There’s a lot more than beer brewing at Molson Brewery these days.

Canada's second oldest company after Hudson's Bay is pondering the future of its facility on Notre-Dame St. E near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, where it's been sitting for more than two centuries.

The company says it plans major reinvestments, which could include a move to a new facility.

John Molson brewed his first beer on Notre-Dame St. in 1786, and since then, the company has evolved into a multinational, not to mention a cultural icon for Canadians. 

Changes are in the works, however. 

The huge complex is showing its age, and the company is considering a massive reinvestment.

“We want to invest in our capacity, in our facility here in Montreal and we're looking for different options, so as to be fully transparent, we met our employees about our options, about our investments here in Montreal,” said Francois Lefebvre, Molson-Coors vice-president corporate affairs.
 

The Journal de Montreal reported Tuesday morning that Molson could go as far as moving its brewing facility to a new, modern location, but Molson says it's too soon to speculate.

“The good news is we want to invest in Quebec and want to invest in Montreal,” he assured.

The company won't reveal anything about what its options are, or whether it would consider expanding or moving.

The brewery is so old that experts say its heritage has significance for Montreal, and is worth preserving.

The Molson complex ranks high up in the city's sites that should be preserved, explained Dinu Bumbaru, policy director at Heritage Montreal.

“It's one of the few places where you have the continuity of the original owner over three centuries,” said Bumbaru.

His biggest fear would be to see the Molson complex fall in the hands of developers, should the brewery move elsewhere.

“The city has to engage in that. One good step would be to work with Molson right now on developing a heritage assessment of the property, not just a tax future,” he added.

No matter what the final decision is, Molson insists that at least part of its facilities will remain at its current location on Notre-Dame St. E.

“The Notre-Dame St. facility, we'll keep something for Montreal,” said Lefebvre.

Molson said it won't have a definitive answer about its future for months to come.