The famous Brain Brewery was founded in 1832. The owner was Englishman John Brain. He sailed to America in 1923 and then moved from Pennsylvania to Canada. He settled on Lot Two, Concession 9, near Hornby. There he had a farm and a small shingle factory.
The first building was wooden with a capacity of 300 bushels of grain. In 1834, as demand for his beer grew rapidly, Brain built a new brick brewery. The brewery’s capacity was over 10,000 bushels of grain and annual production was approximately 5,000 barrels of beer.
Originally, Brain’s beer was produced with 80% alcohol content, but later with 30% alcohol. The beer was cooled with ice blocks in the cellar and lasted for whole weeks.
The business flourished because it was close to Trafalgar Road, which led to the port of Oakville for selling grain. From Ballinafad to Oakville it was 23 miles, and there were over 21 hotels along the way. Customers were never in short supply.
Beer was usually delivered in whole barrels and transported by horse-drawn wagons directly to hotels/taverns, where it was tapped. (Acton, Georgetown, Milton, Norval, Glen Williams, Oakville, etc.) These wagons had special racks to prevent the barrels from falling over or rolling. The barrels were often packed in straw for protection during longer transports.
Bottling for home sale was not common until the end of the 19th century.
In 1916, prohibition was declared in the province. The brewery closed, and new production did not resume even after 1927, when prohibition ended.
The brewery remained the family property of the Brains even after the closure of beer production. The property was transferred to the farm (“Old Brain Manor Farm” or similar), where the ice house from the brewery reportedly still stands and serves as a stable.
Brain Brewery was not the only brewery in the area.
Another one, Brinkershoff in Georgetown, was on Main Street but operated only for a short time.
Source info: Halton County Atlas from 1877.