Rainier Beer shortage has Seattle taps dry and fans frothing

In the context of the national beer economy, the impact of a temporary shortage of Rainier draft is pretty small beer.

According to estimates by Beer Marketer, Rainier's total 2023 output was around 165,000 barrels. That's about 5% of Pabst's volume — and less than 0.1% of total U.S. output of 196 million barrels, said Beer Marketer.

But in Rainier's home market of Washington, Steinmann said, Rainier might account for 2%-4% of beer sales. (A 2017 Beer Marketer estimate listed Rainier as the No. 3 "volume brand in Seattle/Tacoma food stores by volume.")

Those volumes appear to be growing: Rainier sales increased 3% in each of 2022 and 2023, even as total U.S. beer sales fell 5% last year, according to Beer Marketer estimates.

Growth has been the trend at Al's Tavern. Prior to the recent supply issues, the self-styled dive bar was plowing through four and a half to five Rainier kegs a week, up from three kegs in 2019, said bartender Karl St. Mary.

Going from five kegs to no kegs overnight has required some adaptation.

Weintraub, Al's manager, ordered extra Rainier tallboys from his supplier, but in the meantime had to plead for cases from other bars, including the Pine Tavern in Ballard. "That's the beauty — everybody helped me out, no questions asked," Weintraub said.

At Touchdown's Sports Bar, the shortage of Rainier led Dows to bring back Miller draft, though he promises that Rainier "will get their spot back" when supplies resume, whenever that is.

In the meantime, the absence of Rainier has occasioned some deep reflection on the success of a "macro" brew in the age of microbrews and the durability of a Seattle brand that is no longer from Seattle.

One obvious reason for that success is that Rainier isn't a microbrew, but a lighter beer that is easier on the wallet and the liver.

"A lot of the local microbrews are so hop-heavy and high-alcohol," said Shawn O'Donnell, Jr., owner of Shawn O'Donnell's American Grill & Irish Pub in Seattle. A beer like Rainier, he said, lets people come in and enjoy a few beers with friends "and not get wrecked."

There is also the taste. Some fans and detractors describe Rainier as sweet; Smith, at Al's, calls it "despair streamed through a dirty sock." Others say Rainier's power comes from a flavor so nondescript that it requires little mental effort, doesn't distract from conversation or pool and makes the ideal chaser for other, stronger drink.

"There's nothing that gets in the way," said Joe Swieboda, who was chasing house bourbon with a Rainier tallboy at Al's on Wednesday night.

And the fact that this inoffensive brew is no longer available in the city of its birth somehow only adds to its allure.

Sitting at the bar at Al's, not far from the dry Rainier tap, Caleb Warner, 30, worked on a tallboy and said he looked forward to the return of his preferred Rainier draft. But Warner admitted that he's almost as curious to see how long the shortage lasts. "I'm just interested to see where this goes."