Carling

The history of Carling dates back to 1818, when Thomas Carling, a farmer from the English county of Yorkshire, and his family settled in eastern Canada, at what is now the city of London, Ontario. He brewed an ale which became popular, and eventually took up brewing full-time. The first Carling brewery had two kettles, a horse to turn the grinding mill and six men to work on the mash tubs,and Carling sold his beer on the streets of London, Ontario from a wheelbarrow.

In 1840 Carling began a small brewing operation in London, selling beer to soldiers at the local camp. In 1878 his sons, John and William, built a six-storey brewery in London, which was destroyed by fire a year after opening. Thomas Carling, shortly after helping to fight the fire, died of pneumonia.

William and John took over the company, naming it the W & J Carling Brewing Co. John Carling died in 1911 and the company changed hands numerous times since. It was acquired byCanadian Breweries Limited, which was eventually renamed Carling O'Keefe, which merged with Molson, which then merged with Coors to form Molson Coors Brewing Company.

In the 1950s Carling was first sold in the UK; it became the UK's most popular beer brand (by volume sold) in the early 1980s. Today,Carling is still one of the highest selling beers on the UK market.