The Shaftebury Brewing Company is a craft brewery started in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1986.

Sales were originally limited to draft in the Vancouver area, where they became popular among fans of British-style ales.

[citation needed] When Wittig and Beaton started Shaftebury they hired John Mitchell as the brewer.

They were drawn to one of Mitchell's beers, an English mild called Mount Tolmie dark.

Wittig explained that the original Shaftebury Cream Ale was dark brown: "At the time when we made it, it had a completely different flavour.