Big Rock Interpretive Brewery

The Worden Brother’s Bakery was built on Calgary’s Stephen Avenue in the early 1890s. As an example of the boomtown false front style, its elaborate brick facade disguised a modest one-story wooden structure. In an era when most women baked their own breads at home, bakeries provided an important staple for bachelors, occasional treats for the family, and specialty items for large gatherings. Many bakeries augmented their sales with fresh fruits and confections.

Breweries, like bakeries, supplied a product that was most popular among western men. With few exceptions, the history of brewing in Alberta is one of short-lived enterprise and takeovers. The City’s longest surviving business, “Calgary Brewing & Malting Company”, established by A.E. Cross in 1892, survived the prohibition of 1916-1924 by producing aerated waters, ginger ale, and low alcohol “Temperance Beer”. Alberta’s first microbrewery, “Big Rock Brewery” was established by Ed McNally in Calgary in 1985.

The recreated facade of Worden’s Bakery encloses the Big Rock Interpretive Brewery.