Miller in Discussions with Would-Be Brewery Buyers

Bob Hope, the head of Miller's Milwaukee-based disposition team tells GlobeSt.com there are "a number of people interested in buying the whole thing" and his team is "in discussions with a few" of them.

"Depending on how that goes, we will decide what kind of strategy we need to put together going forward," Hope told GlobeSt.com on Friday. "I would say within a month we would have a better idea whether we will try and list the property."

If the property can't be sold as a single piece, which is Miller's preference, Hope says he's had "probably 100 phone calls from people interested in different parts of it."

Thurston County Economic Development Director Dennis Matson, who is working with Hope and his team, told GlobeSt.com on Thursday that the first tours are scheduled for this week.

The brewery opened in 1896 to produce Olympia beer. Pabst bought the facility in 1983 and Miller bought it in 1999. The multi-building facility is bordered by the Deschutes River, Capitol Lake and a golf course.

Much of the 72 acres is undeveloped and will likely have to remain that way because the Deschutes River is a Salmon stream. "The amount of land available for the redevelopment would be a lot smaller than 72 acres," said Matson in February. "There will be increased buffers to deal with."

Also expected to draw interest are the well water rights associated with the brewery. According to state Department of Ecology records, the brewery controls access to no less than 6.56 million gallons per day or 7,344 acre-feet, making it one of the largest water rights holders in South Puget Sound region.