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Brewery

Albert Mutz

Albert Mutz, and Fritz Sick of Fort Steele established the original Fort Steele Brewing Company in 1897. During that same year the Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company began to develop its first coal mines at Coal Creek. Within two years Fernie had become one of the fastest growing mining towns in BC. This flourishing townsite was one of the most promising places to start a new business.

In 1900, Albert Mutz bought out his partner’s interest in the Fort Steele Brewing Company. He then moved his business to Fernie, where he erected a new plant and partnered with Vice-President George Scott. Mr. Mutz, a German Canadian, understood the process of beer manufacturing from top to bottom, while Mr. Scott conducted the company’s business affairs.

The Fernie-Fort Steele Brewing Company was said to be one of the largest and most modern brewing plants in BC. The building was three storeys high and 6400 square feet. It produced up to one thousand barrels of beer per month.

Fernie-Fort Steele Brewing Co., 1910

Fernie’s Fort Steele Brewing Company became known throughout North America for producing a first class beer. This strong-tasting lager was brewed using water that came from a nearby spring. A quote written in the Free Press by a Spokane man and his wife visiting Fernie stated, "We’ve travelled far and near but never tasted anything as good as Fernie Beer."

The Fort Steele Brewing Company purchased the East Kootenay Bottling Company’s plant in Fernie between 1903 and 1904 and began manufacturing all kinds of aerated waters. The Brewing Company later expanded this operation by constructing another larger bottling plant just south of the brewery along Cokato Road.

Beer wagon, 1945, FDHS (P404)

In 1950, Interior Breweries – today’s Columbia Brewing Company – purchased the Fernie-Fort Steele Brewing Company. The parent company continued to produce Fernie Beer until 1959, when it closed the Fernie and Nelson breweries and built a larger state-of-the-art brewery in Creston.

The Elk Valley also had a smaller brewery near the Mathias Baher Sr. ranch north of Sparwood. H. Cox established this plant in 1904. The brewery closed soon after prohibition, introduced in BC in 1917, and the cost of transporting alcoholic beverages to Alberta and the United States made beer production unfeasible. (Alcoholic beverages could still be produced in BC but not sold in the province.)

Brick Factory		Utilities