
History of the Olympia Brewing Company |
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Eight weeks after purchasing the Tumwater property he sent a letter (at right) to the Whal-Henius Institute alerting them that he had sent them two demijohns of water for analysis.
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Capital brewing Co. letterhead, c.1900
The buildings of the Capital Brewery, constructed in 1896, behind the original residence and tannery, were built by Leopold F. Schmidt's brother, Louis. The new buildings included a four-story wooden brewhouse, a five-story cellar building, a one-story ice factory powered by the lower falls, and a bottling and keg plant. |
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| Leopold F. Schmidt was a pioneer of the multiple brewery concept, and with the Tumwater plant well established, he began construction on the Bellingham Bay Brewery, in 1901. He then established the Salem Brewery Association with the acquisition of the Capital Brewery of Salem, Ore., in 1902; founded the Acme Brewing Company of San Francisco in 1906; and purchased the Port Townsend Brewing Company of Port Townsend, Wash., in 1909. | ![]() |

Leopold Schmidt's business card, c.1898
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![]() In 1906 the original wooden frame brewery was replaced by a six-story, Italianate structure made of Chehalis brick. |
OLYMPIA BREWERIANA - Pre-Prohibition
![]() beer stein, c.1913 issued in San Francisco | ![]() lidded beer stein, c.1907 | |
![]() the "Blue" Olympia beer tray For Sale - TRAYS | ![]() Olympia "tip" tray, Seattle branch | ![]() the "Green" Olympia beer tray |
![]() Olympia Beer, glass lens | ![]() Olympia "Cavalier" beer tray, c.1914 For Sale - TRAYS | ![]() 18" Olympia Beer "charger" |

1934 letterhead
With Repeal of Prohibition in April of 1933, Peter Schmidt had only the Tumwater property and no brewery. He was faced with prospect of reacquiring the Old Brewhouse and undertaking a costly restoration and remodel. He decided instead to build a new, modern plant up on the hill above the original site. With Repeal also came new legislation that forbad brewers from owning "tied houses" or any business that sold beer. Consequently they had to divest themselves of the hotels and concentrate on a single brewery in Tumwater. The plant was completed, and in on 14 January, 1934 "Olympia Beer" was back.
Sales were strong, and the brand was soon available in all of the western states, and by 1940, Olympia had surpassed its pre-prohibition production. The company stayed soley with draft and bottled beer until 1950. In August of that year they introduced their first canned beer (shown below). The can's graphics remained unchanged until the '60s when the zip-tab was introduced - and can openers became a thing of the past. After WWII the old brewhouse was being used by Western Metal Craft for cabinet manufacturing but were gone in the early '50s and it remained vacant. In 1964 the family repurchased the the old brewhouse and the other buildings on the water, and used them for storage.
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Olympia Brewery c.1989
In the '70s the brewery issued a series of re-prints of earlier lithographs (below). The most popular were the Capital Brewery, and 1907, 1909 and 1910 girls. These reproductions were also decoupaged to old wooden slats to give them a more antique look. The two most popular images (Capital, and 1909) were also used on beer trays and other items that were sold in the brewery's gift shop. |
Today

Brew House today - K. Williams Collection
Today, the Old Brewhouse remains Tumwater’s best known landmark as part of Tumwater’s New Market Historic District, and is listed on the National and Washington Registers of Historic Places. While the structure is presently vacant and in deteriorating condition (see above), new owners had made plans for its restoration. Owner SABMiller closed the entire plant on July 1, 2003. The property was purchased by a bottled water company who had intended to market Tumwater's famous artesian water, but instead ended up in bankruptcy. "The family-owned Benaroya Co. of Seattle has agreed to buy the former Miller brewery for $45 million, a deal with huge ramifications for the old brewery and the community if the deal wins bankruptcy approval. Unfortunately, Three weeks after the encouraging news above, the Benaroya Co. pulled out of the deal to buy the old brewery complex. They learned the complex was too decrepit and part of the property is on a flood plain. This is the latest blow to efforts to redevelop what was once a landmark in this town just south of the capital city. The future now looks bleak for the old brewery. There is a Historic Preservation Program that hopes to save the old brew house. Check-out their web-site for additional information. |
Pre-Prohibition etched beer glass, c.1902. Go to: Glasses | |
Three different post Prohibition Olympia beer glasses. Go to: Glasses | |
Olympia Beer stein, a re-issue of the 1907 original. Go to: STEINS | |
Two Pre-Prohibition Beer trays. Go to: TRAYS | |
A miniature mug, and three different Olympia embroidered patches for jackets or hats. Go to: MISC. |
Olympia Brewing Co. Research ongoing ......
More to come.
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AcknowledgementsThanks to Bryan Anderson for supplying the images of the three early labels and the early Capital Brewing tray. And to photographer Kaisa Williams for her image of the Old Brew House. Thanks to Bill Mugrage for his images of Leopold's business card, the German Brew label, glass lens, and 18" charger. To Dave Unwin for the photo of the tannery and first residence.
For any comments, additions, or corrections - or if you have brewery items for sale - |
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