The Bennett Brewing Company, Limited
St. John's, Canada · Est. 1827
From the record
What we have established
Status: Historical / acquired 1962. Memorial University archival material traces Bennett Brewing Company's recorded history to 1827 and identifies it as Newfoundland's first brewery. The older brewery name Riverhead Brewery is preserved as a former name. It was acquired by Canadian Breweries Limited in 1962; exact legal/operating end date after acquisition is not guessed.
The Beer Library
Beers
Dominion Pale Ale
RetiredPale Ale
MUN Newfoundland Quarterly archival advertisement visibly names Dominion Pale Ale and Bennett Brewing Company, Limited. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Golden Lager Beer
RetiredLager
MUN Newfoundland Quarterly archival advertisement visibly names Golden Lager Beer and Bennett Brewing Company, Limited. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Haig Ale
RetiredAle
MUN Newfoundland Quarterly archival advertisement visibly names Haig Ale; later archival listings use Haig Light Beer wording, retained as alias rather than a second beer. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Haig Stout
RetiredStout
MUN Newfoundland Quarterly archival advertisement visibly names Haig Stout and Bennett Brewing Company, Limited. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Dominion Stout
RetiredStout
MUN digitized 1957 Evening Telegram advertisement names Dominion Stout and Rainbow Beer under The Bennett Brewing Co., Ltd. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Rainbow Beer
RetiredBeer
MUN digitized 1957 Evening Telegram advertisement directly names Rainbow Beer under The Bennett Brewing Co., Ltd. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bennett's Lager Beer
RetiredLager
MUN digitized 1895 Daily News advertisement explicitly offers Bennett's Lager Beer, draught or bottle. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bennett's Extra Stout
RetiredExtra Stout
MUN digitized 1895 Daily News advertisement explicitly offers Bennett's Extra Stout, draught or bottle. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bennett's Invalid Stout
RetiredStout
MUN digitized 1895 Daily News advertisement explicitly offers Bennett's Invalid Stout. The period product name is preserved without making health claims. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bennett's Half and Half
RetiredAle/stout blend or serving product — UNKNOWN
MUN digitized 1895 Daily News advertisement explicitly offers Bennett's Half and Half. Exact formulation/style is left UNKNOWN rather than inferred. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →O'Keefe Ale
RetiredAle
MUN Book of Newfoundland entry on Bennett Brewing states the firm also produced O'Keefe Ale. Preserved as a Bennett-era locally produced product. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Old Vienna Lager Beer
RetiredLager
MUN Book of Newfoundland entry on Bennett Brewing states the firm also produced Old Vienna Lager Beer. (Historical documented)
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Drinking The Bennett Brewing Company, Limited? Stamp it in your passport.
Discover it here — collect it in the Passport. Track every beer, earn stamps, and build your own beer passport.
Every brewery deserves its full story told.
If you're the owner or team behind The Bennett Brewing Company, Limited, we'll build out your complete profile — history, the people, every beer — and feature you in a Tally's documentary. No cost, just your story.

