Emil George Sick was born in Tacoma, Washington to Canadian parents. His first job was as a shipping clerk in his father's Lethbridge, Alberta brewery. By age 29 Sick had worked his way up the ladder and became the general manager of the Associated Breweries of Canada. He later renamed it Sick's Breweries, Limited. With the repeal of Prohibition in America Sick saw more opportunities to expand his brewery empire. Between 1933 and 1943 he purchased or obtained controlling interest in no less than a half a dozen American breweries throughout the Pacific Northwest. His interest in American institutions even extended to baseball. He purchased the struggling Seattle Rainiers club in 1937 and was instrumental in establishing the Great Falls Electrics team in Montana. Sick's Brewery empire contracted throughout the 1950s. He sold companies one by one and concentrated his energy and resources on his flagship brewery in Seattle and their product, Rainier Beer. Emil George Sick died on the 10th of November 1964 at age 70. The Rainier Brewery soon after changed their name, removing the Sicks' prefix.