A Smile in Every Bottle—Sicks’ Lethbridge Breweries Ltd.
March 21, 2026 - Sept 6, 2026 - Special Exhibits Main Gallery
Guest Curator: Stephanie Laine Hamilton
Pull up a seat and pour yourself a pint of history!
The Galt Museum & Archives | Akaisamitohkanao’pa is excited to showcase its newest temporary exhibition A Smile in Every Bottle: Sicks’ Breweries Ltd, on display until September 6, 2026. Sure to delight both local residents and summer tourists, the exhibition focuses on the former Lethbridge brewery and how the Sick family built its brewing empire across western Canada and into the United States.
Known across Canada, Sicks’ iconic Old Style Pilsner was first brewed in Lethbridge in 1926 and is still going strong today. A Smile in Every Bottle explores how this beer became a cultural touchstone and how the Sick family built their brewing empire on a handful of classic brands.
In the first half of the 1900s, Fritz Sick went from small-town brewer to big-time businessman. Sicks’ Breweries Ltd. grew from their base in Lethbridge to dominate the brewery industry in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States.
Pilsner Bunny
Pilsner’s now-iconic white bunny does not appear until after the sale to Molson in 1958.
The focus of A Smile in Every Bottle extends beyond beer to also explore how the brewery impacted the community while fostering massive business growth through the 20th century and beyond. Beginning in 1901 with their first beer, Alberta’s Pride, Sicks’ grew quickly. Their flagship beer Old Style Pilsner hit the market in 1926, with the exhibition timed to celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2026. One of Sicks’ legacy beers, you can still get Old Style Pilsner at many pubs today.
The Brewery Workers Union was one of the first labor organizations formed in Lethbridge. Sicks’ workers were represented under series of union locals over the years beginning in 1905. Brewery workers were among the first unionized workers in North America, after industrial unions and craft unions.
Guest Curator, Stephanie Laine Hamilton’s research on Sicks’ Breweries grew out of discoveries made about early Alberta breweries and hotel ownership through the first half of the 20th century while writing the popular history book, Booze and Bars: A Brief History of Pub Culture in the Crowsnest Pass (2016). Ongoing research over the last decade has revealed gaps in existing academic treatments of western Canadian brewing, which prompted Hamilton to pursue her current PhD work on Sicks’ Breweries Ltd. at the University of Lethbridge.
As resident expert, and in partnership with the Galt, Stephanie Laine Hamilton will be offering guided exhibit tours over the course of the exhibit’s lifetime. Check out the Galt’s Calendar for available dates and timing.
Tour provided by Smile in Every Bottle guest curator, Stephanie Hamilton, University of Lethbridge Doctoral Student