Pabst, Craft Brew Alliance to brew new beer

Published 12:37 am Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Cascade Lakes Brewing Company is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Oregon-based Craft Brew Alliance announced an agreement Monday to produce a new beer under the Rainier label for Pabst Brewing Co.

The new product, Rainier Mountain Pale Ale, would be available in the spring in 16-ounce bottles and represent the return of Rainier brewing to the state where the label was founded. Craft Brew Alliance, in a news release, said it would brew the pale ale and other Rainier brands at the alliance’s Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, Washington.

In addition, Pabst Brewing Co. has an option to buy the Woodinville facility, capable of producing 200,000 barrels of beer annually, any time in the next three years.

The agreement allows Craft Brew Alliance to focus on its own expansion plans, according to the release. The alliance includes Kona Brewing Co., of Hawaii, and Widmer Brothers Brewing, of Portland, in addition to Redhook Ale Brewery. The alliance is increasing its Portland brewery capacity to 750,000 barrels and is building a new, 100,000-barrel brewery in Hawaii, according to the release.

Rainier, founded in Seattle, was purchased by Pabst in the late 1990s, according to the Rainer website. Rainier lager is brewed under contract with MillerCoors in Irwindale, California.

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