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.
The poster pictured here advertises Special Dry Rainier Beer, which began production in 1989. The company had previously brewed Extra Dry Rainer Beer between 1947-1948, but dry beers didn't really gain popularity until the 1980s. "Dry" is not a traditional style of beer, rather it refers to a beer that is highly carbonated and has very little after-taste.
Caption information source: "Rainier Beer-Seattle's Iconic Brewery," by Peter Blecha, HistoryLink.org Essay 9130. Caption information source: "'Dry' Beers Flood Market: A Wave or a Mirage?", The New York Times, August 16, 1989, p. C1. Caption information source: "The History of Rainier Brewing", Gary Flynn www.brewerygems.com/rainier, accessed May 12, 2019 at https://www.brewerygems.com/rainier.htm
Physical Description: 1 poster : color ; 24 x 30 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. View the finding aid for this collection at https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv44472
Credit: MOHAI, Rainier Brewing Company Advertisements and Other Materials, 1999.64.107
