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At the XVIIe century, the beer will hold out faced with the competition of a stream of new drinks such as cognac, chocolate, and coffee and so on… At the same time, the expansion of the towns and the improvement of the means of transport favour the expansion of the big breweries.
At making level, we have to wait the middle of the XIXth century to attend a radical technological evolution thanks to the development of glassmaking, filtration devices, extracting under pressure, bottling and refrigeration. At the same time scientific research on micro-organisms will make it possible to understand better and control the process of alcohol fermentation, to better the sanitary conditions of the breweries and to produce a healthier and clearer drink.
For this purpose, the contribution of Louis Pasteur was very important.
If the story of beer keeps on evolving, the product is still made with the natural fermentation such as in the past. Since the ancient Egypt, the making processes of beer are perpetuated, including the successive steps of malting, brewing, fermentation and preserving.
Changes are more striking on the level of the containers which evolved greatly with time. Bottles, small bottles of tin plate and of glass replaced the old pots and containers of crockery, wood, tin or of leather.
As far as North America is concerned, traces of the beer industry are mentioned by the colonists of Virginia in 1587. In Canada, the breweries are part of the economic setting since the beginning of industry in this country.
However, the presence of beer is previous to the XIXth century. Our ancestors consumed beer as it is attested by an excerpt of the Relations of the Jesuits from 1636 that speaks about a pint of beer in the ration that was given to the farm labourers. The first brewery with "for the use and usefulness of people" would have been established by the Jesuit Fathers. According to the documents, the first graduate innkeeper in Canada, Jacques Boisond, stocked up at this place. In 1668, the intendant Jean Talon decides to build a brewery in Quebec. By its opening in 1671, the industry reaches a capacity of 4 000 barrels. Until the Conquest, breweries grow in number, but after this event, they will progressively decline.
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