Washington Breweries History: Yakima Brewing and Malting Company
Yakima Brewing which opened in 1982, was the first modern brewpub
and second microbrewery to be opened in the United States since the
pre-Prohibition era. Bert Grant's Brewery Pub is located in the old
train station on historic north Front Street in Yakima. Bert Grant
built a modem new brewery in Yakima in 1991 to increase capacity for
his hoppy brand of ales. Bert Grant was annoyed by claims of other
brewpubs that they were the first since Prohibition. "I, Bert Grant,
did give birth to the first modem brewpub in America," he wrote on
his Web site. "It was back in 1982, a Wednesday, as I remember.
"So, please, if any of my imitators or an uninformed friend should
make a foolhardy claim in conflict with the truth, do the noble
thing. Buy them a Grant's and show them the error of their ways."
In 1995, Grant's was purchased by Chateau St. Michelle Winery,
which is owned by Stimson Lane Vineyards, which is owned by UST, Inc.,
which also owns US Tobacco. After Bert Grant's death in 2001, the Yakima
brewery was sold to Black Bear Brewing Company of Britsh Columbia Canada.
Bert Grant was considered the "father" of craft brewing in the Pacific
Northwest.
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