Pyramid Breweries

Hart Brewing was founded by Tom Baune and Beth Hartwell in 1984 in Kalama, Washington. A pioneer of craft brewing in the Pacific Northwest, Hart's signature beer was Pyramid Pale Ale, which it followed with Pyramid Wheaten Ale in 1985. In 1994, Hart debuted the Apricot Ale, a fruit beer that quickly became its most prominent brand. The company opened new facilities and greatly expanded its production, and changed its name to Pyramid Breweries in 1996. It also started experimenting with other styles, which won a number of brewing competitions in the U.S. and abroad. Eventually it grew to become one of the five largest craft brewers in the country.{{cite encyclopedia |last= Oliver|first= Garrett|authorlink=|editor-first= Garrett |editor-last=Oliver |year= 2011 |title = Craft brewing |encyclopedia= The Oxford Companion to Beer |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= |isbn= 978-0195367133|pages= 681–682}}

Pyramid eventually stopped brewing in Kalama in favor of other locations, but maintained its headquarters in Seattle. In 2004, Pyramid acquired Portland Brewing Company, makers of the MacTarnahan's brand.{{cite news|last=Foyston|first=John|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/business/160869_mactarnahan17.html|title=MacTarnahan's of Portland Will Be Sold to Seattle's Pyramid|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|publisher=Hearst Communications|date=February 16, 2004|accessdate=March 15, 2012}} In 2008, the company was itself purchased by Independent Brewers United, the parent company of Magic Hat Brewing Company of Burlington, Vermont. Magic Hat maintained the Seattle office and the Pyramid and MacTarnahan's facilities and products.[http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_magic_hat_pyramid.html Pyramid Breweries to be acquired by Magic Hat] Two years later, the joint company was acquired by North American Breweries of Rochester, New York.{{cite web |url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100812/BUSINESS/8120338/Genesee-Beer-owner-buys-brewer-of-Magic-Hat-9 |title=Genesee Beer owner buys brewer of Magic Hat #9 |last=Daneman |first=Matthew |date=2010-08-12 |website=Democrat and Chronicle |location=Rochester, NY |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815021654/http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100812/BUSINESS/8120338/Genesee-Beer-owner-buys-brewer-of-Magic-Hat-9 |archive-date=2010-08-15}} In December 2012, the parent company was purchased by Cerveceria Costa Rica, a unit of the Costa Rican company Florida Ice & Farm Co.{{cite news |title= Cerveceria Costa Rica to buy North American Breweries |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nab-costarica-idUSBRE89P0UQ20121026 |website=Reuters |date= Oct 26, 2012 |accessdate= May 21, 2013}}

Pyramid once featured beers including, ales, lager, weizens, ciders,{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}} porters, and IPAs. The company offered six year-round beers, including Hefeweizen, Apricot Ale, Thunderhead IPA and Outburst Imperial IPA. Pyramid also offered seasonal beers, including Curve Ball Blonde Ale, Oktoberfest and Snow Cap Winter Warmer, along with seasonal variety packs and limited release beers.

Pyramid ran three brewpub restaurants dubbed "Alehouses": one near the brewery, one in Seattle, and a small outlet in the Oakland International Airport. The Alehouse in Sacramento, California, closed its doors in March 2013,{{cite web |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/04/5235207/sacramentos-pyramid-alehouse-closes.html |title=Sacramento's Pyramid Alehouse closes its doors |last=Glover |first=Mark |date=2013-03-04 |website=Sacramento Bee |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307044807/http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/04/5235207/sacramentos-pyramid-alehouse-closes.html |archive-date=2013-03-07}} the Berkeley location closed in 2015,{{cite web |url=http://www.eastbayexpress.com/WhatTheFork/archives/2015/07/21/pyramid-alehouses-berkeley-location-shuts-down |title=Pyramid Alehouse's Berkeley Location Shuts Down |last=Tsai |first=Luke |date=2015-07-21 |website=East Bay Express}} and the Walnut Creek location closed in early 2016.{{cite web |url=http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2016/01/12/pyramid-alehouse-in-walnut-creek-has-closed/ |title=Pyramid Alehouse in Walnut Creek has closed |last=Fritsche |first=Sarah |date=2016-01-12 |website=sfgate.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413075049/https://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2016/01/12/pyramid-alehouse-in-walnut-creek-has-closed/ |archive-date=2021-04-13}} In 2019, the Seattle Alehouse settled a class action lawsuit for $450,000 over unpaid hours and wage theft.{{Cite web|title=Several hundred Pyramid Alehouse workers win settlement over unpaid wages|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/several-hundred-pyramid-alehouse-workers-win-suit-over-unpaid-wages/|last=Vedantam|first=Keerthi|date=2019-07-31|website=Seattle Times|language=en-US|access-date=2021-07-07}} Less than a year later, on May 1, 2020, Pyramid Alehouse announced it was permanently closing the Seattle location, citing a lack of “high volume sporting and entertainment events” in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic that, before, would “off-set the much slower restaurant business during non-peak times.”{{Cite web|title=Pyramid Brewing announces permanent closure of the Seattle Alehouse and Brewery|url=http://www.washingtonbeerblog.com/pyramid-brewing-announces-permanent-closure-of-the-seattle-alehouse-and-brewery/|last=Jones|first=Kendall|date=2020-05-01|website=Washington Beer Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-02}} On January 8, 2021, Portland Brewing Company announced that the brewery would cease all operations.

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• [http://www.pyramidbrew.com Pyramid Breweries Inc.]

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Category:Food and drink companies established in 1984

Category:American companies established in 1984

Category:1984 establishments in Washington (state)

Category:Manufacturing companies based in Seattle

Category:Food and drink companies based in Seattle

Category:Beer brewing companies based in Washington (state)

Category:American beer brands