Pyramid

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hostpyramidbrew [dot] com

Our Story

Our greatest big thirst quenching adventure goes a little bit like this...

1984

We begin as Hart Brewing, Inc., founded by Beth Hartwell, who launches our flagship brand of Pyramid ales. Our inaugural Pyramid beer, Pale Ale, is one of the first American microbrews.

1985

We create America's first year-round wheat beer since Prohibition and name it Wheaten Ale. And there was refreshment, and it was good.

1986

Snow Cap Ale, a rich, full-bodied winter warmer crafted in the British tradition of holiday brews, becomes an instant classic. Its complex fruit flavors and smooth texture have kept it one of our most popular seasonals.

1989

Hart Brewing is adopted by five enthusiastic investors from Seattle.

1992

We've outgrown the general store. Our new, fancier digs are on the banks of the Columbia River in Kalama, just downstream from Mt. St. Helens.

1993

Hefeweizen is born. Unfiltered and brewed with over 60% malted wheat, this full-bodied beer outdoes the 50% Bavarian tradition, and remains our biggest star.

1994

We're now the fourth largest craft brewery in the country, a fact we celebrate by inventing Apricot Ale. A zesty golden wheat with a distinctive hint of fresh apricots, it wins a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival. Good taste all around.

1995

The people are clamoring. We open an alehouse in Seattle, WA to slake the thirst of 28 states while pairing our draught brews with gourmet pub food. Nationwide growth in the demand for craft beers encourages us to go public with 2.6 million shares on the NASDAQ exchange.

1996

We are reborn as Pyramid Breweries, Inc. Appropriately, we introduce a spring seasonal, Tilted Kilt, a deep red, full-flavored ale brewed with seven kinds of malt, including the Scotch "whiskey" sort. Here's to new beginnings.

1997

The Pyramid Brewery opens in Berkeley, CA. Built in an old warehouse with a parking lot cinema screen, our new facility shares startlingly fresh microbrews with all of California and the Southwest. These now include our Draught Pale Ale, a nitrogen dispensed beer that wins Barley Corn's Reader Poll Award for "New Craft Beer of the Year," and our India Pale Ale, a bright, bold beer loaded with 67 IBUs of tangy Columbus hops.

1999

Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, moves in next door to our Seattle brewery. To mark the occasion, we open our "Left Out Field" Beer Garden to host baseball fans before and after the game.

2000

Malty, coppery Broken Rake Amber Ale joins our family. Name the season and we'll name the ale.

2001

Keeping in step with the new millennium, we introduce the Alehouse To Go variety 12-pack. It's like having us in your fridge. But not creepy.

2002

Wait, there's more: Curve Ball Kolsch for the summer and Coastline Pilsner all year long. And a third alehouse, placed lovingly in Walnut Creek, CA.

2004

Hefeweizen wins the gold medal for American style Hefeweizen at the 2004 Great American Beer Festival. Aw shucks.

2006

Hefeweizen and Crystal Weizen take no prisoners at the 2006 World Beer Cup. Hefeweizen scores the bronze in the American Style Hefeweizen category, while Crystal Weizen wins the same in the American Style Wheat Beer category. Yet we stay humble. We're not sure how we do it, either.

2007

The introduction of Imperial Hefeweizen, the limited edition specialty brew continues the tradition of wheat beer expertise. The limited edition ale is brewed in small batches of less than 120 barrels using the finest West Coast ingredients.

2008

Pyramid Breweries is acquired by Independent Brewers United.

2008

Pyramid Breweries wins mid-size Brewery of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival. Pyramid also picks up gold medals for Apricot Ale, Crystal Wheat Ale (third consecutive year), and MacTarnahan's Blackwatch Porter.

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