Rainier Brewing Company
Encyclopedia
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, company that brewed Rainier Beer, a popular brand in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
of the United States. Although Rainier was founded in 1884, the Seattle site had been brewing beer since 1878. While the beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
enjoys near iconic status, it is no longer brewed in Seattle, nor is the company owned locally. In the late 1990s, the company was sold to Stroh's, then to Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
, though Miller
Miller Brewing
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
contract brews most of Pabst's beers. The brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
was closed by Pabst in 1999 and sold.
In 2010, Emerald City Beer Company rented and renovated a portion of the building, brewing the first batch of beer from the Old Rainier Brewery in 11 years on September 23. The brewery itself is a well-known fixture in the south end of town, adjacent to I-5
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...
just north of the Spokane Street Viaduct. The plant is also home to the Tully's Coffee
Tully's Coffee
Tully's Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Its stores serve specialty coffees, espresso, baked goods, pastries, and coffee-related supplies. It also has overseas licensing agreements in Japan and South Korea where its brand name is used...
headquarters, Bartholomew Winery, Red Soul Motorcycle Fabrications, as well as artist lofts, band practice spaces, and a recording studio. The trademark red neon
Neon sign
Neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tube lights that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in December, 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show. While they are used worldwide, neon signs...
"R" that sat atop the building was replaced with a green "T" when Tully's was using the plant to roast coffee. The neon "R" is now in the collection of Seattle's Museum of History and Industry
Museum of History and Industry
The Museum of History and Industry is a museum located in the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States.Accredited by the American Association of Museums, MOHAI is "dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound...
.
Origins
Rainier Beer and the brewery date back to 1884, when Edward Sweeney established the Claussen-Sweeney Brewing Company in the GeorgetownGeorgetown, Seattle, Washington
Georgetown is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is bounded on the north by the mainlines of the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, beyond which is the Industrial District; on the west by the Duwamish River, across which is South Park; on the east by Interstate 5, beyond which is...
neighborhood of Seattle. In 1893, Sweeney's company merged with two other breweries; the new company became known as the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company. Originally, all three of the breweries were operated by this company, but it was the Claussen-Sweeney brewery which would remain in operation until 1999 and become a Seattle landmark.
The Prohibition Era
Alcoholic beverageAlcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s were outlawed in Washington state in 1916 and the Rainier brand was sold to a San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
company. Four years later, alcoholic beverages were outlawed nationwide.
1935 relaunch
Following the repeal of prohibitionProhibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, the brewery was purchased by Lethbridge
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
brewers Fritz and Emil Sick, who then repurchased the Rainier brand and began brewing Rainier in 1935. The brewery went through several names, such as Sick's Seattle Brewing and Malting and Sicks Rainier Brewing Company, during the 1935–1977 period.
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
a Washington state committee with free beer to name the local mountain "Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...
". This, however, is an urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
and can still be heard today among Tacoma residents who preferred the alternate name of "Mount Tacoma". Sick did, however, purchase the local baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team and named them the Seattle Rainiers
Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...
for this purpose.
Sick's also brewed Rainier at a branch brewery in Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
. The Spokane brewery closed in 1962.
Creative packaging
From 1952 to 1964, Rainier came packaged in a series of decorative beer cans known as the Rainier Jubilee Series. First in the series were a set of ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
cans marketed in late 1952 and again in late 1953; these cans are rare and highly collectible today. The Christmas cans proved such a success that Rainier's use of decorative Jubilee Series cans continued for over a decade, with literally thousands of different designs. Most of these are not as rare and collectible as the Christmas cans, but the "reindeer" cans (which were sold only in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
), and the first pull tab Jubilee cans (made only in the last couple of years of the Jubilee Series) are also considered rare.
Other brands of beer brewed by Sick's Rainier Brewing during this time included Rheinlander and Sick's Select. Later, the Rainier brewery would also take over brewing Heidelberg beer after its brewery in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, closed. Each of these brands (as well as rival Northwest brands Lucky Lager
Lucky Lager
Lucky Lager is a beer that has a strong cult following on Vancouver Island. At one time Lucky was actually brewed on Vancouver Island in Victoria but in 1982 Labatt Breweries of Canada moved off the Island and proceeded to tear down the brewery to prevent any competition on the Island...
, Olympia, and Blitz-Weinhard) were once staples in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
beer market, but starting in the 1960s and 1970s began losing market share to the major national brands.
1970s and 1980s advertising campaigns
Some of these surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
advertisements noted by Seattle Magazine included the Running of the MFRs (Mountain Fresh Rainiers)(a parody of Running of the Bulls featuring bottles with legs), frogs that croaked "Rainier Beer" (a motif appropriated many years later by Budweiser
Budweiser
Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
), Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
appeared in several TV ads, most notably a parody of Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
and Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
's "Indian Love Call" from the 1936 MGM film "Rose Marie". Mickey was dressed in a Mountie
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
costume alongside his wife Jan as they sang. (most airings of this commercial ended with Rooney pouring a bottle of Rainier into her proffered glass, but occasionally a version was aired in which he poured the beer into her cleavage). A motorcycle that revved "raiiiiiiiii-nieeeeeeeer-beeeeeeeer" while zooming by along a mountain road. (A version of this commercial played on radio featured the sounds of different brands of motorcycles making the "rainier beer" revving sound.)
Other ads featured a Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
double (played by actor Pat Harrington Jr.) leading his band in "The Wunnerful Rainier Waltz" complete with bubble machine and soloists blowing on beer bottles, and a performance of a parody of the song "You're the Tops" while thousands of Rainier bottle caps fell like dominoes in a giant "R" frame (the whole commercial was reportedly shot on the first take, a great relief since it took all day to set up). Rainier also produced humorous posters such as a "National Beergraphic" parody of a National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
cover depicting tourists encountering a MFR in the forest, and a Flash Gordon/Star Wars poster, "Fresh Wars" that recalled the bar scene in Episode 4. There were even costumed MFRs that made promotional appearances at Supermarkets during this period.
Other ads featured were due with cultural icons of movies, televisions and spokespeople. Two of the ads were in reference of popular Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
skits: one featuring a Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
lookalike in her role as Roseanne Roseanneadanna in a Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
skit for Rainier Lite commercial. Another was featuring a parody of the Coneheads
Coneheads
The Coneheads is a sketch on Saturday Night Live which originated on the January 15, 1977 episode, and starred Dan Aykroyd as father Beldar, Jane Curtin as mother Prymaat, and Laraine Newman as daughter Connie.-Summary:...
called the R-Heads, with Rainier 'R' logos on the top of their heads. Two commercials that feature Tarzan where his yell is "Raaaiiinn-iiieeer!". A commercial that features a silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
who morphs into a beer bottle. A commercial that features a John Houseman
John Houseman
John Houseman was a Romanian-born British-American actor and film producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane...
imitator when Houseman at the time was a spokesperson for McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
. Another series features a Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
impersonator walking through stacks of beer cans. One last series of commercials was the Rambo
Rambo
Rambo is an action film series based on the David Morrell novel First Blood and starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled Vietnam War veteran and former Green Beret who is skilled in many aspects of survival, weaponry, hand to hand combat and guerrilla warfare...
like character called "R-bo", played by Dan Roland. The commercials were filmed in three parts; only two of those commercials were aired. The third commercial was never aired, because Rainier Brewery was bought out by another brewing company.
Demise
In 1977 the brewery was sold to G. Heileman Brewing CompanyG. Heileman Brewing Company
The G. Heileman Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, was a brewery firm that operated in 1858-1996. It was acquired in the latter year by Stroh's, and its independent existence ended...
, and passed through several more hands before finally winding up owned by Pabst
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
, which closed it in 1999. The Rainier brand was sold to General Brewing Company, which moved production to the Olympia brewery in nearby Tumwater, Washington
Tumwater, Washington
Tumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It lies near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound. The population was 17,371 at the 2010 census...
. The Olympia Brewing Company
Olympia Brewing Company
The Olympia Brewing Company was a brewery in Tumwater, Washington which existed from 1896 until 2003.-History:Leopold Schmidt, a German immigrant from Montana founded The Capital Brewing Company at Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River in the town of Tumwater, near the south end of Puget Sound...
closed in 2003. Rainier Beer is now brewed under contract in Irwindale, California
Irwindale, California
Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census....
.
The beer's iconic status locally caused it to be referred to as "Vitamin R."
In 1987, Rainier was awarded a silver medal by the Great American Beer Festival
Great American Beer Festival
The Great American Beer Festival is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado, in mid to late September or early October. This year, 2011, the festival runs from 29 September through 1 October. The GABF brings visitors from around the world to sample more...
in the category of Best American Light Lager. The GABF recognized Rainier again in 1990, 1998, and 2000 with the gold medal for Best American-Style Lager as well as silver medals in the same category in 2003 and 2005. Both Rainier Light and Rainier Ice have received medals, in their respective categories, from the GABF.
In cultural reference, the seminal Seattle grunge group Mudhoney
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American alternative rock band. Formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988 following the demise of Green River, Mudhoney's members are vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison, and drummer Dan Peters. Original bassist Matt Lukin left the...
was humorously photographed in 1988 with cans of Rainier Beer. The image can be seen on the inside CD cover of the band's Superfuzz Bigmuff
Superfuzz Bigmuff
Superfuzz Bigmuff is the debut EP by the Seattle grunge band Mudhoney. It was released in October 1988 through record label Sub Pop. The songs later appeared on their 1990 compilation album Superfuzz Bigmuff Plus Early Singles...
+ Early Singles release. In the 2008 film Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
, set in Forks, WA
Forks, Washington
-Government:The City is organized under Washington State law as a Non-charter Code City. Its structure is that of an elected Mayor and a five member elected City Council...
, Rainier Beer appears prominently in several scenes, and is referred to as "Vitamin R."
External links
- Rainier Brewery: Rest in Peace (Internet Archive)
- BreweryGems.com
- History of the Rainier Jubilee cans
- Guide to the Rainier Brewing Company Advertisements and Other Materials at the Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
- "Rainier Beer Ad: Bill the Beerman and Rick the Peanut Vendor," YouTube.com/ Uploaded October 20, 2007. —Surrealist early 1980s TV ad featuring real-life vendors "Rick the Peanut Man" KaminskiRick KaminskiRichard J. "Rick" Kaminski was a printer, real estate agent, and stadium food hawker. Kaminski is best remembered as "The Peanut Man," a comedic trick-toss expert who used a variety of styles to hurl packages of peanuts to customers in the stands of the Kingdom and Safeco Field at the games of the...
and "Bill the Beerman" Scott.