The primary benefit of spruce beer or 'epinette' was to prevent scurvy; it was used for that purpose by Jacques Cartier and his explorers when they arrived in Stadacona in what is now Quebec in 1535. Within a few decades of settlement, it had evolved into a formal style of beer, more commonly consumed by Canadians than any ale or lager, or indeed any kind of wine or spirit in Canada. It was still commonplace until the 1960s in Quebec but is now largely restricted to a select few microbreweries and restaurants, such as Garrison Brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties exist, although the latter is now the most common by far.