Washington Breweries History: Rainier Brewery
The Rainier name dates all the way back to 1878. The beer was originally
made in Georgetown by the old Seattle Brewing and Malting Company.
When Washington State went dry in 1916, four years ahead of national
prohibition, the brewery closed. After the repeal of prohibition in 1933,
Emil Sick purchased the brewery and relocated the operation a few blocks
north on Airport Way. Sick purchased a local baseball team, the Seattle
Indians of the Pacific Coast League, shortly after acquiring the brewery.
To promote his beer, he renamed them the Rainiers and provided them with
a new ball park in the Rainier Valley. The team was tremendously popular
in their day, winning five league titles.
When Sick passed away in 1954, Molson of Canada took majority interest
in the brewery. In 1977, Rainier was purchased by G. Heileman, and less than 10
years later it was sold to Australian entrepreneur Alan Bond. After Heileman
filed for bankruptcy in 1991, Rainier became the property of Dallas investment
firm, Hicks, Muse and Co. The musical chairs ownership game continued when Stroh's
entered the picture in 1996. In April of 1999, Stroh Brewing Company, announced it
was ending a 150-year brewing tradition by closing the rainier brewery for good. The
Rainier label was purchased by Pabst Brewing who then contracted with Miller Brewing
to contract brew Rainier Beer in the old Olympia Brewery in Tumwater Washington.
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