The Washington State History Museum’s History After Hours series is screening Rainier: A Beer Odyssey on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The 21-and-over evening is at the museum on Pacific Avenue next to Union Station in downtown Tacoma.
The documentary follows how a small Seattle ad agency reinvented Rainier Beer through an offbeat run of TV commercials that aired from 1974 to 1987. After the screening, the filmmakers sit down for a short panel about making the film and the legacy of the Rainier ads.
Food and drinks
Admission includes a selection of catered bites and two drink tickets. More drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, will be for sale. The museum hasn’t posted a menu or said which beers will be poured, so treat the drink tickets as a general bar, not a Rainier tasting.
Tickets are $20 for Washington State Historical Society members and $25 for everyone else. Valid ID is required, since the whole evening is 21 and over.
Good to know
History After Hours is the museum’s adults-only evening series, and some past nights in the series have sold out, so buying ahead is the safer plan. If you want dinner first, the museum is on the same stretch of Pacific Avenue as the University of Washington Tacoma campus and its restaurants.
Rainier fans might also want the companion book, Running Wild: The Rainier Beer Campaigns 1974-1987, which the filmmakers made with Minor Matters Books from the same advertising archive that shaped the film.
Details and tickets: History After Hours: Rainier: A Beer Odyssey (opens in a new tab). Dates and vendors can change, so check before you go.
