Lethbridge's Brewing Industry

The city of Lethbridge has had a long relationship with the brewing industry. Because Lethbridge grew out of the coal mining industry, the city’s population was mostly single men. This created an ideal market for the brewery industry. In the first few years, Lethbridge had 19 saloons and at least four cottage breweries, including Noel's Brewery which was located on an island in the river bottom. These early breweries made a low alcohol beverage called "Hop Beer.”

P19900020018-GA Stubby style Lethbridge Pilsner bottle from 1975 to 1985.

Large-scale brewing operations in Lethbridge began after the arrival of Fritz Sick. Born in Freiburg Germany in 1859, Sick spent twenty-four years learning the copper and barrel smithing trades. Sick came to America in 1883 and began a career in the brewing industry. When Sick heard of the mining boom in British Columbia, he quickly moved to establish himself in that province. He failed in Trail B.C., but was later more successful with the Fernie-Fort Steele Breweries. The chance to open a brewery in Lethbridge resulted in Sick to selling his shares in the Fernie-Fort Steele brewery and moving to Lethbridge.

P19900020021-GA Long neck style bottle of Lethbridge Pilsner beer used before 1975.

In 1901, Sick set up the Alberta Brewery in Lethbridge. Three years later, he changed the name of the brewery to the Lethbridge Malting Company Ltd. In the first year, the brewery produced 3 000 barrels of beer. Ten years later, the Lethbridge Brewery was producing 40 000 barrels per year. The success of the brewery and its "Alberta Pride" beer allowed Sick to undertake a $200 000 expansion which allowed the brewery to produce 100 000 barrels per year.

But hard times were just around the corner for Sick. The prohibition of alcohol in Alberta, which lasted from 1916 until 1923, threatened to destroy Sick's business. He was able to keep the brewery open by producing alcohol-free beer, soda pop, and renting out his cold storage space to grocery stores.

P19640104000-GA, A draught beer keg used by the Lethbridge Brewing and Malting CO. in 1902

After the end of prohibition, Fritz and his son, Emil, greatly increased the family’s brewing empire. The Sicks bought breweries in Regina (1923), Edmonton (1927), and Vancouver (1930), and constructed a new building in Prince Albert. The Sicks also began to look in the United States for new business options. They brought breweries in Great Falls, Missoula, Spokane, and Seattle. To better manage their growing empire, in 1933 they moved the corporate headquarters of the company from Lethbridge to Seattle. Fritz Sick died in 1945, at the age of 85, but the brewery in Lethbridge continued to be managed by his son Emil.

P19900020019-GA Another fine Lethbridge Brewery product!

The Sicks’ long relationship with the Lethbridge Brewery ended in 1959 when Molson Western Breweries Ltd. bought the Lethbridge brewery and undertook a $300 000 expansion program. Molson again expanded the Lethbridge Brewery in July of 1973, at a cost of $2 million. This made it possible for the Lethbridge brewery to produce 400 000 barrels of beer a year.

The Lethbridge Breweries also produced products other than beer during times of prohibition.

In 1989, the story of the Lethbridge Brewery ended when Molson joined with Carling O'Keefe and announced they were going to close the brewery. They tore the brewery down in 1990, leaving only the beautiful "brewery gardens" on the hillside west of the brewery site as a reminder of the brewery’s existence in the city.