Rainier — A Beer Odyssey is an independent feature documentary on the iconic, groundbreaking Rainier Beer TV commercials that ran from 1974 to 1987. Produced by Peaks & Pints co-owners Robby and Justin Peterson, and directed by Isaac Olsen, the trio studied more than 100 hours of ads and outtakes to share the story about the small, ragtag boutique ad agency Heckler Bowker in Seattle that reinvigorates a beloved beer brand by embracing its local identity, and in turn, changes beer advertising, and advertising as we know it, forever. Rainier — A Beer Odyssey screens today at 11:30 a.m., 2:15, 5 and 7:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema. Filmmakers Olsen and the Peterson brothers will be at the 5 and 7:45 p.m. shows with merchandise for the film and post-film Q&A’s. The documentary runs through Dec. 19 at The Grand. In celebration of our co-owner’s incredible film, Peaks & Pints presents a Rainier — A Beer Odyssey theme beer flight today — a flight we’re calling Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Rainier — A Beer Odyssey.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Rainier — A Beer Odyssey
Redhook ESB
5.8% ABV
In 1968, Gordon Bowker freelances for the original Seattle magazine, where he meets Terry Heckler, with whom he later starts an advertising agency, and David Brewster, whom he later helps to launch Seattle Weekly. In 1971, Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl open the first Starbucks store near Pike Place Market. Bowker paints the store and works there on weekends. In 1973, Heckler Bowker ad agency gets the Rainier Brewery advertising account. Baldwin uses a closet at the agency as his Starbucks office. In addition to Rainier Beer, Heckler Associates also write and produce ads for K2, Ivars, Jansport, Starbucks, and Redhook Brewery. In 1976, Bowker sells his share of Heckler Bowker, begins to mull the idea of a brewery and encourages David Brewster to start Seattle Weekly. Bowker contributes money to the Weekly’s launch and writes restaurant reviews under the pseudonym Lars Henry Ringseth. In 1982, Bowker and Paul Shipman open Redhook Brewery in an old transmission shop in the Ballard neighborhood. Both knew more about marketing than brewing. As one of Redhook’s original beers, ESB remains one of the most recognized in the brewery’s portfolio. Brewed in the style of a traditional British Extra Special Bitter, Redhook ESB is distinguished by its balance of caramel malt sweetness and spicy, citrusy hops.
Pabst Brewing Mountain Fresh Rainier Beer
4.6% ABV
In 1883, Andrew Hemrich and partner John Kopp established Bay View Brewery in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Ten years later, Bay View Brewery joined with the breweries of Albert Braun and Claussn-Sweeney to form a new association, the Seattle Brewing & Malting Company. The brand name eventually chosen for the company’s flagship beer was “Rainier,” named after the mountain. The Bay View plant continued to operate, and in 1906 added a bottling shop and additional refrigeration. By 1905 production of Rainier Beer reached 300,000 barrels per annum. The company employed more than 300 men, and there was room to build worker homes beside the Duwamish River that then still curved through Georgetown. Kopp and Hemrich produced Rainier beer in Washington until 1916, when the state of Washington enacted its own prohibition, four years before the 18th Amendment enacted the nationwide prohibition. Following the repeal of the Prohibition, the brewery was purchased by Lethbridge, Alberta brewers Fritz and Emil Sick, who then repurchased the Rainier brand and began brewing Rainier back in Seattle in 1935. Today, Pabst Brewing Co. brews Rainier Beer with a satisfying malty flavor over a slightly fruity background, spiced with Chinook, Mt. Hood, and Willamette hop notes.
Stoup Canadian Tuxedo
5% ABV
Let’s talk Canadian fashion. The Canadian Tuxedo, also known as “double denim”, refers to wearing a denim jacket or jean shirt with jeans. It’s said to have originated in 1951 when Bing Crosby was denied entry to a Vancouver, B.C., hotel for wearing denim head-to-toe. Denim-on-denim became popular and is now associated with rugged Americana style. The Canadian Mountie uniform, The Red Serge, is a uniform worn by RCMP officers for special occasions, such as civic ceremonies, parades, and musical rides. Actor Mickey Rooney appeared in seven Rainier Beer commercials. One was a spoof of a song from a 1930s movie, with Rooney wearing a Canadian Mountie uniform instead singing the praises of Rainier beer. Two versions this commercial aired on television. Nine times the commercial ended with Rooney pouring the beer into a glass held by an attractive woman, but every 10th time the commercial aired, it ended with Rooney pouring the beer down the front of the woman’s low-cut blouse. “Who says you can’t wear denim on denim wherever you damn well please?” asks Stoup Brewing. “Not us! This crisp, light Canadian adjunct lager is the perfect accompaniment to an outfit designed for comfort AND style. So go ahead, shock and shame those fancy folks with your jean jacket and jean pants and jean shirt and jean … well you get it.”
Aslan Flannel Blizzard
5% ABV
Speaking of Canada and fashion … More often than not Rainier — A Beer Odyssey co-producer Justin Peterson dons flannel as he travels to and from his three bars — Peterson Bros. 1111 and The Valley, which he owns with his brother, Robby, and Peaks & Pints, which they both partnered with Pappi Swarner. Therefore, the Aslan Brewing and Zeeks Pizza collaboration Flannel Blizzard Canadian Lager should be on this flight. Brewed with 100-percent organic malt and hops, this Canadian-style lager is built for crushing on Mt. Rainier in the Pacific Northwest winter. Fun fact: Zeek’s Pizza almost held residency in the Peaks & Pints building.
Loowit Brewing Silent Trees
6.6% ABV
The Petersons and Swarner have a new house beer at Peaks & Pints, Loowit Brewing Silent Trees IPA. On the morning of May 18, 1980, after a century and a quarter of quiescence, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake triggered the explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens. The volcano’s northern face collapsed, burying Spirit Lake and the headwaters of the Toutle River beneath hundreds of feet of avalanche debris. The accompanying blast sent winds of 600 mph and 400 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit sweeping across the landscape, leveling forests, vaporizing foliage, and searing soils. When the smoke and ash cleared, more than 240 square miles of forest north of the peak became silent. A fringe of standing, dead, ash-covered trees formed a “ghost forest” around the blow down, and the ground was blanketed with tephra and ash. Mount St. Helens is also known as “Loowit,” which is a Native American name for the mountain, specifically from the Klickitat tribe, and is often associated with a legend where Loowit was a beautiful maiden transformed into the mountain. In 2010, longtime friends Devon Bray and Thomas Poffenroth opened Loowit Brewing in downtown Vancouver, Washington, helping revive the city and quickly became a force in the Southwest Washington beer scene. Loowit Head Brewer Landon Smith joined the ownership team during the pandemic and continues his tradition of brewing excellence. Loowit Brewing collaborated with Peaks & Pines on the Tacoma craft beer lodge’s house beer, Silent Trees IPA. Paying homage to the trees around Mount St. Helens and the outdoor enthusiasts who join Peaks daily in Tacoma’s Proctor District, Silent Trees IPA is the perfect beer to toast the Loowit Trail, the challenging loop that circumnavigates Mount Saint Helens through the trees. Silent Trees IPA continues Peaks & Pints’ love affair with old school piney IPAs, this time brewed with Simcoe, Columbus and Chinook for all the pine and citrus.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
