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;

A sparkling glass of Alt Heidelberg has been set within a frame with the beer's logo of the Student Prince. Heidelberg was Columbia Breweries' lager-style beer. A studio set-up for Columbia Breweries ordered by Marshall Riconosciuto, advertising manager.

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

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;

ca. 1912. The name painted on the side of the brewery is the Columbia Brewing Company. The building was built in 1900 when the brewery was established. Like most early breweries this building was tall and took advantage of gravity in moving materials through the brewing process. Grain storage and milling was often located high in a brewery on the 3rd or 4th floor. The copper brew kettle was commonly located beneath the mash tun at ground level. Copies of old prints ordered by Columbia Breweries in 1951. (Brewed in the Pacific Northwest, Gary and Gloria Meier)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1918. Columbia Brewing Company was established in 1900 on South C Street not far from the giant Pacific Brewing and Malting Company. Emil Kliese was the owner, president and brewmaster of the plant until statewide prohibition in 1916. He died the next year. National Prohibition lasted 13 years, from 1920-1933. During that time the company manufactured soft drinks: "Birch Beer", "Chocolate Soldier", "Blue Jay" (a grape drink), and "Green River". Copies of old prints ordered by Columbia Breweries in 1951. (Brewed in the Pacific Northwest, Gary Meier)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

The name Columbia Brewing Company is seen on the side of the building. A fence has been added along the sidewalk on the right. The building is at least five stories high and has a flat roof. A small pediment adorns the cornice. The name of the brewery was changed in 1933 to Columbia Breweries, Inc., when it was purchased by Elmer Hemrich. Copies of old prints ordered by Columbia Breweries in 1951.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

ca. 1919. Much of the work handling beer at Columbia Brewing Company was done by hand. Men are seen working in a chilled room bottling and racking beer into wooden barrels. A sign against the wall on the left advertises "Columbia Golden Drops Beer". Copies of old prints ordered by Columbia Breweries in 1951. TPL-7953

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--People; Bottles;

ca. 1918. Drivers pose in front of the Columbia Brewing Company with five delivery trucks. The truck second from the right is loaded with barrels. Copies of old prints ordered by Columbia Breweries. A copy of Boland print #B1495.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Trucks--Tacoma--1910-1920;

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 Brewing Company, interior of dining room, as pictured on October 29, 1951. Long utilitarian tables, folding metal chairs and checkered linoleum floor. Two vases of flowers help to brighten the room.

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

Several people checking bottles in the bottle shop.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;

The bottle shop at Columbia Breweries included an inspection section. Five employees are seated by lighted screens where each individual bottle was inspected as it passed through scientifically-lighted and image-magnifying inspection stations on their way to the labeling machine and to a packing machine for cartoning. (TNT, 10/13/1951, p.24)

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Bottles;

Columbia Brewery building. View of buildings taken from railroad tracks as pictured in November of 1951. Gas Works tank on right, Columbia Brewery on left, St. Joseph's Hospital on hill in distance.

Columbia Breweries (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Equipment used in excavating at Columbia Breweries' property acquired in 1948 along Jefferson Avenue from 21st to 23rd Streets South. Columbia Breweries were adding a 20,000 square foot, two story building that would house a new bottle shop and a can beer line as well as a 39,00 square foot warehouse for case goods and a new receiving and shiping depot. Ordered by Lige Dickson Company, co-owned by Lige Dickson and William B. Dickson, general contractors, located at 3315 South Pine. TPL-10447

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Lige Dickson Co. (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1940-1950; Excavation--Tacoma--1940-1950; Brewing industry--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;

Close-up display of beer bottles. Pilsener Beer was brewed locally with artesian water by the Silver Springs Brewing Co. View of two brands of Pilsener Beer, Oldstyle and Hartz. Both were advertised as "Extra pale". Pilsener was a light beer with a strong flavor of hops; its name probably came from the Czech city of Pilsen (Pizen). The Silver Springs Brewing Co. were located at 105 E. 26th St.; the 1954 City Directory listed Lyle L. Lane was secretary/manager. Photograph ordered by Condon Co., an advertising firm.

Beer--Tacoma; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silver Springs Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior brewery. Large lettering on the Silver Springs Brewing Co.'s building proudly proclaimed it as the "Home of Oldstyle Pilsener Beer" in an August 18, 1954, photograph. The Silver Springs Brewing Co. was founded in Port Orchard in 1934 and moved to Tacoma in 1950. After moving to Tacoma and purchasing the site at 105 E. 26th St., former home to Northwest Brewing Co., they added a three-story bottling plant to the complex. They provided Heidelberg Brewing (Columbia Breweries) with competition for Northwest beer drinking tastes with their Oldstyle Pilsener, brewed with artesian water.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silver Springs Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Signs (Notices);

An elevated view of downtown Tacoma was taken from the top of a hillside, looking northward, on May 15, 1957. Heidelberg Brewing Co. had requested several photographs of its plants from different viewpoints in the city. The brewery can barely be seen toward the center of the picture. Busy Pacific Avenue is a few streets in front of Heidelberg, Hunt & Mottet and the F.S. Harmon Mfg. Co. buildings are visible.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

Exterior-Heidelberg Brewery. This May 15, 1957, photograph taken diagonally from across "C" Street shows the main buildings of the Heidelberg Brewing Co. The brewery had undergone much expansion in the past few years and now occupied most of the 2100 block of South "C". Their bottled Columbia Ale and Heidelberg beer were still very popular and the brewery continued to provide employment for many local residents.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1925. Men and women are seated at tables in dappled shade under a canopy of leaves and paper lanterns at Columbia Brewing Company Brew Gardens at the Pacific Northwest Merchants Exposition in Seattle. Mr. C.H. Ball, the Seattle Branch Manager, is standing on the extreme right. Listings in the Seattle City Directories showed entries for Columbia Bottling Company in 1922 and 1923 and Columbia Brewing Company in 1924 and 1926 with C.H. Ball serving as manager. Photograph by Walter P. Miller, commercial photographer in Seattle. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--People;

ca. 1936. A view of Columbia Breweries along South C Street circa 1936. The front of the tallest section has been removed for remodeling. A truck is seen backed up to the loading dock with Alt Heidelberg painted on the sides. A large, white building up the hill, along South 23rd Street at 2302 Fawcett Avenue, has a sign, "Columbia Bottling Company." Columbia Bottling Company was at this address in 1935 and 1936 only. West Coast Grocery Company, Coffee - Spices - Extracts, is next door to Columbia Breweries at 2114 South C Street and Vicray's Garage is on the right at 2112 South C Street. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. TPL-6498

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940;

ca. 1937. Two of the chemists at Columbia Breweries are testing products in a laboratory, heating liquids with a row of bunsen burners. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. The photographer's name in the lower right shows, "Associated Photographic Service, Inc., Tacoma".

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Chemistry--Tacoma; Scientists--Tacoma; Scientific equipment--Tacoma; Laboratories--Tacoma; Testing--Tacoma;

ca. 1937. A man wearing a suit and hat, possibly Otto Birkmaier, stands by the large brew kettle at Columbia Breweries. Otto Birkmaier was the brewmaster at Columbia Brewery Company and Columbia Breweries from 1918 (following Emil Kliese) until his death in 1946 and during his lifetime was one of the most highly regarded brewers in the country. Mr. Birkmaier was succeeded by Anders W. Erikson as brewmaster in 1946. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p. B-4) TPL-8853

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Kettles;

ca. 1937. Instruments have been set up for an experiment at Columbia Breweries' laboratory. A meter has been connected to a battery to test one of the components of the beer and ale brewed at Columbia. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company. The photographer's name in the lower right shows, "Associated Photographic Service, Inc., Tacoma".

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Scientific equipment--Tacoma;

ca. 1937. One of the chemists at Columbia Breweries is using an analylitic balance for very precise measurements of ingredients in this circa 1937 photograph. She is gripping tweezers to place weights from the box in front of her to the tray on the right hand side of the balance. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company. The photographer's name in the lower right shows, "Associated Photographic Service, Commercial Photographers, 714 Market Street, Tacoma".

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Scientific equipment--Tacoma; Scientists--Tacoma;

ca. 1949. A view of the bottling line at Columbia Breweries. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. The photographer's name in the lower right shows, "Associated Photographic Service, 714 Market Street, Tacoma".

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