When we opened our doors back in 1985, Wellington Brewery was part of a first wave of independent microbreweries that opened when provincial laws were changed to allow small brewers to operate in Ontario. The original vision for brewery founder Phil Gosling was to bring English-style cask-conditioned “Real Ale” to Ontario. Back in the mid 1980’s, this was a bold vision that meant introducing Ontario beer drinkers to full-flavoured traditional style beers made with high quality ingredients and produced locally at our brewery in Guelph, Ontario. 

Our brewery was creating traditionally inspired, flavourful beer using all-natural ingredients long before the term “craft beer” existed, back when folks called it “microbrew”. And in those early days, we had an uphill battle in selling local, independent microbrewery beer to an Ontario market dominated by large macro breweries. Gradually, our hard work and commitment to brewing high quality beer helped us gain a loyal following of beer drinkers who shared our vision and wanted something more out of their pint.

Over the years, our brewery saw many changes as we gained momentum, won national and international awards, and the demand for locally brewed craft beer grew. We added tanks, welcomed new people, introduced new packaging formats, changed beer labels, and even replaced our entire brewhouse and packaging line. And in the whirlwind of all of these changes, the one constant has been our passion for brewing flavourful, well-balanced beers that bring people together. 

To this day, many of our original recipes remain in our core brand lineup including Special Pale Ale, County Brown Ale, and Arkell Best Bitter. These classic English-style ales join a wider family of beer styles and a constantly rotating selection of small-batch and seasonal beers that showcase the creativity of our brewers. 

From our humble beginning as one of Canada’s first craft brewers to where we are today, thanks to everyone who’s been a part of our journey so far, cheers!