The History of Rainier Beer

In 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 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 the Rainier brand was chosen as the mark 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 dynasty was referred to as the House of Leithbridge.
Rainier was born in the Territory of Washington, re-located to San Francisco, and Canada, and finally returned to Seattle only to suffer the fate of most great regional brands - a corporate buyout. The brand survives, but is now a contract brew for Pabst, and produced in a southern California plant owned by Miller.

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.

I. The House of Hemrich

An internet search for Rainier Beer or Andrew Hemrich will often result in the following:

"Rainier Beer dates back to 1878, when Andrew Hemrich, a German immigrant, started the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company."

This is totally incorrect, and when repeated over and over it eventually becomes accepted as the "truth."
The Rainier story did begin with Andrew Hemrich (born in Wisconsin - not Germany). He was the eldest son of John Hemrich, who was a German immigrant, and a master brewer in his own right. John settled in Alma, Wisconsin, in 1855 and established a brewery that would continue in operation until closed by Prohibition in 1920. His story is covered in his biography (John Hemrich). He also raised a large family that included five boys who followed the family tradition of brewing:

1.) Andrew (b. 1856) left Alma at an early age and was employed in numerous brewing enterprises before finding his way to Seattle in 1883. There he joined a small, established brewery that had been producing "steam beer" since 1878. He is credited for founding the Bay View Brewing Co. and for establishing the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company in 1893. He also has a separate biography of his own - (Andrew Hemrich).

2.) John, Jr. (b. 1858) assisted his younger brother William in running the family brewery in Alma. Then he and William ran the Bay View Beer Depot & Bottling Works in New Whatcom (Bellingham). He died in 1904.

3.) William (b. 1860) took over the family brewery in Alma - assisted by older brother, John. In 1888 they sold their interests and they too moved to Seattle. William was involved with various activities with the family's brewing interests until they were shut down by state wide prohibition in 1916.

4.) Alvin (b. 1870) also worked in the family's Alma plant, and after a job with a brewery in Victoria, B.C., bought the North Coast Brewery in Seattle and established the Hemrich Brothers Brewing Company. He then built a brewery in Grays Harbor County, establishing the Aberdeen Brewing Co. The Apex Brewing Co. was also one of Alvin's enterprises. He too has a separate biography (Alvin M. Hemrich).

5.) Louis (b. 1872) worked in the Bay View Brewery, and was the other "Brother" in Alvin's "Hemrich Brothers Brg. Co." After his brother Andrew died in 1910, Louis became the president of Seattle Brewing & Malting. Then in 1915 he built a new Rainier Brewery in San Francisco. Consequently, he too rates a biography of his own (Louis Hemrich).

Early photo of the Bay View Brewery

Bay View Brewing Company

By 1883, Andrew Hemrich and partner John Kopp controlled the "steam beer" plant that would eventually become the Rainier Brewery. Their firm operated under the name of Kopp & Hemrich, and was located south of downtown Seattle. Their "Bay View" brewery was at the base of Beacon Hill, on the corner of 9th Avenue and Hanford Street, and near a spring of pure water. The "bay view" referred to their vantage of Elliott Bay, which would eventually be obscured by new building on filled tide lands. When the plant began operation, the waters of Duwamish delta still lapped the slopes of Beacon Hill, and the narrow-gauge Grant Street Railway rode above the tide flats on a trestle along the future route of Airport Way.

Their first year of business showed an output of 2,658 barrels. In 1884 Andrew's father, John left Alma, WI and joined the firm. The following year Andrew's brother-in-law, Frederick Kirschner and sister, Emma arrived in Seattle. John, Sr. and Kirschner then purchased Kopp's share. The name was changed to the Bay View Brewing Company (a.k.a. Hemrich & Co.), with Andrew president, Frederick as secretary, and John, Sr. treasurer.

Major improvements were made, and in 1887 the new plant was built (see below), and the production of lager beer commenced. The Bay View Brewery was first to brew lager beer on the Puget Sound.

In January of 1893 the Brewery joined Albert Braun's Brewery and the Claussen-Sweeney Brewery to form a new association - the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company. The Bay View plant continued to operate, and in 1906 added a new bottling shop and additional refrigeration. The plant was closed in August of 1913.

Bay View Brewery, c.1887 - image
photo c.1895 showing the Grant St. bridge and trolley

Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Company

In 1883, Edward Francis Sweeney and William J. Rule established their small brewery in Georgetown, a newly incorporated section south of Seattle. Sweeney had gained brewing experience in his home town of San Francisco at the Hibernia Brewery, owned by his father-in-law. He also apprenticed at the Fredricksburg brewery of San Jose. (see his biography).

Two years later, in 1885, Sweeney bought out his partner, Rule. The firm was renamed E. F. Sweeney & Co., while the brewery was known as the Puget Sound Brewery (not to be confused with the brewery of the same name in Tacoma). Four years later, in January 1889, the plant's brewmaster, Hans J. Claussen became a principal, and the firm was reorganized as the Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Company. The new firm was capitalized at $80,000 with Edward Sweeney as president, and Hans Claussen as secretary-treasurer.
Edward and Hans may have known each other from their California days, since Hans also worked at the Fredricksburg Brewery in San Jose.

Since 1875, brewers could not bottle their product on site; so Sweeney and Claussen established a separate plant for retail ice sales and beer bottling. Their Washington Ice & Bottling Co. was located on the Grant St. Bridge, which was south of the Bay View Brewery (see label below). This law was rescinded in 1890. Claussen Sweeney beer label, c.1900 - image

In May of 1891 Hans Claussen decided to sell his interest in the brewing company to George F. Gund, in order to pursue other interests. Nearly ten years later, in March of 1901, Hans formed the Claussen Brewing Association. His Tannhaeuser Brewery was located at 3455 21st. Ave West, in Seattle. He chose the same style of label (at left) that he and Sweeney had adopted. (see his label for Tannhauser Beer)

In January of 1893 Sweeney's Brewery joined Albert Braun's Brewery and the Hemrich's Bay View Brewery to form a new association - the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company. Andrew Hemrich became president; Albert Braun, vice-president; and Edward Sweeny, secretary.

By the end of 1893, the Claussen-Sweeny plant (as it was still called) was brewing a million gallons of beer a year, and it was said to be some of the best beer brewed on the West Coast. This plant would became the core facility of a newly formed brewing association.

By the turn of the century the Temperance movement had gained strength, and the brewers attempted to distance themselves from hard liquor by touting beer as a beverage of moderation (as seen in the ad below). However, the ploy ultimately failed since beer was deemed equally responsible for anti-social behavior.

Claussen-Sweeney ad, c.1890 - image The following excerpt was taken from a Temperance newspaper published by the Anti-Saloon League:

"What the Brewers Brew....
They brew crime of every sort. Sweep away the breweries and the distilleries, and you will secure municipal reform, banish the most prolific causes of poverty, insanity and crime, and clean the cities of most of their moral rottenness."

This view that brewers were responsible for society's ills must have also resonated with Sweeney's wife. In January 1906, E. F. Sweeney bowed to the moral imperative of Temperance (and the urgings of his wife) selling his holdings in the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co. to the Hemrich brothers. The company was then restructured, with Andrew Hemrich remaining as president, and Louis assuming Sweeney's position of vice president and general manager.

Albert Braun Brewing Association

Albert Braun Brewery Assn. c.1890 - image

Established in 1890, this short lived brewing enterprise was a joint venture of a group of investors. The principals were Albert Braun, president; G.B Kittinger, vice-president; D.N. Baxter, secretary; and Herman Chapan, treasurer. The brewery was located in Terry, which was a section in south Seattle, about six miles south of the city. The brewery's primary brands were "Columbia Beer" (at right), and "Standard Beer". They were also ice manufactures. It was a common practice for breweries to use there excess refrigeration capabilities to sell ice at retail.

In January of 1893 this new brewery joined Sweeney's Brewery and the Hemrich's Bay View Brewery to form the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company, and before years end it was closed.

In September of 1899 the plant was completely destroyed by fire. The brewery wasn't rebuilt, but the fire spared the refrigeration plant, so the firm was able to resume its retail ice business.

Seattle Brewing and Malting Company

The following is from One Hundred Years of Brewing, published in 1903:

"This syndicate was a consolidation (1892) of three plants - the Bay View, founded in 1883; Claussen-Sweeny, established that same year; and Albert Braun Brewing Company, established in 1890. The last named plant was closed shortly after the consolidation was effected."

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). For a time, before Washington State introduced prohibition in 1916, the Georgetown brewery was the largest industrial establishment in the state of Washington.

Seattle Brewing & Malting letterhead 1913 - image

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.

Rainier Beer Distributor San Francisco - image

RAINIER BEER COLLECTIBLES - FOR SALE

	Two different Pre-Pro mugs, and an oddity from the 70's. Go to: STEINS
	Three different Rainier Beer posters. Go to: SIGNS
	"Bay View Brewing Co." embossed quart. Go to: BOTTLES
	Rainier Beer sign introducing the 1946 can. Go to: SIGNS
	"Rainier Beer" ceramic coaster. Go to: TRAYS
	Three different beer glasses from Rainier or Sick's Rainier Brewing Co. Go to: GLASSES