Carling Brewery

Founded in 1818, this Canadian beer company gradually expanded its market throughout Canada and into the United Kingdom, where it found significant success. Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the Carling company also looked to expand its market into the United States, with its first American brewery opening in Cleveland in 1934.

Their Red Cap Ale and Black Label brands were moderately popular and were produced in the U.S. In 1954, the company sought to expand its brewing operations into New England. Twenty-one communities around the Boston area were surveyed before Carling eventually settled on expanding their operations here in Natick. Construction on a plant soon began, and they opened their new brewery, then the biggest in the state, in 1956.

The town greeted the Carling Brewery enthusiastically when it opened and hailed it as “America’s most modern brewery.” The plant employed 250 people and could produce 1.2 million barrels of Red Cap Ale and Black Label Beer. Carling’s famous advertising slogan was “Hey Mabel, Black Label.” Looking closely at the bottle cap, you can see the words “Union Made.” To further integrate itself into the Natick community, the company offered free brewery tours during the summer months.

The Carling Company closed the plant in 1975, but there is still a way to tour the Carling Brewery in Natick thanks to a promotional video put out in 1956 that was uploaded to YouTube. You can tour the Carling Brewing Company by watching the film here.