Lester R. McCash, formerly secretary and treasurer of the
Hemrich Brewing Company (plant No. 2) on E. Marginal
Way, was named manager of the new Rheinlander Brewery.
The Seattle Brewing & Malting Co. (called SeaBrew by insiders) chose not to
purchase the "Apex" brand, but to use the plant solely for the production of
their Rheinlander beer. The adjoining Century plant would then specialize in
the production of the recently acquired Rainier brand.
Rheinlander Brewery in August
of 1938
The plant at 2918 Airport Way was now the Rheinlander Brewery, but only until
May 1939, when the Horluck's Brewing Co.
was purchased by the Sicks' enterprise. The Horluck plant then became the new
home of Rheinander Beer, and Lester McCash moved there to serve as co-manager.
The original plant No. 1 was merely absorbed into the SeaBrew complex, and used
for additional storage, or cellaring.
In Nov. 1948, this facility was reconfigured for an entirely different purpose.
It was converted to a fully staffed and equipped central laboratory to provide
constant quality control for all the breweries in the Sicks' organization, both
in the U.S. and in Canada. The lab was organized by Nicholas L. Vacano, who had
been the brewmaster for the Rainier brewery in San Francisco from May 1947 to
Oct. '48. Vacano took over technical supervision for all the Sicks' breweries,
and within four years became a director and vice president of Sicks' Brewery
Enterprises, Inc.
The forgoing discussion dealt with the succession of brewing activities at Alvin
Hemrich's plant No. 1, located at 2918 Airport Way. While it was the home of Rheinlander Beer - if only for 11 months - this article only touched on the
history of Rheinlander Brewery, Inc. The following chronicles the Rheinlander brand's 10 year
progression.
When Emil Sick acquired the old Bay View brewery, he needed a name for his
product. In his 1958 memoirs, he recalls:
"When our Century
Brewery was in operation a few months, we used the brand name of
'Rheinlander,' which was a name we took pretty much out of thin air."
Well maybe not entirely out of thin air. There was already a
Rhinelander Brewing Company (est. 1893) in a Wisconsin town of the same name
that resumed operation in 1933. Rheinland is mearly the German for Rhineland.
Never the less, Rheinlander remained the company's flagship brand until the
1935 formation of the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company, in which the Rainier
Brewing Co. of San Francisco partnered with Sick, giving him the right to produce
Rainier Beer in the northwest.
"Rainier" became Sick's primary brand, and with the May '38
purchase of the Apex Brewery, as explained above, Rheinlander production was
moved to that plant the following month. Beer & Ale labels from the 11 month
stay at the Apex plant clearly state "Rheinlander Brewery, Inc."
Rheinlander Brewery, Inc. beer label, ca.1938
On May 1, 1939, the Horluck Brewing Co. was purchased by SeaBrew
and the plant was renamed the Century Brewery. Production of Rheinlander was
then moved to the new plant which became the new "Home of Rheinlander."
Production of Rheinlander continued until war time restrictions, and negativity towards all things German,
caused the brand to be dropped in Sept. of '41.
Since the new Century plant was merely a subsidiary of SeaBrew,
the beer made there didn't mention the Century Brewery on the labels, just that
it was from Seattle Brewing & Malting. Consequently, the only clue for
collectors to determine if a Rheinlander Beer label, or any item, is from
either the 1935-1938, or the 1939-1941 period, is to look at the font. The early
period used a Germanic font, as seen on the tap knob below (left).
However, in June of 1961, Rheinlander Beer was
reintroduced as a budget brand and remained as such until early
1994.
Rheinlander Breweriana |
