Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

YEAST VIAL, CASED

Date Range From

1984

Date Range To

1987

Materials

WOOD, GLASS, METAL

No. Pieces

3

Description

1. WOODEN RECTANGULAR CASE WITH TOP WHICH PIVOTS ON ONE NAIL AND IS HEALD IN PLACE BY A METAL TAB. STICKER ON EXTERIOR SAYS, "LÖWENBRÄU" IN SILVER WRITING ON A LIGHT BLUE BACKGROUND. (HEIGHT: 2.6, LENGTH: 19.6, WIDTH 2.6) 2. GLASS VIAL. ETCHING ON EXTERIOR SAYS, "SCHOTT, DURAN" AND HAS A SYMBOL WITH A CIRCLE AND A SQUARE. VARIOUS STAINS ON INSIDE OF GLASS.(HEIGHT: 1.6, LENGTH: 12.8, WIDTH 1.6) 3. METAL CAP FOR VILE. HAS ROD WITH A FLATTENED SPHERE ON TOP. INSIDE HAS 7 PRONGS WHICH HOLD THE VIAL IN PLACE WITH TENSION. (HEIGHT: 1.9, LENGTH: 5.6, WIDTH 1.9)

Subjects

CONTAINER

Historical Association

BUSINESS

INDUSTRY

History

DONOR GÜNTER HORN CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE DONATED OBJECTS WHEN THE LETHBRIDGE BREWERY SHUT DOWN IN 1990. AT THE TIME OF DONATION HORN SAID, “I WAS ONE OF TWO PEOPLE SELECTED BY MOLSON’S TO GET RID OF THE ASSETS, TO DEAL WITH CONTRACTORS AND COMMITTEES, YOU KNOW, DISPOSE OF THE ITEMS. THERE WAS A THIRD PERSON AND HE WAS LOCATED IN SASKATOON, ALSO WORKING FOR MOLSON’S. THAT WAS BASICALLY THE ROLE. I WAS, PRIOR TO THAT, I WAS A BREW MASTER, THE BREWING MANAGER. I WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE PLANT LAYOUT AND EQUIPMENT THAT WAS AVAILABLE; SOME THAT WAS SENT TO OTHER MOLSON’S PLANTS LIKE CALGARY, EDMONTON, BARRIE, REGINA TO GET ENOUGH ITEMS. AND WHAT WAS NOT REQUIRED OR REQUESTED BY MOLSON’S BREWERIES, LIKE OTHER PLANTS, IT WAS MADE AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO PROSPECTIVE BUYERS FOR TANKS AND SOME OF THE MACHINERY. THAT IS BASICALLY IT - THE TEAM OF CONTRACTORS WITH POTENTIAL BUYERS GO TO THE PLANT, SEE WHAT EQUIPMENT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN, OR ALSO WHAT WAS AVAILABLE, AND WE HAD, IN CONJUNCTION WITH A THIRD PERSON IN SASKATOON, PRICES THAT WERE SET FOR DIFFERENT ITEMS AND WE HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT WAS TAKEN OUT AND ALSO THAT THEY ARE PAYING THE SAME QUANTITY FOR THE PRICE THAT WAS SET BY MOLSON’S. WE DIDN’T SET ANY - IT WAS NOT MY FUNCTION TO SET PRICES. THAT WAS MOST LIKELY IN GENERAL WITH THE MEN FROM OTHER PLANTS CLOSURES.” DONOR RECEIVED THE TUBE IN THE MAIL FROM MUNICH. AT THE TIME OF DONATION, HORN SAID, “IN 1984 OR ’85 WE STARTED TO MAKE LÖWENBRÄU UNDER THE LICENSING FROM MUNICH, GERMANY. INITIALLY TO START A BATCH OF LÖWENBRÄU, WE RECEIVED YEAST FROM THEM THAT ALLOWED YOU TO START A BATCH. BUT THEN WE ALSO HAD PURE CULTURE SYSTEM. WE PROVIDED YEAST TO VANCOUVER, EDMONTON, REGINA, AND SOMETIMES TORONTO. WE SENT THEM PURE CULTURES BECAUSE WE HAD A SYSTEM. ALSO LÖWENBRÄU, WE RECEIVED SAMPLES IN THE MAIL FROM LÖWENBRÄU , FROM THE LÖWENBRÄU PEOPLE IN MUNICH AND THIS TUBE CONTAINED A SMALL AMOUNT OF YEAST SAMPLES – LÖWENBRÄU, ORIGINAL LÖWENBRÄU YEAST SAMPLES. AND FROM THIS WE PROPAGATED YEAST FOR THE LÖWENBRÄU BRAND. BECAUSE THEY SPECIFIED EVERY SO OFTEN, YEAST BECOMES SLUGGISH AFTER A WHILE AND YOU MAY HAVE 10 OR 12 BATCHES AND THEN YOU HAVE TO RENEW IT AND THAT IS WHERE THIS COMES IN. YOU START WITH A SMALL AMOUNT, AND MAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE AND A LITTLE BIT MORE AND YOU HAVE A PURE CULTURE ESSENCE, AND THEN YOU HAVE A ... AND THEN YOU HAVE THE PROCESS. BUT THIS WAS – THERE ARE NO TRACES OF YEAST LEFT BECAUSE BY NOW IT WOULD BE DRIED OUT. IN ALBERTA, IT WAS JUST LETHBRIDGE. IT WAS MADE IN BARRIE AND ALSO IN MONTREAL. BUT THE BRAND ITSELF, IT WAS MORE OF A MALT BREW THAN A BREW THAT IS MADE IN THE CANADIAN WAY. YOU HAVE MALT AND YOU HAVE A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF ADJUNCTS? LIKE RICE AND CORN. THIS WAS MALT, AND IT WAS A GOOD PRODUCT, BUT PEOPLE DIDN’T GO FOR IT BECAUSE IT WAS TOO HEAVY.” LÖWENBRÄU WASN’T VERY POPULAR HOWEVER, AND WAS A SHORT LIVED EXPERIMENT IN CANADIAN TASTE. HORN SAID, “IT ONLY LASTED ABOUT THREE OR FOUR YEARS. IT WASN’T SUCCESSFUL, AND THEN TO SUPPLY THE CANADIAN MARKET, IT WAS DECIDED TO HAVE BARRIE OR SOMEBODY ELSE PRODUCED IT FOR CANADA. IT WAS CERTAINLY NOT A ‘HOTCAKE’.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20100013001

Acquisition Date

2010-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail