History of the Pioneer Brewing Company of Walla Walla

As the date on the letterhead indicates, this brewery has had a long and illustrious history and was one of the oldest breweries in Washington.

The discussion of the brewery will follow a time-line starting with Emil Meyer's City Brewery (1860-1870). But the brewery's beginning is really the tale of two brewers - Emil Meyer and Joseph Hellmuth. In fact the brewery's first owner may have been Hellmuth rather than Meyer.

The story continues with John H. Stahl's City Brewery (1870-1905), followed by his widow's continued operations as the Stahl Brewing & Malting Co. (1905-1910).

The 1910 merger with Jacob Betz Brg. & Malting resulted in the company doing business as the Walla Walla Brewing Co. (1910-1925). Then in the midst of Prohibition, Peter Marinoff purchased the brewery and operated as the Washington Brewing Co. (1925-1933).

Upon Repeal the plant became the Northwest Brewing Co. (1933-1936), still under the management of Marinoff. In 1936 the business went into bankruptcy due to a labor dispute, and the following year the Brewery Workers Union bailed it out and named it the United Union Breweries Co. (1937-1944).

Finally, in 1943, the Williams brothers of Tacoma purchased the plant, and continued operating it as the United Union until 1944. In that year they purchased, and closed, the failing Pioneer Brewing Co. of Aberdeen. They then transferred the name to the Walla Walla plant, dropping United Union Breweries in favor of the Pioneer Brewing Co. (1944-1951) - a.k.a. the Pioneer Brewing Co. of Walla Walla.

Emil Meyer's City Brewery
(1860-1870)

The most difficult part of the story is identifying the beginning of the City Brewery. Few records exist for 1855 and a newspaper wasn't started until 1861. So the exact details of the Brewery's establishment are in question.

One Hundred Years of Brewing, published in 1903, stated:

"This is one of the oldest breweries on the Pacific coast, having been founded by Emil Meier in 1855. In 1870 it was purchased by John H. Stahl and others; subsequently Mr. Stahl became sole proprietor. The brewery was operated for many years in his name, and since his death the business has been continued by his widow. The product of the plant was confined to steam beer until 1888 when the manufacture of lager beer was commenced."

Not much is known of Emil Meyer, but some details have been provided by his great-grand-daughter, and these dispute the accepted history.

He was born in Braubach, Hesse-Nassau, Germany on the January 1, 1833. He arrived in Walla Walla after serving with the Army, escorting immigrant wagon trains west. Due to the Indian uprisings in the new Oregon & Washington Territories it was necessary for troops to provide protection to the travelers. The Northwest Indian Wars covered the period of 1855-58. During this period, beginning with the Yakima Wars in 1855 and ending with the Palouse Wars in the Autumn of 1858, settlers were banned from the region.

Emil Meyer didn't arrive in Walla Walla until 1859, which contradicts the published account that the brewery was "founded by Emil Meier in 1855." In fact there was no town of Walla Walla until around 1858.

Records indicate that Joseph Hellmuth was in Walla Walla, at least, as early as 1858. In July of 1860 the census listed a Joseph Helmeth, engaged in the grocery business, and the adjacent enumeration has Emmel Myer, age 29, a brewer from Hesse, Germany. Both Hellmuth and Meyer placed ads in the fledgling Walla Walla Statesman on December 20, 1861, each offering the sale of their beer. They may have been competitors, or working as divisions of the same business.

A newspaper account giving the history of the brewery provides some further insights. From the Walla Walla Union Bulletin of February 24, 1946:

"The business is believed to be the oldest brewery in the Northwest having been founded by John Hellmuth in 1855. The Hellmuth brewery was sold to Emil Meier in 1862 and a deed dated 1864 lists as assets: hops, kettles and a brewery wagon, among other things."

Another source reveals that in 1862, Meyer erected a larger building for his brewery in a new location just south of the city limits. And from the above account it appears that the note to Hellmuth was paid off and the deed filed in 1864. And in May of 1864 Hellmuth sells a brewery to Picard & Businger, but by December of that year he has it back - apparently they didn't make good on the contract. 1864 must have been a busy year for Hellmuth. That year he established another brewery in Placerville, Idaho Territory. The Pacific Coast Directory for 1867 lists "Joseph Helmuth, brewery; liquor & billiards merchant". His establishment was a brewery/saloon called the "Boise Brewery."

Placerville was the staging point for the Boise Basin Gold Rush, and as a result the town's population had grown to more than 3,000 by 1863. So, there was a crying need for the brewing skills of "Lager Beer Joe ," as he was affectionately known. From 1864 to 1867, Hellmuth managed to oversee the operation of breweries in both Placerville and Walla Walla, which were over 188 miles apart; and a tri-weekly stage made the commute possible. After the "boom" was over in '67 he shut the Boise Brewery, and continued operating his sole remaining plant in Walla Walla. Records indicate that Joseph Hellmuth was still in the brewery business in 1869.

The afore mentioned Pacific Coast Directory also had a listing in Walla Walla for "Meyer & Businger, brewers." It would appear that after the 1864 deal with Hellmuth fell through, Businger partnered with Emil Meyer. In 1867, Meyer sold his City Brewery, but no records have been located that identifies the buyer. So it's probable that Businger purchased Meyer's share of the business.

Emil Meyer may have sold out due to declining health. He died only months after the sale, on February 19, 1868 - at the early age of 35. He left a 24 year old widow and three young children. On August 7, 1862 he had married 18 year old, newly arrived Prussian immigrant, Mary Anna Becker. Their three children were, Louisa, b. June 1, 1863; William Henry, b. March 16, 1865; and Josephine, b. April 21, 1867.

Joseph Hellmuth outlived Meyer by a mere eight years. On the first leg of a European tour, Joseph and his wife Odelia were traveling on the ill fated steamship Pacific which broke up and sank off Cape Flattery on November 11, 1875. Two Hundred lives were lost.

John Henry Stahl was born November 14, 1825 in Holstein, Prussia (Germany). He arrived in San Francisco in 1858. By 1860 he and a German immigrant from Hamburg, Ernest Scholl, have established a grocery business in the gold rush township of Kelsey, El Dorado County, CA. In 1862, he and his bride of two years departed for the Oregon territory.

In 1863, the partnership of Stahl & Solaro opened the Canyon City Brewery on Washington St. in Canyon City, Oregon. Stahl soon became sole proprietor and operated his brewery until 28 July 1870. On that date he sold out to F. C. Sels.
Two weeks later the brewery was demolished by fire.

Stahl and family relocated 170 miles north to Walla Walla, accompanied Ernest Scholl, who had worked with Stahl at Canyon City - and previously in California. Ernest continued working for Stahl in Walla Walla until 1878. Then with his brother Emil, established the Scholl Bros. Brewery in Pomeroy, W. T. They sold the brewery in 1884 and Ernst returned to Walla Walla.

The following was written 5 years after John H. Stahl's death (January 13, 1884) and is more about his widow than him.

History of Pacific Northwest - Oregon and Washington
Volume II, pg. 577: 1889

"This lady is a native of Niederklein, Prussia, and came to San Francisco in 1858. In 1860 she was married to John Stahl, and in 1862 came to Cañon City, Oregon. There Mr. Stahl engaged in the brewery business in 1863; but, upon the burning of the city and the loss of their property, they removed to Walla Walla, Washington Territory. Indeed, Cañon City saw rough times in those days, having once burned and twice washed away, and often invaded by the Indians. Still pursuing the same business in Walla Walla, they again met with a loss by fire in the destruction of their dwelling-house in 1871. During his residence there, Mr. Stahl served as city councilman, and in 1880 enlarged his business by building a new brewery, and purchasing six acres of ground for the site of his business and residence. He also owned a block for which he paid eight thousand dollars, and erected upon it a building at the expense of six thousand dollars.

In 1883 Mr. Stahl died after a long illness. Mrs. Stahl found that his business was under heavy incumberances, but, developing large capacity of her own, immediately began an active supervision of the work. She soon extricated them from debt, and within three years was receiving a handsome income. In addition to her city property, she owns a farm stocked with forty head of cattle and twenty-five horses. Mrs. Stahl is another illustration of the Western woman's capacity for independent business. Notwithstanding the loss of her husband and her eldest son, she has lived through her troubles and conducted a large business successfully."

From the time the plant was established until 1888 steam beer was brewed exclusively, but after that lager beer was made. The brewery was located at 2nd & Birch Streets.

On October 13, 1904 the plant was incorporated as the Stahl Brewing and Malting Company. The new corporation was capitalized at $100,000. W. Stockder was their brewmaster. In April 1910 the Stahl firm was consolidated with the Jacob Betz Brewing Co. and their plant on South Third was closed, while a new, larger Brewery was being constructed at 350 So. 2nd St.

Stahl's "Special Brew" was their flag-ship brand of lager beer (label below).

The new home of the Walla Walla Brewing Co. was completed in 1911. With the reorganization the previous year, the Stahl brand was dropped in favor of Kloster Brau Beer, which can be seen in the stained glass window that was installed in the brewery's hospitality room. A close-up of an old Kloster Brau label (right) shows it was an "Andechser" style beer. This was a tribute to the Bavarian Kloster (monastery) Brewery of Andechs, Germany - established in 1455.

Unfortunately in January 1, 1916, Prohibition came to Washington four years earlier than national Prohibition. During the 9 years from 1916 to 1925 the plant attempted to remain operating through the production of near-beer. "Ex-Cel" and "Bock Excel" were two of the non-alcoholic brews produced. They brewer and bottled under the name Crystal Beverage Company.

ExCel near beer label, c.1920 - image
near-beer label, c.1920

Bock Excel beer label, c.1920 - image
Bock near-beer label, c.1920

In 1925 the plant was sold to Peter Marinoff and Olympic Club beer was then brewed here. He also made a "True Brew" brand of near-beer which depicted the Brewery on the label (right). These near-beers were bottled under the name Empire Products Company. Marinoff closed the plant in July of 1928, but in September of 1932, he commenced remodeling in anticipation of the repeal of national Prohibition.

At that time the capacity of the plant was 50,000 barrels of beer a year but new steel vats were installed and several new cellars constructed which increased the capacity to 100,000 barrels annually.

Anticipating the end of Prohibition, Peter Marinoff established the Northwest Brewing Company, Inc. on 10 February, 1931. His new corporation raised money to refurbish the old Washington Brewing Co. and to remodel an old meat packing facility in Tacoma for for the purposes of brewing. The plants were simply named, the Northwest Brewing Co. - Tacoma, and the Northwest Brewing Co. - Walla Walla.
Marinoff also built a brewery on Portland's Gambrinus Ave., but the plant never made it to production.

With Repeal in April '33 he was up and running in both plants. He produced his flagship brand, Marinoff Beer, and Gambrinus Beer in both plants (labels below), plus Cascade Beer, and Northwest Lager - and his Olympic Club Beer was re-introduced to the Walla Walla market.

However, a labor dispute with the Teamster's Union resulted in boycotts of his beer, and violence against his workers and clients. Trucks were hijacked and saloon windows broken. He hired armed guards to patrol the plants and ride shot-gun on his trucks.

On January 18, 1935 the Northwest Brewing Co. of Walla Walla, Inc. was established. The following month the registered office for the Northwest Brewing Co. (Tacoma) was transferred to the Walla Walla plant were there was less violence. But the Union problems persisted, culminating in a shooting death of a Teamster in Tacoma.

Peter Marinoff was convicted of "conspiracy to murder," but the conviction was subsequently overturned. However, the Teamsters were furious at this perceived injustice and vowed to "get" Marinoff. Fearing for his own safety, and that of his family, he fled to California.

By mid-1935 the two plants were shut down and forced into bankruptcy. In early July, the Brewery Workers Union announced that they hoped to purchase the company and reopen the two breweries.

The Brewery Workers Union purchased the Northwest Brewing Co. from the receivers in 1936, and operated the plant as the United Union Breweries. The label for their flagship beer is pictured here (below), and shows not one, but two union "bugs."

In addition to their "Old Empire Beer" they also made an "Old Empire Bock," a "My-Te-Fine Beer" and a "UBC Beer."

Old Empire Beer label, c.1940	Old Empire Beer label, c.1937
MY-TE-FINE Mellowed Beer label, c.1938	U. B. C. ball tap knob, c.1937

In 1943 the plant was purchased by the William D. Bryan, on behalf of Williams Brothers, Inc. of Tacoma. Williams Brothers also owned the Mutual Brewing Co. of Ellensburg and the Silver Springs Brewing Co. of Port Orchard. The same year, the Ellensburg plant was closed and improvements were made in the Walla Walla plant to increase capacity.

Mutual's "Hartz" brand of beer was now made in Walla Walla, as well as Silver Spring's "DeLuxe Beer."

Hartz Beer label from Walla Walla - image
Hartz Beer label, c.1943

In June of 1944, Williams Brothers purchased the assets, equipment and brewing formulas of the Pioneer Brewing Co. of Aberdeen. Operations at that plant were discontinued and the Walla Walla plant carried on the activities of the three units - Ellensburg, Aberdeen, and Walla Walla. At that time the brand name was also changed to "Pioneer" and on March 29, 1945, the name of the firm was changed to Pioneer Brewing Co. The label shown (below) is from the period just prior to the firm's name change.

Pioneer label, c.1944

In 1945, more that $150,000 was been spent in a renovation and modernization program in the plant. A bottle house addition with a new bottling line twice as large as the one which had been used was installed. The old Aberdeen plant was kept so the company would have ample bottling capacity - but was never needed.

While the manpower shortage was easing with end of WWII, grain shortages continued to plague brewers.

On February 6, 1949 an article appeared in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin that announced the resumption of operations at the brewery after a reorganization that made W. D. Bryan sole stockholder. The article continued:

"Bryan, who is president and general manager, said the concern would start brewing this month under the supervision of C. L. Holtz, brewmaster. Holtz has been connected with several large eastern breweries and arrived in Walla Walla several weeks ago.
Bryan said all necessary licenses to resume operation have been obtained, the equipment put in condition and the personnel hired. Capacity of the brewery is 150,000 barrels a year and much new equipment has been installed the past two years.
Bryan also said he had obtained permission to use the name Stahl's Lager beer on his products. This was used on locally manufactured beer many years ago when the Stahl interests owned the brewery."

Stahl Beer label, c.1949

While Bryan had purchased the Pioneer Brewery, he didn't get the Pioneer brand. The Stahl had some local name recognition, but hadn't been in distribution since before Prohibition. He needed some real brand awareness, and he found it with "Brewers' Best." Obtaining a franchise with Brewers' Best Associates, Inc. of NY, meant the brand was advertised nationally, but was produced by scores of small, regional brewers.

Brewer's Best Beer label c.1949 - image

How this may have worked out for Bryan will never be known. In December of '49 the brewery was heavily damaged by fire, and while repair plans were made, the plant never re-opened.

In 1954 the building was sold with the intention to make it into an office building. Those plans also languished and the building was eventually razed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To the Whitman College Archives for the use of early Walla Walla Brewery images.

To Bob Kay for the most of the labels - as seen in his publication, US Beer Labels, Vol. 1 - The Western States. To order this, or other volumes - go to BobKayBeerLabels.com

To the Bryan family for the image of their stained glass window.

To Mike Magnussen for the Olympic Club foam scraper.

To Jeff Henry for the 1941 United Union Breweries letterhead.

And to the Mugrage collection for the Kloster Brau label.

History of the Pioneer Brewing Company of Walla Walla

Emil Meyer's City Brewery
(1860-1870)

Stahl Brewing & Malting Company
(1904-1910)

Walla Walla Brewing Company
(1910-1925)

Washington Brewing Company
(1925-1928)

Northwest Brewing Company
(1932-1936)

Pioneer Brewing Company
(1945-1951)

History of the Pioneer Brewing Company of Walla Walla

Emil Meyer's City Brewery(1860-1870)

Stahl Brewing & Malting Company(1904-1910)

Walla Walla Brewing Company(1910-1925)

Washington Brewing Company(1925-1928)

Northwest Brewing Company(1932-1936)

Pioneer Brewing Company(1945-1951)

Emil Meyer's City Brewery
(1860-1870)

Stahl Brewing & Malting Company
(1904-1910)

Walla Walla Brewing Company
(1910-1925)

Washington Brewing Company
(1925-1928)

Northwest Brewing Company
(1932-1936)

Pioneer Brewing Company
(1945-1951)