The Brewing Industry in Canada

The Brewing Industry in Canada
By Colonel H. Molson, LL.D., B.Sc.  (paper delivered Feb. 1922)

In attempting a description of the brewing industry in Canada in a short article, one is confronted at the outset by the very different conditions existing in the various provinces which comprise the Dominion.

I have, therefore, divided this article into three main parts, as follows: —
I. History and Development of the Brewing Trade in the Various Provinces down to 1916,
II. Present Conditions and Prospects in the Several Provinces.
III. Methods of Manufacture and Distribution.

Part I.

a) Province of Quebec. —
Both from a historical standpoint, as well as from its present importance in the brewing industry, the Province of Quebec deserves first consideration. The first brewery of which we have any knowledge is, according to the historian Parkman, one built in the City of Quebec by the Intendant of New France, Jean Talon, who took office in 1664. On assuming office, he saw the necessity of doing something to chock the general use of spirits, then imported in large quantities from the West Indies, and applied to Louis XIV for funds to erect a brewery. In 1668, Minister Colbert writes to the Intendant in a strain which indicates that he warmly supports his position enforcing the necessity of substituting beer for wine and brandy. “The vice of drunkenness,” the great Minister says, “would thereafter cause no more scandal by reason of the cold nature of beer, the vapours, whereof, rarely deprive men of the use of judgement.” The historian (Parkman) adds: “The brewery was accordingly built, to the great satisfaction of the poorer colonists.”  

The brewery, however, did not long exist as such, as in 1672, Frontenac arrived at Quebec to commence his term as Governor of New France, and shortly afterwards converted the brewery into a prison. Twelve years afterwards it became necessary to provide suitable quarters for the Intendant and the Court of Justice. M. de Moulles, the then incumbent of the Intendant’s office, therefore submitted a plan to the French Minister to purchase the large store building which Talon had erected for a brewery, and which for several years had remained unoccupied. The structure, with repairs and additions, furnished not only a suitable mansion for the Intendant, but also offices and a public meeting room for the Sovereign Council, for the Courts of Justice, vaults for the public archives, and a jail for criminals. Thus not long afterwards did the Intendant’s palace come into being, and here the Council long continued to hold their sessions.

In connection with the palace were also the French Government stores, wherein were housed the supplies for the colonists. Nearly 200 years were to elapse before the building was again to be used as a brewery, as in 1853, J. K. Boswell, who had been in business since 1844, purchased the old property and converted it once more to brewing purposes, and the present modern plant of Boswell’s Brewery occupies the site today.

John Racey founded a brewery in Beauport, near Quebec, early in the 19th Century, and later moved to Quebec, the plant being bought by J. K. Boswell in 1844.

A number of smaller breweries were in existence in Quebec during the last century, which changed hands frequently, until, in 1909, they were all absorbed by the National Breweries, Limited, an amalgamation of the majority of the breweries then existing in the Province of Quebec.

The oldest brewery in Canada, continuously operated as such, is Molson’s Brewery, Limited, in Montreal. Founded by Hon. John Molson, in 1786, it has been operated by members of the Molson family for 135 years, the writer being the fourth generation in the business. The brewery, in the early days, was a very small affair, the ales and stouts being stored in hogsheads and puncheons in solidly-built stone arched underground vaults, which exist today. At a later date, ice houses were constructed, in which quantities of ice in large blocks, cut on the River St. Lawrence, were stored during the winter season. This enabled a better control of temperatures of the stored ales, and enabled brewing operations to be maintained up to the latter part of June, when brewing was entirely discontinued for the summer season. About 20 years ago, in common with the practice of American and Canadian breweries, modern refrigerating machinery was installed, enabling brewing operations to be maintained throughout the year. This plant has, during the last 20 years, been continuously enlarged and modernised, and, in 1922, when extensions now being built are completed, will be the largest and most modern in Canada.

In 1811, William Dow founded the brewery which bears his name today and whoso ales have borne a high reputation for over a century. In 1817 the Dawes family established a brewery in Lachine, 9 miles from Montreal, which has been continuously operated, and a steadily growing business necessitated a second brewery in the city of Montreal. About 40 years ago, H. A. Ekers established a brewery which from small beginnings has now become quite a large plant.

The foregoing breweries in Montreal and Quebec have deserved special consideration as they are all operating today on a larger scale than ever before, but up to 1909 there were in addition numerous small plants throughout the province. In this year an amalgamation of existing breweries took place under the name of the National Breweries Limited. Fourteen breweries were absorbed in this amalgamation, the only plants in the province not entering the combination being Molson’s Brewery in Montreal and a small brewery in Sherbrooke, the Silver Spring Brewery, which was owned and operated by English share-holders. The National Breweries have since that date closed and dismantled all the smaller plants, the larger breweries being extended and improved, and today there are in active operation—Dow’s Brewery, Dawes’ Brewery, Ekers’ Brewery in Montreal, and Boswell’s Brewery in Quebec. In 1912 two new breweries were established, the Frontenac Brewery in Montreal and the Champlain Brewery in Quebec, both of which are in operation today.

The class of beers brewed in the province of Quebec has undergone a great change in the course of the last century.

In the early days, heavy stock ales were brewed entirely of malt, mashed under the infusion system, fire-coppers being used for boiling and Burton Unions for fermentation. These ales were stored in underground vaults for 9 to 12 months before being sent out in bottle or cask. Later, the skimming system of fermentation was adopted, steam-jacketed coppers replacing the fire-coppers. The use of ice and, later, refrigerating machinery further modified the system, and the tendency was more and more towards lighter ales which were stored for a much shorter period. During the last 25 years, carbonated and filtered ales replaced the old-style ales until today they are universally brewed. Lager beer has been brewed in Montreal and Quebec for the last 25 years to a very limited extent, and appears to be making no headway in competition with the modern light ales. This will be dealt with later in Part III.

b) Province of Ontario. —
Up to 1916 when the Ontario Temperance Act came into force the Ontario breweries outnumbered those in Quebec, and had also a considerably larger output.

The oldest breweries in the Province are as follows: —
The Bajus Brewery, Kingston, over 100 years old.
Taylor and Bate, St. Catherine’s, founded 1834.
The O’Keefe Brewery, Toronto, founded 1836.
The John Labatt Brewery, London, founded 1860.
The Dominion Brewery, Toronto, founded 1860.
The Kuntz Brewery, Waterloo, founded 1850.

There were many others throughout the Province, some of which have retired from business. Originally the Ontario Brewers manufactured similar ales and porters to those in the Province of Quebec, viz., of the heavy stock type, but upwards of 40 years ago many of them went into the brewing of lager as well and some of the newer breweries brewed only lager.

About the same time the tendency towards lighter ales became marked, and carbonated ales became more and more popular. Just prior to the year 1916, the consumers of Ontario preferred the light lagers and the light ales to such an extent that excepting the very old beer drinkers the old stock ales and stock porters were not much in demand. The reports made by the Dominion Government analysts on Canadian beers show that the popular lagers ran in alcoholic strength about the same as the leading American brands, i.e., from 3½ to 4½ per cent, of alcohol by weight and the light ales from 4 to 5½ per cent.

c) The Maritime Provinces {Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) —
The history of brewing in the Maritime Provinces is similar to that of Ontario, except that lager beer never gained the foothold that it did in Ontario. At one time in Halifax, there were five breweries in existence, now only one is in operation, viz.:—The Nova Scotia Brewery—Alex. Keith and Sons. Two breweries still do some business in New Brunswick but the market is very small. There has been no brewery in Prince Edward Island for 30 years. At one time a considerable amount of beer was consumed in the three provinces, but during the last 10 years prohibition has gained more and more headway until today there is but little business except in 2 per cent, beer and a limited amount of stronger beer for medicinal purposes.

c) Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan) —
The brewing business in the three prairie provinces is, of course, of comparatively recent date. In Winnipeg the two principal plants wore those of Drewry and of Shea, both of whom brewed ale and lager. These plants are about 40 years old. About 30 years ago, Ernest Cross built a plant in Calgary called the Calgary Brewing and Malting Co., and there brewed lager exclusively to compete with American lagers which, prior to prohibition in 1916, had a very large sale throughout the West. Tho story of the western brewers is but a repetition of those of Ontario and the Maritime Provinces in that business is practically at a standstill owing to prohibition.

e) British Columbia. —
A number of small breweries existed in British Columbia up to a few years ago, when a syndicate of British investors became interested in the industry, and acquired a number of plants in different towns. This company, the British Columbia Breweries, Limited, operates several plants, the product of which is almost entirely an all malt lager, a small amount of rice luger beer being brewed.

Part II.

a) Province of Quebec. —
Until the year 1918, conditions in the province of Quebec had not changed to any marked extent, although Ontario had gone dry in 1916, and the Western provinces and Maritime provinces had followed suit. The Government’s policy had been to reduce the number of tavern and liquor store licenses from year to year, and a reduction of hours during which liquor could be sold had also been effected, 11 p.m. being closing time for the first five days and 7 P.M. on Saturday, Sunday selling being always prohibited.

In 1918, however, under pressure from the Dominion Government, which proposed to bring in Dominion-wide prohibition as a war measure, the Quebec Government brought in a Prohibition Bill, to take effect May 1st, 1919. Brewers were prohibited from manufacturing by the Dominion Government after December 31st, 1918, but might dispose of their stocks up to May 1st, 1919.

With the ending of the war on November 11th, 1918, however, a demand for a referendum on the liquor question in the province became insistent, and the provincial government submitted a new law to the Quebec voters for their verdict. This provided for the sale of wine and beer only of a strength of 6·94 and 2½ per cent alcohol by weight respectively; other wine and distilled liquors to be supplied by a limited number of licensed vendors on doctors’ prescriptions only. The referendum took place in April, 1919, and resulted in a decisive vote in favour of wine and beer by a majority of 130,000 votes. It was also provided that the stand-up bar was to be eliminated. This law was therefore put into effect on May 1st, 1919. The result was very disappointing to both Government and people. Owing to the low alcoholic strength allowed for both wine and beer, satisfactory beverages could not be sold, and the abuse of doctors’ certificates to obtain stronger liquor became notorious. The law was broken on all sides, and conditions were such that a public demand arose for a revision of the Act. Therefore, in February, 1921, the Quebec Government enacted a new law known as “The Alcoholic Liquor Act,” which came into effect on May 1st, 1921. Under this Act the Government took over the entire importation and distribution of wines and strong liquors, and a Commission of five persons, entitled the Quebec Liquor Commission, was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, with full powers to control the liquor business of the province.

Without going into too much detail, the main features of the Act are as follows: —
1. Taverns are allowed to sell beer only, to be consumed on the premises, of a strength not exceeding 5 per cent, alcohol by weight. Hours of sale, 9 a.m. until 10 P.M. (Sundays and certain legal holidays excepted).
2. Licensed grocers are allowed to sell beer only of same strength during the same hours as above. This beer to be in unbroken packages, and not allowed to be consumed on the premises.
3. Hotels and restaurants are allowed to sell beer as above, and wine with meals only, from 9 A.M. till 10 P.M.
4. Government liquor stores administered by the Commission will sell strong liquors and wine. Not more than one bottle at a time of strong liquor will be sold by the Government store, and each sale must be for cash.
5. Recognised clubs have the same privileges as hotels and restaurants.
6. Brewers are allowed. to sell beer not exceeding 5 per cent, alcohol by weight during certain hours only to holders of permits to sell such beer granted by the Commission.

Various provisions are made for the serving of wine and beer at banquets, on steamboats or railway trains, in churches, etc., for all of which a permit is required by the Commission.

The Commission is the only importer of liquors and wines, and no establishments authorised to sell wine with meals may obtain such wine elsewhere than from a government store.

Brewers are required to collect a tax of 5 per cent, on all sales, and to remit the same to the Government before the 15th of every month for the preceding monthly period. In practice, this is absorbed in the selling price, and monthly returns made to the provincial government.

Penalties for failure to obey the law as laid down are severe, comprising loss of permit to sell, costs and a fine not exceeding 100 dollars for the first offence, and one month in gaol (jail) for any subsequent offence.

The result of the operation of this law during the eight months since it came into effect has been a marked reduction of drunkenness and disorderly conduct, and numerous towns, which had enacted a local option by-law in previous years, have now adopted the pro visions of the provincial law, and authorised permits to be granted by the Commission within their municipalities.

The City of Quebec, which has been under the Scott Act, a Dominion measure, for the past three years, recently, by a large majority vote of its citizens, applied to the Dominion Government for permission to come under the provisions of the Quebec Alcoholic Liquor Act.

With strict enforcement of the law by the Commission, it is believed that the province of Quebec will show the world the truest form of temperance, while safeguarding the liberties of the individual

b) Province of Ontario. —
For ten years prior to 1916 the prohibition movement had been gaining ground in Ontario, and every year more and more of the smaller communities adopted a local option by-law. In September, 1916, the Ontario Temperance Act, whereby the whole province became dry, came into force. By this Act the standard of intoxicating liquor was arbitrarily placed at 2½ per cent, proof spirit, so that brewers’ sales in Ontario from that time have been confined to beers not exceeding that strength. Under the provisions of the Act, transactions in liquor were permitted between a party in Ontario and someone outside of Ontario, as a result of which the Mail Order business sprang up, which worked out in this way: A Mail Order house (say in Montreal) would buy a certain amount of beer from an Ontario brewer, and ask him to hold it for him subject to his order for delivery. A resident in Ontario would write to the Mail Order house ordering some beer. The Mail Order house would, in turn, forward the order on to the brewer, who would make delivery to the customer at his dwelling house or apartment. Delivery could not be made to a public building, hotel, store or boarding house. The result of the Mail Order business showed, however, that perhaps 90—95 per cent, of the people who formerly ordered beer for their homes changed to spirits, and thousands of homes in Ontario, which until September, 1916, had never bad anything stronger than beer, put in large supplies of spirituous liquors. The result of this stocking of the homes interfered very largely with the sale of temperance beers by the hotels and restaurants, because the people would wait until they went home to get the stronger liquor. Thousands of illicit sales places opened up where strong liquor could be secured.

Under the War Measures Act the delivery of strong beer under the Mail Orders system was suspended from April, 1918, Until December 31^st, 1919, on which date the Military Service Act went out of force and the Mail Order business was again resumed until July 18th, 1921, when deliveries of liquor in the province wore stopped by a provision of the Canada Temperance Act, which came into force as the result of a vote in Ontario in October, 1920.

Since July 18th, 1921, breweries are permitted to sell in Ontario only beers of the 2½ per cent, proof spirit, and these are sold to anyone in the province, who may resell without a permit. The brewers are also permitted to make strong beer for export, but the only sales of the strong beer in Ontario that may be made aro those to the Government dispensaries, who sell them for medicinal purposes on a prescription brought in by a patient. The sales of temperance beer since July, 1921, have been exceedingly small, us the country is still full of strong liquor. The sales of temperance beer have therefore dwindled down to the summer beverage class, little demand being made for it after the hot weather has passed.

c) Maritime Provinces. —
Conditions are nearly the same in the three Maritime Provinces, although the laws are slightly different. Briefly, no alcoholic liquor is allowed to be sold except through a Government Commission which imports strong liquor and buys strong beer to sell to druggists for medicinal purposes only.

In Nova Scotia all beverages containing any percentage of alcohol are prohibited, both imports and sales. There is a Board of Vendors Commission, who import spirits and beer to supply legal vendors and druggists. The strong beer supplied by the Nova Scotia Brewery in limited quantities is 12 per cent, proof spirit. A small export trade is also done.

In New Brunswick they have a Commission similar to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Brewers are allowed to sell 2 per cent beer, which is not allowed in the other two provinces.

Owing to the amount of boot-legging going on, it is not difficult to obtain spirituous liquor in any of the provinces, but the brewing trade has dwindled to a small fraction of its former sales, only three breweries being still in existence; one in Nova Scotia and two in New Brunswick, and their sales are getting less all the time.

d) Prairie Provinces. —
Conditions in the three Prairie Provinces may be briefly described as similar to Ontario, as temperance beer of 2½ per cent, proof spirit is allowed to be sold everywhere, but stronger beers only to fill prescriptions handled through the Government. The sales of temperance beer are practically confined to the hot summer months, the remainder of the year being negligible, and the total sales are but a small fraction of what they were before prohibition came into force.

e) British Columbia. —
Conditions under which spirituous liquors, wines, and beers are sold in the province of British Columbia differ entirely from those in any of the other provinces. The Government, through a committee of three persons, known as the “Liquor Control Board,” assume entire distribution and sale of all liquors through Government liquor stores. This Act came into force on June 15th, 1921. Every person residing in British Columbia desiring to purchase liquor must apply and pay for a permit to purchase liquor at a Government Store. Permits are of various kinds, including single purchase permits to obtain not more than 2 quarts of liquor, for which the fee is 50 cents, to a yearly permit, for which the fee is 5 dollars. Permits are also issued to transients under certain conditions. On receipt of a permit to purchase, the person ordering liquor must do so in writing, stating his requirements and the number of his permit. This is entered in the Government’s store’s books and, on payment of cash, the purchaser can obtain his requirements. In the case of beer, if the purchaser wishes, this can be delivered direct from the brewery on receipt of the order from the Government store. To check the brewery output, an inspector, who is appointed by the Government, is stationed at the brewery, and he checks all orders, deliveries, bottled stocks, etc. The Government does not deliver to the purchaser, but sends a requisition with delivery order to the inspector at the brewery, and the brewery makes delivery, getting the delivery slip signed by the purchaser, and then the brewery returns the signed slip to the Government.

The Government charges 2.00 dollars per dozen for pints and the brewery receives 1.40 dollars from the Government. No person other than the Government may sell any kind of beer or near beer within the province, but exportation of beer outside the province is permitted provided an affidavit is made by a non-resident purchaser. Since the Act came into effect, beer sales have fallen off fully 50 per cent, owing to sales being restricted to bottle only, thus stopping all draught trade.

It is expected that certain amendments to the Act will be made at the next Session of the British Columbia Government, permitting beer to be sold by the glass, in which case brewery sales would be very materially increased. The beer brewed and sold under these conditions consists almost entirely of all malt lager, only a very small percentage of rice lager being made. The alcoholic content varies from 7 to 8½ per cent, proof spirit. These beers are stored for at least 4 weeks, then “Krausened,” and after maturing, filtered, bottled, and pasteurised. If not “Krausened” the beer is stored for a longer period, then carbonated, filtered, bottled and pasteurised.

Part III.

As seen in Parts I and II the class of beers brewed in the different provinces of Canada vary to a marked degree owing to the restrictions existing in most of the provinces, and also owing to the varying public tastes. In the Province of Quebec, the only province in which the industry is at all thriving, the public demand is principally for a light carbonated ale, and a certain demand, particularly in the summer months, for a light lager beer. The old-style stock ale matured in casks and conditioned in bottle has entirely disappeared, giving place to a beverage which can be served cold and sparkling with a good head. A lighter beer than was popular 10—20 years ago is also demanded, as well as necessitated in order to conform to the law. With these general observations I will now endeavour to outline the methods of brewing, bottling and distribution, now in practice in the leading breweries in the provinces.

The system of taxation for excise purposes existing in Canada diners from that followed by Great Britain and the United States, in that the taxes are levied on the malt used and not on the beer brewed. Should a brewer in Canada desire to use any material other than barley malt, such as corn, rice, glucose, sugars, etc., special arrangements must be made with the Excise Department of the Government, in which case a duty of so much per gallon is placed on the beer brewed. This duty has been kept for many years at approximately double the duty which would be paid on the equivalent amount of malt required to produce the same amount of beer. This has acted as a natural deterrent to any use of other materials, and the amount of beer brewed in Canada from materials other than malt is infinitesimal.

In practice the Government exercises a strict supervision of all malt houses, an inspector being placed at each malt house who checks the weight of all barley steeped and malt taken off kiln. This malt is then stored in bonded warehouses under the Government Inspector’s control, who releases the malt as sold or delivered to the brewery on payment of the excise duty. Before the war this duty was li cents per pound of undefined malt, a rebate of 5 per cent, being allowed annually for combings. The duty was doubled as a war measure and this duty of 3 cents per pound has been retained ever since.

On receipt of malt at the brew house, it is conveyed by bucket elevators and spiral conveyors to large storage bins of steel or hollow tile, from which it is in turn conveyed to the malt cleaning machinery before grinding. The malt cleaning machinery used is of the American type, and manufactured in Canada, consisting of a fan and various sized screens operated by a shaking device, thus removing all combings and foreign matter. This is in addition to the cleaning which the barley has originally undergone before steeping. The malt mills in use aro almost exclusively of American manufacture and are entirely of steel with non-explosive devices. The mash tubs are generally built of steel plate, insulated with asbestos covering and equipped with powerful rakes of American manufacture. The old-style pony masher is also retained by many breweries in addition to the rakes. The false bottoms in up-to-date plants are now constructed of bronze with finely slotted openings and the grains are removed mechanically by use of the rakes. Revolving spargers are generally preferred to the fixed type adopted by many American brewers.

As previously stated, steam jacketed domed coppers are now universally used, a brisk boil being assured by a super heater placed in the copper. Many American brewers have adopted the closed cooler and have been followed in this practice by many Canadian brewers, but others have preferred to retain the well-known Baudelot cooler, with the addition of iron ammonia pipes for the lower section, and in this latter practice the writer is in accord.

Ale fermenting rooms in practically every brewery now consist of skimming tuns, either equipped with parachutes or more generally skimmed by hand in the ordinary way. By proper insulation and the use of ammonia pipes fermenting rooms can now be retained at any temperature desired, even during the heat of summer. After the completion of the fermentation the ale is stored in large tuns holding one or more brews at a temperature of 52° to 56° F. Choice hops are used for dry-hopping, and the ale is matured for 8 to 16 weeks. It is then chilled to a temperature of 32° F., carbonated, filtered, and either racked into trade casks or bottled under a back pressure to prevent foaming. The ale by this method flows direct from the vats through pipe lines into the packages. All casks used by the trade in Canada are fitted with Golden Gate valves, the old-style bung having been discarded many years ago.

The ales in popular demand in the Province of Quebec contain 4—4½ per cent, alcohol by weight, the legal limit being 5 per cent, and they are brewed at an original gravity of from 17 to 20 pounds. The utilisation of by-products is a feature of a modern brewery, all grains being conveyed to the grains-drying house, where they go through presses into revolving drums filled with steam-pipes, the dried grains being bagged as dried and sold as feed. Surplus yeast is now treated in a similar manner, a ready market being available for same.

Many people, unfamiliar with modern brewery methods, are under the impression that carbonated beers are artificially conditioned with manufactured carbonic acid gas. Such, however, is not the case, as the leading brewers collect this gas from closed vessels during the early stages of fermentation, and, after purifying, return this gas to the beer through the carbonator.

A short description of the modern bottling cellar will be of interest. Twenty-five years ago, Canadian brewers were still employing the old method of racking beer into hogsheads, which were placed on stillions and tapped, the bottling being done by hand. The bottles were corked by hand machines, labelled, and stored in bins prior to shipment. With the introduction of carbonated ales and lagers this method had great drawbacks, apart from the excessive labour cost.

The necessity of keeping the beers cold during bottling, and of maintaining a back pressure in order to retain the carbonic acid and to prevent foaming, caused a development of bottling machinery in the United States such as had never been known before.

Many unsatisfactory machines were put on the market, but at this date the equipment of a modern bottling plant is pretty well standardised. The dirty bottles are thrown into pockets in the soaker, where they are filled and emptied six times automatically with a solution of hot caustic soda, and finally with fresh water. They then go through a washing machine where jets of fresh water are squirted into them under hydraulic pressure, and the outside of the bottles thoroughly washed at the same time. They are then automatically conveyed to the filling machine, where they are filled at a rate of 90 to 120 bottles per minute, under a back pressure of 4—5 lb., the beer being forced by air pressure through a pipe-line from the carbonating’ cellar. Leaving the filler, they proceed automatically to the crowner, where crown corks are pressed on, and for the first time since entering the soaker are they again handled, two men placing the filled bottles in a tray of the pasteuriser. After coming through the pasteuriser they go through the labeller; six bottles at a time being labelled, and finally they are placed in cases or boxes, which are brought automatically by roller conveyors to the labellers. The filled case of beer travels to its destination, the shipping warehouse, along a line of conveyor, and on arrival is piled awaiting shipment. The labour involved in the bottling is reduced to a minimum, the total breakage being kept under 2 per cent., and with these methods an output of 20,000 dozen bottles per day is no unusual thing in the leading plants.

The shipment of large quantities of bottled beer is similarly economically handled. Numerous loading doors, with a conveyor leading to each, enable a dozen wagons, or motor trucks, to be loaded at one time in a very few minutes with a minimum of labour.

No beer is bottled outside the brewery plant, and towns outside Montreal and Quebec are supplied by car-load, an agent representing the brewery having a warehouse and the necessary wagons to attend to the distribution in his district.

The brewing and bottling of lager beer is similarly handled, the main difference being in the fermenting cellars, with which, no doubt, all are familiar.

As no beer is permitted to be sold to anyone but a licensed holder, the sale of 2½ per cent, proof temperance beer is no longer possible, there being no demand for this where the stronger beer is obtainable.

Regarding methods of brewing and bottling in the other provinces there is little difference. Temperance beer, not exceeding 2½ per cent, proof spirit, is permitted to be sold in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and the brewers of those provinces are doing a limited trade in it, principally in the summer months.

The process of manufacture varies, each brewer having his own process. Some use checked fermentation, some cutting regular beer with water, some de-alcoholising, etc. In conclusion, may I say that regarding brewing prospects in Canada, we feel that the situation in Quebec is not likely to change, at any rate for some years to come; British Columbia will probably amend the present Act, so that the consumption of beers will be increasing, but regarding the other provinces there would appear to be no immediate prospect of relief, although, eventually, it is believed by many, that the United States, as well as Ontario, our Maritime Provinces and Prairie Provinces, will amend the present stringent laws and permit the sale of beer and wine, while prohibiting the consumption of spirituous liquors.