Northwest Brewing Co., c.1935
In 1925, Peter Marinoff purchased the Walla Walla Brewing Co. (the old Stahl Brewery) which had been producing near-beer. He named it the Washington Brewing Co. and continued with the production of two non-alcoholic brews called "Olympic Club" and "True Brew." These near-beers were bottled under the company name of Empire Products. Marinoff continued this operation until 1930 when the plant was closed. However, the public was tired of Prohibition and Repeal was finally a realistic expectation. Towards that goal, Marinoff established the Northwest Brewing Company, Inc., on 10 February, 1931. The organization then raised capital to remodel the old Washington Brewery in Walla Walla, and find a suitable site for a brewery in the Puget Sound area. He located an old meat packing plant at 105 E. 26th St., Tacoma, that was solidly built in 1911, and could reasonably be converted into a brewery. This site was also ideal in that it was had an accessible railroad spur for distribution. He started with near-beer so that he could immediately shift to real beer when it became legal. In September of 1932, he commenced remodeling the Walla Walla plant, again to manufacture near-beer, but laying plans for the stronger brew. With Repeal in April '33 he was immediately up and running with the production of "Gambrinus" and "Marinoff" brand of beers (labels below). However, a labor dispute with the Teamster's Union resulted in boycotts of his beer and violence against his workers and clients. On January 18, 1935, Marinoff re-organized his eastern plant as the Northwest Brewing Co. of Walla Walla, Inc., and the following month he transferred the registered office of the Northwest Brewing Co. (Tacoma) to the Walla Walla plant. But the Union problems persisted, culminating in a shooting death of a Teamster in Tacoma. Peter Marinoff was convicted of conspiracy but the conviction was subsequently overturned. However, the Teamsters were furious at this perceived injustice and vowed to "get" Marinoff. Fearing for his own safety and that of his family he fled to California. By mid-1935 the two plants were shut down and forced into bankruptcy. In early July, the Brewery Workers union announced that they hoped to purchase the company and reopen the two breweries. |
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Marinoff neon beer sign
Beer delivery truck, c.1934
Over the protest of stockholders, the United Brewery Workers Union purchased the Northwest Brewing Company's two plants from the receivers for $27,000, and commenced operation as the United Union Breweries. However, conditions in Tacoma were still too volatile and only the Walla Walla plant resumed operation. In 1943, the shuttered plant was purchased by Williams Brothers, Inc. of Tacoma, along with the functioning plant in Walla Walla. Williams Brothers also owned the Mutual Brewing Co. of Ellensburg and controlling interest in the Silver Springs Brewing Co. of Port Orchard. They initially used the Tacoma building for storage and transfer for their produce company. Then in June of 1944, after purchasing the Pioneer Brewery in Aberdeen and closing the Mutual Brewery in Ellensburg, they established the Pioneer Distributing Company there. This operation was soon shifted to Tacoma. |
While the name of the company would suggest a working brewery, this was a holding company for the Williams Brothers' breweries, as well as their distribution hub. By now, in addition to the Silver Springs Brewery and the Pioneer Brewery (Walla Walla), they also had controlling interest in the DeLuxe Brewing Co. of Wallace, ID - previously the Sunset Mercantile Co. With the outright purchase of Silver Springs in '49, the earlier plan to move the Silver Springs Brewing Co. to Tacoma became a reality. The following year the move was completed. |
By August of 1950, the Williams Brothers had added a three story bottling house, and drilled an artesian well in Marinoff's old brewery. The Silver Springs Brewery was moved to the remodeled plant, and the Port Orchard plant was then permanently closed The company's president was still Gene Williams, and Lyle L. Lane was now secretary. By 1954, Lane was manager of the plant and Allen Lehman was their brewmaster. The company still produced "Oldstyle," "DeLuxe," and "Pioneer," but added a number of other brands, including "Dunkel Braü" and "Western Style" (left), which replaced "Hartz." When the Bohemian Breweries of Spokane was closing, the company purchased a number of its brands, including "Durst," and "Köl." The Tacoma Silver Springs Brewing Co. continued until 1967, with the second generation of Williams - George E., in the management position, assisted by his brother, Howard, Jr. The empty brewery was demolished in 1986 to make way for the I-705 interchange.
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