Columbia Breweries began a massive expansion project in 1949. Three men watch as a large crane lowers a new tank into one of the Columbia Breweries' aging cellars. It has a storage capacity of 800 barrels, or 12,000 cases, or 288,000 bottles of beer. It was one of the dozen of similar size which were included in the brewery's expansion program. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-3)

Hoisting machinery; Storage tanks--Tacoma; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950;

Columbia Breweries, manufacturers of Alt Heidelberg and Columbia Ale, expanded and modernized their brewing facilities and offices once again starting in 1949. This view shows the Tacoma plant and railroad siding that allowed freight trains easy access for shipping Columbia Brewery products. Packaged beer was conveyed from the bottle shop to the shipping depot through an elevated bridge which crossed the railroad yards. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-7)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Railroad freight cars--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950;

Columbia Breweries began expanding and rebuilding their facilities in 1949, throughout 1948 the company had been preparing to go through a massive expansion project. View of the new canning machinery at Columbia Breweries, three unidentified laborers are working with the new machine.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Equipment; Machinery; Laborers--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950;

In 1948 Columbia Breweries appointed four new officers and President Norman Davis announced that they would be going through an extensive expansion program. The expansion project was to include a 20,000 square feet two story building housing a new bottle shop, and a can beer line. View of the new canning machinery at Columbia Breweries.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Laborers--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Cans;

Brew kettles, Columbia Breweries, Davis. An employee adds hops to the large copper brew kettle used to boil the wort, one of the early stages of beermaking. The kettle is fitted with a curved cap with a large tube that filters the evaporation coming from the kettle. The brewery owned two of the kettles that had a capacity of 330 barrels each. Anders W. Erikson was the brew master in 1948.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Kettles; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

Columbia Breweries offered daily tours of their facilities. A large group of well-dressed men and women from Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon, pose for a photograph in November, 1951. Alt Heidelberg and Columbia Ale were well-known products of Columbia Breweries.

Group portraits--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Guests--Tacoma;

Seven men are enjoying Alt Heidelberg at Columbia Breweries. They each hold a bottle of the beer bottled in a short-necked "stubby" bottle. An insignia hangs on the wall behind them for Columbia Beer. In 1950 the company launched an advertising campaign featuring the theme of "Brewed in Tacoma" to emphasize the fine beer available right in the home community.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

These six men comprise the security force at Columbia Breweries. They are, L-R, top row, George Hamilton, Archie Johnson, Carl Nolzan and Thomas Andres. Front, George Radke and George Bock. Their uniforms include caps with Alt Heidelberg Beer labels, dark jackets, shirts and ties. (TNT, 1/8/1952, B-4)

Group portraits--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--People;

Chemist lab at Columbia Breweries. Two employees of Columbia Breweries shown at work in the chemist's laboratory in an October, 1951, photograph. According to a large ad placed in the News Tribune on November 13th, the four staff chemists carefully monitored every step in the brewing process from the selection of choice ingredients to the total sterilization of final kegs. All brews were scientifically checked and technically controlled in the company's modern and well-equipped laboratory. Columbia Breweries were well known for their production of Columbia Ale and Heidelberg beer. (TNT, 11-13-51, p. 11)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Chemistry--Tacoma; Laboratories--Tacoma--1950-1960;

In 1948 Columbia Breweries appointed four new officers and announced that they would be going through an extensive expansion program. The expansion project will include a 20,000 square feet two story building which will house a new bottle shop, and a can beer line. View of man working with metal tank attached to numerous controls, perhaps the control board or fermenting tank area of the plant.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Laborers--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

Group portrait of Columbia Breweries' accounting and office staff in 1951. Columbia Breweries was a well established business by the early 1950's; their Tacoma staff alone would have totaled over 350 workers. Names are listed in the newspaper. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-9)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Group portraits--1950-1960; Clothing & dress--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--People;

Group portrait 32 Columbia Breweries employees from the brewhouse, cellars and wash house posed for their photograph on October 30, 1951. Columbia Breweries had undergone massive expansion in the late 1940's; it would enable them to increase production of their Columbia Ale and Alt Heidelberg brands. Names are listed in the newspaper. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-9)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Group portraits--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--People;

Kegging operations at Columbia Breweries. A Columbia Breweries employee, mallet in hand, stands behind a large black manifold which is part of the kegging process in this October, 1951, photograph. Tanks such as the above would serve as buffers between the flow of beer from filters and to the kegs. Columbia Breweries was well known for their Heidelberg brand of beer and Columbia Ale. (Additional information provided by a reader)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Industrial facilities--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Columbia Breweries began operation in Tacoma in 1900. By 1951 Alt Heidelberg beer and Columbia Ale, produced by Columbia Breweries, were being sold in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Northern California and were two of the fastest selling brews on the market. Chief Chemist Edward Ehmke, head of the breweries technical staff, helped maintain quality as the company expanded production to meet increased demand. By 1954 they were producing 750,000 barrels of beer a year. The Columbia plant was sold to Carling Brewing Co. in 1959. It closed in 1979. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-4)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Chemistry--Tacoma; Scientists--Tacoma; Laboratories--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Ehmke, Edward; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--People;

A large group of drivers was given a tour of the Columbia Breweries on July 28, 1951. Over thirty drivers from Everett participated in the tour of the plant which had undergone massive expansion and modernization. They are posed on the sidewalk before the main entrance to the plant. Columbia Breweries manufactured Alt Heidelberg and Columbia Ale, two very popular beverages.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business enterprises--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Group portraits--1950-1960;

A May 31, 1951 photographic tour of the new expanded Columbia Breweries revealed this view of the racking room, showing the filling and bunging of stainless steel and aluminum kegs. All the kegs were steam scoured and freshly rinsed prior to filling. Columbia Breweries was located at 2120-32 So. C St. in Tacoma. The brewery began operation in Tacoma in 1900. Its Alt Heidelberg brand beer with the familiar logo of the Student Prince was known nationwide. The plant was purchased by Carling Brewery in 1959 and closed 20 years later in June of 1979. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. TPL-7951

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An additional automated can filling machine was included in the expansion begun by Columbia Breweries in 1948. Alt Heidelberg is being filled into cans along this assembly line that helped maintain production for distribution throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California, Alaska and Hawaii. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A line of tanks are seen in the new cellars at Columbia Breweries. Once the newly brewed beer, "wort", had been boiled it was transferred from the kettles through a strainer, or "hopjack", which separated the hops from the wort. The wort was then cooled in wort coolers. The wort was piped into a large vat, "fermenting tun", housed in a cool cellar or an ice chamber. Yeast was added while the wort was in the fermenting vats. For lager beer, bottom-fermenting yeast was used, taking 7-11 days to complete fermentation. Ale was made using top-fermenting yeast that was faster acting and fermented at a higher temperature. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (Brewed in the Pacific Northwest, Gary and Gloria Meier)

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;