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;

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;

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;

The loading docks at Columbia Breweries are filled with trucks ready to deliver Alt Heidelberg throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and northern California. A warehouse for case goods and a new receiving and shipping depot was added to the plant during the expansion begun in 1948. A gasoline pump can be seen in the left foreground. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

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

The interior of Columbia Breweries where one of the brewery's more than 160 employees operates the switches to machinery moving materials throughout the facility. Most early breweries had arranged their equipment for efficiency and took advantage of gravity. Grain storage and milling was often located high in the brewery on the 3rd or 4th floor. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (Brewed in the Pacific Northwest, Gary and Gloria Meier)

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

Workmen are using forklifts to move cartons of Alt Heidelberg into delivery trucks backed up to the loading docks at Columbia Breweries. A warehouse and shipping depot was developed on the Jefferson Avenue frontage of the plant while the main office remained at 2120 South C Street. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

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

The interior of Columbia Breweries is shown after the completion of a program of expansion begun in 1948. During the processing of beer, barley malt and hops are first boiled in copper brew kettles and then the wort is strained and cooled. It is then fermented with yeasts. After fermentation, most of the yeast is removed and the beer would be decanted into storage tanks where it would be aged up to several months. Shown here is one of the finishing filters through which every drop of the brewery's products passed. Specially devised filter pads were changed at regular intervals. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-6)

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

Columbia Breweries included an additional 39,000 square foot unit to warehouse case goods and a new shipping and receiving depot in their expansion program begun in 1948. The facilities provided for thousands of cartons of Alt Heidelberg to be stored on pallets and moved by forklifts until needed to fill orders throughout the Pacific Northwest. The shipping depot extended for practically two blocks along Jefferson Street. Packaged beer was conveyed from the bottle shop to the shipping depot through an elevated bridge which crossed the railroad yards. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-7)

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

Columbia Breweries had come a long way from the early steam plant powered by wood as seen in this newly refurbished control room. There are plenty of tubes, pipes, tanks, guages and dials to provide more stringent levels of control than ever before. The pumps seen in the middle of the room were manufactured by the Wittemann Company in Buffalo, New York. A large "W" can be seen as added to the tops of two of the tanks towards the left. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

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

Columbia Breweries had two enormous brewing kettles each with a capacity of 330 barrels each and of nearly 2,000 barrels in 24 hours. An average of six brews were made each day. Water was obtained from two artesian wells located on the brewery's property and approximately 50 tons of grain were used each day. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

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

Preliminary filtering operations at Columbia Breweries. Columbia's two fine beverages were pumped through this filtration process as their first step in assuring clarity. The beer would pass through one more battery of filters before bottling. Glass inserts can be seen in the left forefront to show the progress of filtering the beer and ale from the secondary fermentation tanks. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-6)

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

Columbia Breweries was proud of their new storage cellars where thousands of barrels of Alt Heidelberg Beer and Columbia Ale were constantly in the process of being perfected. Floor upon floor, cellar after cellar, there were rows of giant tanks holding up to 800 barrels each. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/7/1952)

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

Assembly-line methods were also provided in the shipping areas of the recently expanded plant at Columbia Breweries. Cartons filled with cans of Alt Heidelberg travel along moving belts to be sealed and prepared for shipment. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

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

Sophisticated pumps and filters have been added during the remodeling and rebuilding of the plant at Columbia Breweries begun in 1948. A workman stands by the controls. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.

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

Not all operations had been automated at the newly expanded Columbia Breweries plant on May 31, 1951. Empty Alt Heidelberg bottles were being pulled from cartons in the left foreground to add them to the automated processes. Lines of cartons moved along conveyor belts from one level to another looking like freeway entrance ramps while workmen made sure nothing caused the line to be stopped. Every working day in 1952, 20,000 cases, or nearly 500,000 bottles, entered through one entrance to the bottling department and left by another. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-8)

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bottles;

A new bottle shop was included in the expansion program at Columbia Breweries begun in 1949. Earlier legislation had required bottling works to be across the road from the brew house. Columbia Breweries' new bottle shop has expanded into new, three-story facilities along South C Street with state-of-the-art bottling lines filling 2,400 cases per hour. One hundred and fifty persons are employed in this department under the supervision of I.E. Heath, bottle shop manager, and his assistant manager, Lawrence Alnutt.

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

Equipment at Columbia Brewery. Ordered by Seattle Equipment & Supply.

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

A line of parked cars outside the Columbia Breweries building indicates that people are still working late on a rainy January, 1953, evening. There are still lights on the first floor and partially on the second floor. Columbia Breweries was well known across the country for their production of Heidelberg beer and Columbia Ale.

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