-catharines-in-1938/page/businesses
Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.
Events
- Thomas B. Bate joined James Taylor and the brewery became Taylor & Bate.1857
Original St. Catharines Brewery founded 1834.
- Niagara businessman E.D. Sandell purchased the company during the 1920s.1920
Exact purchase date NOT YET.
- Government corporate history records acquisition of Taylor & Bate by Brewing Corporation of Ontario in 1930.1930
Company renamed Brewing Corporation of Canada later in 1930.
- Taylor & Bate was sold and then closed during the worsening Depression.1935
Closure
Final purchaser/owner remains NOT YET.
- St. Catharines plant closed in 1935 while Taylor & Bate was within the E.P. Taylor corporate group; museum wording that the brewery was 'sold and then closed' is preserved as a plant-sale wording conflict.1935
Closure
1936 corporate merger with Regal occurred after physical plant closure.
- The former brewery buildings were razed for Highway 406.1979
BREWERY_BUILDINGS_DEMOLISHED
Brewery Street remains a place-name trace.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1834James Taylor's St. Catharines Brewery
Founded 1834 by James Taylor as the St. Catharines Brewery, on over four acres below Yates Street on the east bank of Twelve Mile Creek by the old Welland Canal; Taylor & Bate from 1857 when Thomas B. Bate became partner. Ales, porters and lagers, vinegar and brewer's malt; over 10,000 barrels a year by 1878 (St. Catharines Museum). Brewery Street keeps the name.
- 1920Sold to E. D. Sandell
E. D. Sandell, a Niagara Falls businessman, bought the company in the 1920s (museum). The museum's story that the radio station CKTB (1930) was named for the slogan "A Cool Keg of Taylor and Bate" is unconfirmed elsewhere.
- 1935Closed — two endings
The museum: it "operated until 1935, when it was sold and then closed due to the worsening economic depression", with no mention of E. P. Taylor. Wikipedia's Canadian Breweries article: acquired by Taylor's Brewing Corporation in 1930 and closed 1938, its production moved to the Regal Brewery in Hamilton. The record carries the museum's 1935 and keeps 1938. E. P. Taylor is no relation to James Taylor unless a source says so; none does.
- 1979Razed for Highway 406
The buildings were razed in 1979 for Highway 406; nothing survives on the site but the street name. The Yates Street Heritage District's history names the brewery among the area's industries.
The People
Behind the beer
Straight answers
Common questions about Taylor & Bate Brewery
- Is Taylor & Bate Brewery still open?
- No. Taylor & Bate Brewery has closed (1935). Status: CLOSED. Address: Eastern bank of Twelve Mile Creek at Brewery Street, St. Catharines — historical brewery site; buildings razed 1979 for Highway 406. St. Catharines Museum source establishes 1834 founding, 1857 Taylor-Bate partnership, long family management, later Sandell ownership context, 1935 sale/closure and 1979 demolition. Final 1935 buyer is deliberately unresolved. [Canada Pass 101] FILLED 2026-09-24: founded 1834, closed 1935 (museum) or 1938 (Wikipedia, via Taylor's group) — both kept. Exact street address beyond Brewery Street: UNKNOWN. Confidence stays as set.
- When was Taylor & Bate Brewery founded?
- Taylor & Bate Brewery was founded in 1834 in St. Catharines, Canada.
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