Wittemann Brewery

Status: CLOSED. Konrad Wittemann's Prince Albert brewery began construction in 1895, was completed in 1896 and brewed Bavarian Lager. The brewery was sold in 1904 to Fred Baker, Thomas Baker and Gustave Wagner, after which the property passed to Golden Lion Brewing Company. [Canada Pass 26]

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

1. 1895
   Construction begins, August 1895

   Konrad Wittemann's brewery: "Andrew Holmes had secured the contract, with a man by the name of Congdon sub-contracted to complete the foundation and basement"; the machinery arrived as "the heaviest train car to arrive in Prince Albert". Wittemann: "When we came here there was hardly any demand for beer in the country, everybody drinking whiskey".

2. 1896
   Bavarian Lager

   Completed October 1896. "The beer being produced, called Bavarian Lager, was said by connoisseurs to rank amongst the best on the continent"; trial orders by rail brought repeat orders the brewery could not keep up with, and a new cooler cut the process "from a month to a few days". The Wittemanns also bought the Queen's Hotel on 1 October; its management changed on 2 February 1897.

3. 1904
   Sold for $60,000

   In May 1904 "one of the highest real estate transactions in the town": the purchase of the brewery by merchant F. C. (Fred) Baker, contractor Thomas Baker and brewer Gustave Wagner, "stated to be $60.000". Title passed to the Golden Lion Brewing Company (golden-lion-brewing-company, TB-2CN3879R).