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Archive record · Brewery

Waterloo Brewing

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Also known as Brick Brewing Co.

ActiveConglomerate-ownedMicrobrewery
Founded
1984
Archive ID
TB-7E5WCR8M
Last checked
Not yet checked
#Ontario#Canada#Independent

Who owns this brewery?

Carlsberg Group

The direct owner is recorded. No company is held above it.

  1. Waterloo BrewingThis brewery
  2. Carlsberg GroupConglomerate
01

From the record

Summary

Formerly Brick Brewing Major Ontario brewing-history entity; current ownership/corporate structure queued for exact verification.

A summary written during research. The sourced facts are in the sections below.

Tally’s Take

Founded as Brick Brewing in 1984 — the first new brewery in Ontario in decades, and the one that made the others look possible.

Ownership & corporate history

  1. Subsidiary of Carlsberg GroupMarch 2023

    Partly settledCurrent evidence supports this, but the record is not fully resolved.

    What the sources say

    Carlsberg completed acquisition of all issued and outstanding Waterloo Brewing shares on 7 Mar 2023; annual report records 100% acquisition.

Ownership history is kept as dated events, so a change of owner never overwrites the one before it.

Where it brewed

  1. 400 Bingemans Center Drive, Kitchener, ON N2B 3X9
    Kitchener, Ontario

    PRODUCTION BREWERY / TAPHOUSE / RETAIL

    Operated by Waterloo Brewing

    Site detail

    Current first-party site.

02

The Museum

Timeline

  1. 1984
    Jim Brickman's Brick Brewing

    "Founded in 1984, Waterloo Brewing Ltd. was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario and is credited with pioneering the present-day craft brewing renaissance in Canada" (the company's release) — Brick Brewing, in an old Kitchener furniture factory; Brickman resigned in 2008 (reported); renamed Waterloo Brewing Ltd. in 2019.

  2. 2022
    Carlsberg's C$144 million offer

    Announced 15 December 2022: "CARLSBERG TO ACQUIRE WATERLOO BREWING IN AN ALL-CASH C$144 MILLION TRANSACTION"; the deal closed in March 2023.

  3. 2023
    Acquired by Carlsberg

    Waterloo Brewing was acquired by Carlsberg Canada.

04

The Beer Library

Beers

Waterloo Dark

Year-Round

Dark Lager

ABV5.0%

Launched by Brick Brewing in 1984 as the first new brewery in Ontario in decades. A dark lager was an unusual opening move and it outlasted most of what followed.

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Lager

Year-Round

Lager

Waterloo Brewing brand-family seed; exact product names/current status queued for first-party deep pass.

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Pilsner

Year-Round

Pilsner

Waterloo Brewing brand-family seed; exact product names/current status queued for first-party deep pass.

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IPA

Year-Round

IPA

Waterloo Brewing brand-family seed; exact product names/current status queued for first-party deep pass.

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Amber Ale

Year-Round

Amber Ale

Waterloo Brewing brand-family seed; exact product names/current status queued for first-party deep pass.

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Porter

Year-Round

Porter

Waterloo Brewing brand-family seed; exact product names/current status queued for first-party deep pass.

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05

Travel Guide

Plan a visit

AddressKitchener, ON
07

Follow the money

How it changed hands

1 recorded move
  1. 1984Founded
  2. 2023Acquired by Carlsberg

    Waterloo Brewing was acquired by Carlsberg Canada.

Today the chain tops out at Carlsberg Group.

09

Straight answers

Common questions about Waterloo Brewing

Who owns Waterloo Brewing?
Waterloo Brewing is owned by Carlsberg Group. Waterloo Brewing is based in Kitchener, Canada.
Is Waterloo Brewing still independent?
No. Waterloo Brewing is owned by Carlsberg Group and is no longer independent.
When was Waterloo Brewing acquired?
2023. Waterloo Brewing was acquired by Carlsberg Canada.
When was Waterloo Brewing founded?
Waterloo Brewing was founded in 1984 in Kitchener, Canada.
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