The Seattle Brewing and Malting Company was founded in 1893 by the merging of three Georgetown neighborhood breweries, the oldest of which had been founded in 1883 by Andrew Hemrich (1856-1910) and John Kopp (1853-1935). The company's Rainier Beer and the brewery itself, with it’s trademark red neon "R" that sat atop the building, were popular throughout the Pacific Northwest. Over the decades the company had a string of owners, including Emil Sick (1894-1964), from 1933-1977, who also owned the Seattle Rainiers minor league baseball team. The Rainier Brewing company eventually ceased regular brewing in Seattle in 1999.

Rainier Beer surged in popularity in the 1970s and mid-80s, after the company hired Heckler and Associates, a Seattle design and branding firm, known for the Starbucks logo and other notable advertising works. Terry Heckler and writer Ed Leimbacher produced many notable advertisements for the Rainier brand, including the famous Rainier motorcycle television ad. The Rainier brand became known for irreverent and humorous advertisements, including this poster for Rainier Ale, an extra strong ale or malt liquor with an ABV of 6.9-7.3% (it changed throughout the years). It had the nickname of "Green Death" due to it's strong kick and green label. The company ended production of Rainier Ale in 2016.

Caption information source: "Rainier Beer-Seattle's Iconic Brewery," by Peter Blecha, HistoryLink.org Essay 9130.
Caption information source: "Rainier Ale discontinued? Alas, it's true," Burnt My Fingers blog, October 25, 2016, retrieved from https://burntmyfingers.com/2016/10/25/rainier-ale-discontinued-alas-true