January 2021

Get your Olympia beer now as it is soon sold out.

The lack of Olympia beer at area retailers and restaurants finally has an answer: Pabst Brewing Co. announced Monday that it has temporarily suspended production of the iconic product due to declining demand.

The brewing company announced its decision on Instagram.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to find a solution to the challenges posed by reduced beer sales and had to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend production of Olympia beer,” the statement said. “We remain committed to finding the best solution to continue brewing Olympia beer in the future. “

Reaction to the news was mixed on Monday. Some were disappointed that the brand was going into hibernation, while others said it was good that the brand had a chance to come back at some point.

A question to a company spokesperson about the length of the temporary production shutdown went unanswered.

“It’s pretty sad,” Bellevue’s Dave Unwin said after hearing the news. Unwin is a collector of Northwest beer memorabilia, including Olympia beer. He recalls a neighbor who enjoyed Olympia beer and the brewery tours visitors could take when beer was still being produced on Custer Way in Tumwater. This original brewery was closed over 17 years ago.

The best outcome is for Pabst to either start making the beer again or sell the label to someone who will, Unwin said.

The decision to temporarily halt production will not change anything for O Bee Credit Union, the Tumwater-based credit union that once exclusively served brewery workers, said Lee Wojnar, vice president of marketing.

“We will continue to do business as usual,” he said, adding that this would not mean any changes for his Olympia-branded credit card.

“We always celebrate the history of the brewery,” he said.

Olympia beer was last produced in Tumwater in June 2003, and was eventually shut down after a series of operators, including Millar and Pabst, ran the brewery. The Schmidt family, who started brewing beer in 1896, sold the business in the 1980s.

Ahead of Pabst’s announcement on Monday, a number of retailers in the region were alerted that stocks of Olympia beer were running low. This led to Andy Thielen, co-owner of T Brothers Liquor & Wine Lodge in downtown Olympia, to stock up on Olympia beer when he still had the chance.

On Monday, after buying more than three pallets of Olympia beer, he had dropped to 240 six-pack Olympia big boys and five 12-packs, he said.

“I’m happy to hear it’s temporary,” Thielen said of Pabst’s decision. “It’s good to know that it will come back at some point.”

This story was originally published 25 January 2021 00h00.

It’s time to say goodbye to some legendary cans of gold, at least for now. On Monday, January 25, Olympia announced that it was temporarily suspending its famous line of beers, which had been around for more than a century. The beer brand – owned by California-based Pabst Brewing Company – cited a “growing decline in demand” in its official statement regarding the decision, but noted that its new line of vodka, which bears the name Olympia and the famous label, will continue.

Olympia Beer started in Tumwater 125 years ago and has built a reputation for being one of the most recognizable (and affordable) lagers in the Pacific Northwest. Many became familiar with the iconic logo and the golden beer cans, which permeated pop culture and appeared in films like “The Graduate”. Beer also touted its use of artesian well water in the brewing process as part of its image.

But Olympia has also undergone many changes over the years. While the original Tumwater-based company remained relatively stable (apart from a hiatus during Prohibition) for most of the 20th century, it experienced a series of mergers and acquisitions with larger brands from the 1980s. Eventually Olympia came under the Pabst umbrella in the 1990s. Then the Tumwater brewing site closed in 2003, and operations moved to a larger facility in Irwindale, Calif. where she has stayed so far.

In August 2020, Olympia launched its own line of spirits called Olympia Artesian Vodka, using a Tumwater distillery. The offer came around the same time that another well-known beer brand associated with PNW, Rainier, released a line of gin, and Pabst released a line of whiskey. Now, it looks like the strong alcohol effort for Olympia will continue, although the future remains uncertain for beer.

It may not be completely the end of the line, however. In Monday’s announcement, Olympia / Pabst said it had been trying for years to bring beer back to Washington and remained “determined to find the best way to continue brewing Olympia beer in Washington. the future “.

A West Yorkshire brewery has halted production of draft beer further north due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Launched in 1858, Timothy Taylor’s operates 19 pubs across Yorkshire while also supplying its nine beers – including its flagship Landlord pale ale – to a multitude of retailers across the UK.

But due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, which have forced all pubs in the UK to close, the Keighley company has announced that it has stopped producing beer on tap until further notice.

In a statement, the company said: “We will continue to brew beer to support our bottling business, both for retail and for our own online store timothytaylorshop.co.uk.

“During this period, the majority of our workforce will be on leave, with only key members of our team working part-time to keep the business running.”

Paul Matthews, Timothy Taylor’s Sales Director, added: “Once the reopening of our industry is confirmed, we can assure you that we will be ready to meet demand and again support our professional customers (as we were. last summer).

The news comes as the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) warns that much more financial support from the government will be needed if pubs are not to open before May.

The trade association, which represents brewers and pubs, says pubs across the UK will be lost for good if they can’t reopen by May and receive prolonged government financial support, claiming that ‘an appropriate roadmap for reopening must be published.

Emma McClarkin, Managing Director of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “We really hope that the speculation about pubs being forced to remain closed until May is not true. We strongly believe that pubs are safe places to socialize and can play an important role in our social and economic recovery.

“If pubs are forced to stay closed until May, that would mean they have had to deal with 14 months of closures and restrictions. How on earth could the government expect them to survive?

“British pubs will be screaming ‘mayday’ long before a reopening in May without much greater financial support from the government.”