Illustrated History of the Silver Springs Brewing Co. of Port Orchard & Tacoma

History of the Silver Springs Brewing Co.
Port Orchard (1934-1950)
and Tacoma (1950-1967)

On May 4, 1933, a month after the repeal of Prohibition a group of local businessmen from Bremerton and Port Orchard formed a corporation to erect a brewery. The Kitsap Brewing Corp., was lead by Harry C. Maston, pres.; Charles Hackett, v-pres.; Lyman E. Woolfolk, sec.; and Harry B. Howe, treasurer. It was capitalized at $25,000, and contracted for the construction of a six story, wooden frame building that would house the newest brewing equipment available. The site was on East Bayside Rd., Port Orchard., and was chosen for the artesian well found there. The company chose well known architect, Carl Siebrand, to design the plant.

Construction began on January 4, 1934, and by May 25 the brewing operations began. The plant operated on only one shift and could produce 50 barrels per day.

On August 4, seven months after breaking ground, "Kitsap Beer" was available on draft. Apparently it didn't meet expectations and was not well received. Their brewmaster, Ernest Richter, attempted to improve the product but the company struggled. In January of 1935, the Kitsap Brewing Corp. acknowledged their start-up problems and looked ahead with great expectations. They planned to install a bottling line in order to move into the home market, since their beer was only available on draft in retail establishments.

In spite of their optimism the company continued to struggle and when the Silver Springs Brewing Co. of Seattle made them an offer the stockholders agreed to sell. A group of venture capitalists established the Silver Springs corporation specifically to buy or build a brewery, and they found what they were looking for with the troubled Kitsap Brewery.

Upon completion of the sale, the brewery assumed the name of the parent company, whose head office remained in the Dexter Horton Bldg., Seattle.

Silver Springs Beer label, c.1936 - image
Silver Springs Beer label, c.1936

The brewery's flagship brand was now "DeLuxe Beer" and with the infusion of capital a bottle line was installed, which gave them the ability to enter markets further a field. About this time they also introduced the "Oldstyle" and "Silver Springs" brands to their line-up.

However, they soon dropped the "Silver Springs" brand since the Star Brewery Co. of Vancouver, WA had been producing the same brand since 1935. Coast Breweries of Vancouver, B.C. were majority owners of the Star Brewery, and the Silver Spring Brewery of Victoria, B.C. was one of their Canadian breweries. They had a long history of using "Silver Springs Beer" and had no doubt objected to the use of the same brand by this Port orchard brewer.

Oldstyle Lager Beer label - image Oldstyle Beer label, c.1937

DeLuxe Beer label - image DeLuxe Beer label, c. 1937

In May of 1937, the company moved their head office from Seattle to the plant, but maintained a sales agency in the McDowell Bldg., at 1331 3rd Ave., Seattle. By now the company was shipping its products to distributors in Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Yakima, Bellingham, Wenatchee, Kelso and Longview.

John A. Holmberg was now president of the company, with Harry B. Howe, vice-pres., and his brother, Edwin S. Howe, treasurer. Tyre H. Hollander remained the company's sec. and attorney. Albin Otto replaced Ernest Richter as the plant's brewmaster. Prior to Prohibition, Otto had been brewmaster for the Claussen Brewing Co. in Seattle. In Nov. of '40, Otto suddenly died and was replaced by Konrad Lux, who came to them from the Horluck Brewery in Seattle. Prior to that Lux had been brewmaster for the Pilsener Brewing Co. in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Oldstyle Beer from the Salem Bry Assn. - image By 1939 canned beer had been on the scene for a few years and had gained general acceptance. Unfortunately, adding a canning line was a major expense. So, instead of taking on this financial burden, Holmberg made arrangements with the Salem Brewery Assn. to produce, can and distribute Oldstyle Pale Export. However, two years later war time restrictions were imposed and brewers were unable to obtain steel cans unless they were contracted to provide canned beer for military consumption. Consequently, in early '42, Salem shut down the canning line and was limited to bottles only.

By 1942, John H. Hoeschen had replaced Lux as brewmaster.

In 1943, controlling interest in the brewery was purchased by Williams Brothers, Inc., controlled by George and Elmer Williams of Tacoma. They installed William D. Bryan as the company's new president, and with that, additional brands were introduced.

The Williams Brothers had previously purchased the Mutual Brewing Co. in Ellensburg. In so doing they acquired both the "Gold Seal" and "Hartz" brands. These were now added to Silver Spring's product line - with "Gold Seal" being canned at the Port Orchard plant. It was packaged in cone-top cans, which allowed them to utilize their bottling line instead of incurring the cost of adding a canning equipment.

That they chose to use any canning scheme at all is surprising, considering George Williams' attitude towards canned beer. He was quoted as saying: "Cans are for garbage - bottles are for beer."

The Williams Brothers' had also purchased the Pioneer Brewing Co. of Aberdeen in June of 1944. "Pioneer Beer" was now being produced by Silver Springs, as well as by their newly formed Pioneer Brewery in Walla Walla. The Pioneer label (below) has Walla Walla blocked out and Port Orchard added.

Hartz Beer label, Silver Springs Bry. - image
Hartz Beer label, c.1943

Pioneer Beer label, Port Orchard, WA - image
Pioneer Beer Label, c.1945

But Bryan's management of Silver Springs was terminated in 1946 when younger brother of the principals, Gene Williams, assumed the position of president. The Brothers had planned to shift production to the United Union Brewery in Tacoma and shut down the Port Orchard plant, but the plant continued operating for four more years.

Pioneer Beer ball tap knob
Pioneer Beer, ball tap knob, c.1945

Tacoma

In August of 1950, the Williams Brothers chose to make the move. The Silver Springs Brewery was moved to their plant at 105 E. 26th St., Tacoma - prior home to the Northwest Brewing Co. and its successor, the United Union Breweries. The Port Orchard plant was then closed.

The company's president was still Gene Williams, and Lyle L. Lane was now secretary. By 1954, Lane was manager of the plant and Allen Lehman was their Master Brewer.

The company still produced "Oldstyle," "Hartz," and "Pioneer," but added a number of other brands, including "Western Style" (left), and "Dunkel Brau."

When the Bohemian Breweries of Spokane was closing, the company purchased a number of its brands, including "Durst" (below) and "Köl."
Durst Beer label, Tacoma - image

The Tacoma Silver Springs Brewing Co. continued until 1967, with the second generation of Williams - George E., in the management position, assisted by his brother, Howard, Jr.

The empty brewery was demolished in 1986 to make way for the I-705 interchange.

Tacoma

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