Henry Weinhard's

The Henry Weinhard's line of craft beers, a Miller subsidiary since 1999, has a rather typical history for a regional brewing company. Founded in Portland, Oregon in 1856 by German immigrant, Henry Weinhard, this company, later called Blitz-Weinhard, after an early 20th Century buyout, enjoyed wide popularity in the American Northwest, was staggered by Prohibition, bounced back in 1933, and slowly faded under intense competition from major national brands, like Budweiser, Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz. In 1982, The G. Heileman Brewing Company of Lacrosse, Wisconsin bought Blitz-Weinhard, and Heilemann was, itself, purchased by The Stroh Brewing Company of Detroit in 1996. Three years later, Stroh sold out to Pabst Brewing Company of Chicago (headquartered in Los Angeles, California as of 2011). As part of the purchase agreement, Weinhard beers, along with other brands, were turned over to Miller Brewing Company (Philip-Morris, and since 2002, SAB of England). Pabst also ceded all of their breweries to Miller, who either rebranded them as Miller facilities, or in the case of the Weinhard brewery in Portland, closed them. This Portland brewery had been open since 1862.

Today, Weinhard beers are positioned by SAB as mass-produced, above-premium, craft-style beers, much like the Leinenkugel division. In 2012, SAB began to expand availability of the line from the West and Midwest into other parts of the United States. One will find that these beers, sold in 12-oz. bottles, have a flavor and body in the craft vein, yet have characteristics mellow enough to give them a mass-market appeal.