When founder Philip Gosling opened Wellington Brewery in the spring of 1985, his concept was to produce English-style real ales for the Ontario market. These cask-conditioned ales are naturally carbonated, served at cellar temperature, and drawn by a hand pump, much like the ales the Iron Duke himself would have enjoyed. Wellington was part of the first wave of Ontario microbreweries that were brought about by changes to Ontario law allowing small breweries to operate in the province for the first time in decades.

By 1987, our beers were winning local and national brewing awards, and were packaged for the first time in 1 litre PET bottles. While still focusing on the south-central Ontario market, we continued our steady growth through the 1990’s, and switched to the industry standard 341mL bottle in 1995.

Doug Dawkins and Mike Stirrup

The year 2000 brought a changing of the guard to Wellington Brewery, when long-time employees Michael Stirrup and Doug Dawkins took over. With nearly 25 years combined experience at the brewery, they brought passion and an intimate knowledge of both our products and the craft brewing industry.

Their plan was to focus even more on licensee business, both in Guelph and throughout southern Ontario. This meant hiring an experienced sales team to bring Wellington’s fine ales to the pubs where they should be served. They were supported by the “Try a Welly On” marketing campaign, which featured the now-famous “boot” taphandle. These factors led to a period of substantial growth with licensees, and brought Wellington beers to a much broader audience.

Our brewery in Guelph, Ontario

2005 saw the introduction of the “Duke” bottle packaging, followed by 473mL cans of County Dark Ale and Trailhead Lager in 2007. We continue to expand the brewery’s reach, with our products now available in Alberta. In fact, 2009 finds Wellington Brewery standing tall as Canada’s oldest independent microbrewery.