Bellingham Bay Beer - Whatcom, Wa.
The history of the Bellingham Bay Brewery (3-B) began when Leopold F. Schmidt, president and owner of the Capital Brewing Company of Tumwater, (soon to become the Olympia Brewing Company), chose the site for the company's newest brewery. He selected the city of Whatcom as the site for his new plant as it was ideally located on the northern end of Puget Sound, in the northwest corner of Washington State. In 1902 Whatcom, the quality of brewing water was still as much an issue for Schmidt's 3-B as it was in 1885 as the town used Lake Whatcom for its primary water source. This lake water was rejected as lacking in purity. Instead the 3-B drilled private wells and established a waterworks on its property "at an expenditure of $8,000" according to a newspaper account. The brewery was located on North Elk street. The Bellingham Bay Brewery served a largely local market but 3-B also shipped its "Pale Export" to markets on the Pacific coast, Alaska and Canada. The Alaska market even had its own brand called "Alaska Special Brew". On January 7, 1910, Schmidt announced that he had leased the brewery and ice plant to Pierre J. Andrae and Edward L. Stowe. Shortly before the Statewide Prohibition vote, Leopold Schmidt passed away; he spent his last days at his Leopold Hotel in Bellingham, dying on September 24, 1914, without having to witness the destruction of his brewery business.
History developed in association with Gary Flynn - Website: www.brewerygems.com
Aberdeen Brewing Co. - Aberdeen, Wa.
In November of 1901, Alvin Hemrich purchased the Grays Harbor Brewing Co. from receivership for $3000 and went forward with plans for a more modest brewery. By the time production commenced, in May of 1902, Alvin had dropped the name Grays Harbor Brewing Co. in favor of the Aberdeen Brewing Company. The first draught beer was placed on the market on the 21st of May, and was warmly received. The bottling line had a capacity of 10 Barrels, or 1680 quart bottles per day. By 1906 the brewery employed 25 people, and produced $200,000 worth of beer a year. Increased sales and demand required even further expansion. In order to increase capacity an annex to the plant was erected in June 1907. In 1915 Washington voted to go dry, with statewide Prohibition to go into effect on January 1st, 1916. This terminated the production of all alcoholic beverages. Most breweries were forced to close, but the Aberdeen Brewing Co. stayed open by increasing their production of soda waters. This enterprise was named the Prima Bottling Works.
History developed in association with Gary Flynn - Website: www.brewerygems.com
Independent Brewing Co. - Seattle
In 1902, Samuel S. Loeb and other business associates who had been with him in his Tacoma brewery, laid plans to open a brewery in Seattle. Samuel Loeb served as president, and his brother-in-law, Albert Weinberg, was vice-president, with Benjamin Moyses serving as sec./treas. Their millionaire partner, Herman Klaper - "the Hop King" - left the company prematurely when he went down with the Titanic on her ill-fated, maiden voyage. The brewery was located at 4202 8th Ave. So., what is now Airport Way, and south of Seattle Brewing & Malting's Sweeney plant in Georgetown. The brewery flourished in spite of the major competition from Seattle Brewing & Malting's "Rainier Beer". In June of 1910 they introduced "Old German Lager" calling it the "Fatherland Beer," with the slogan: "Prosit! Es Giebt Kein Kopeweh," which means - "Good Health! It won't give you a headache". By 1912, "Old German Lager" was being bottled and distributed by the Chas. F. Wagner Co. in San Francisco, and in Portland by Rose City Importing Company.
History developed in association with Gary Flynn - Website: www.brewerygems.com
Claussen Brewing Association - Seattle
Hans Johanne Claussen came to Seattle in 1888, after working in the Fredericksburg Brewery in San Jose, CA and the National Brewery in San Francisco. Once in Seattle he took the position as brewmaster at E. F. Sweeney's Puget Sound Brewery. The following year Claussen became a principal in the firm which 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. In February of 1901, Hans formed a stock company for the purposes of opening a new brewing enterprise - the Claussen Brewing Association. The venture was capitalized at $50,000 - all the stock having been subscribed for by local retailers, i.e. saloons. The Alaska-Yukon Exposition of 1909, gave the company a boost when the prizes were awarded to the many competing Northwest breweries. The Claussen Brewing Assn. was awarded the Grand Prize and a Gold Medal for its flagship, "Tannhaeuser Beer". This seemed to confirm their slogan: "Seattle's Best Beer." Also, their "Mother's Malt" and "Ye Olde English Porter" both received Gold Medals. In November of 1914, Washington voters adopted state-wide prohibition. This was to take effect the beginning of 1916, giving producers of alcoholic beverages all of 1915 to sell their stock and close their plants.
History developed in association with Gary Flynn - Website: www.brewerygems.com
Bayview Brewing Co. - Seattle
In 1883, Andrew Hemrich and partner John Kopp established a small brewing operation that would eventually become the Rainier Brewery. Their firm operated under the name of Kopp & Hemrich, and was located south of downtown Seattle. The 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 a new building on filled tide lands. On 11 January of 1893, Bay View joined with the breweries of Albert Braun and Claussen-Sweeney to form a new association - the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company. The brand name eventually chosen for the company's flag-ship beer was "Rainier". The Bay View plant continued to operate, and in 1906 added a bottling shop and additional refrigeration. Brewing ceased in August of 1913, with all production shifted to the Sweeney plant in Georgetown, but the bottling works continued operating.
History developed in association with Gary Flynn - Website: www.brewerygems.com
Pacific Brewing & Malting Co. - Tacoma
Local investors George Watkins, Michael Hartman, and The Puget Sound Brewery began in 1888 and was located on So. 25th between C & Jefferson Sts. The brewing plant was a lager beer brewery, with the plant being designed expressly for this style of beer. The Puget Sound Brewery was incorporated as the Puget Sound Brewing Company on 7 Aug. 1891, with a capital stock of $600,000. John D. Scholl was the firm's president, with Anton Huth, treasurer and Peter A. Kalenborn, secretary. Just three years after the new business was formed, Anton Huth bought out his partner, John Scholl. Huth then assumed the position of pres. & treas., and. Peter Kalenborn became vice-pres. & sec. The company's management remained unchanged for the next six years. Then in 1897, Huth took on a partner and formed a new brewing company through a merger with another Tacoma brewery. Samuel S. Loeb agreed to merge his Milwaukee Brewery in forming a new corporation. They were equitably joined, and Loeb took the position of vice-president and secretary of the new Pacific Brewing & Malting Company (PB&M). By 1909, PB&M was one of the largest brewing companies in the Northwest - second only to Seattle Brewing & Malting, brewers of "Rainier Beer".
History developed in association with Gary Flynn - Website: www.brewerygems.com