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The History of Rainier BeerIn 1978 the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle observed their Centennial - celebrating 100 years of Rainier Beer. This actually recognized the fact that beer had been brewed on that site since approximately 1878. From steam beer to lager, the site saw improvements in brewing and plant construction that eventually became the Bay View Brewing Co. Then in late 1892 plans were made for the Bay View plant to merge with two others to form Seattle Brewing and Malting Company. A brand of beer was then needed to identify the new company's product, and the name of the mountain that dominated the southern view was chosen. On January 10, 1893 "Rainier" was adopted as the brand for the new firm.
Rainier was the creation of one great brewing family -
known as the "House of Hemrich." The brand was then furthered by another brewing
family - the Sicks, who's brewing dynasty was referred to as the "House of Lethbridge." So, the story of Rainier is not that of a brewery, but of the Rainier brand itself, and the story of the two families that made it all happen. Part 1 of the Rainier story will begin with the "House of Hemrich" (below), and covers the period prior to Repel - in Seattle, San Francisco, and Canada. Part 2 of the Rainier Beer story deals with the period after Repeal in 1933, both in San Francisco and in Seattle.
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Early photo of the Bay View Brewery |

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The following is from
One Hundred Years of
Brewing, published in 1903:
The officers of the new association represented the old firms: Andrew Hemrich, president; Albert Braun, vice-president; Edward F. Sweeny, secretary; and Fred Kirchner, treasurer. They could not have foreseen that in less that ten years this firm would grow to be the world's sixth largest brewery and the largest on the west coast (as can be seen in the 1913 letterhead below - even allowing for artistic license). For a time, before Washington State introduced prohibition in 1916, the Georgetown brewery was the largest industrial establishment in the state of Washington. |
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In 1904, Georgetown incorporated -- a “company town” safeguarding the business interests of its brewery. Company superintendent John Mueller was soon elected both mayor and fire chief. The number of taverns and roadhouses doubled, and by 1905 it required 25 horse teams to daily fill the Seattle appetite for Rainier Beer, the flagship label of the brewery. Production by then had reached 300,000 barrels per annum. The company now employed more than 300 men, and there was room to build worker homes beside the Duwamish River that then still curved through Georgetown. |

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Distribution was now world wide. Bottlers such as John Rapp and Sons in San Francisco distributed
Rainier Beer to their local areas. The earlier, blob top bottles were usually embossed
with only the name of the local agent/bottler, but carried a "Rainier
Beer" label on the reverse. Two examples of these embossed bottles are:
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A book on the
Rainier
Brewing Co. and the Rainier brand is in the works ......
so there won't be many additions to this page.
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"Rainier" beer mugs, c.1910. Go to: STEINS |
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"Bay View Brewing Co." embossed quart, c.1890. Go to: BOTTLES |
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"Rainier Beer" ceramic coaster. Go to: TRAYS |
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Six different beer glasses from Rainier or Sick's Rainier Brewing Co. Go to: GLASSES |
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Copyright © 2004-2008 ~ All Rights Reserved.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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For any comments, additions, or corrections - or if you have
brewery items for sale -
please contact me:
Gary@BreweryGems.com
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