**Exhibit 99.1**Pyramid Breweries Announces Change in Chief Executive Officer*SEATTLE, Wash. & BERKELEY, Calif. – July 3, 2006 – Pyramid Breweries Inc. (NASDAQ: PMID),today announced that John J. Lennon has resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer to pursueother business interests. Scott S. Barnum, currently a Pyramid Breweries Board Member, willreplace him effectively immediately.*“Barnum brings to Pyramid a unique blend of experience and skill sets” said George Hancock Chairmanof the Board. “He is a general manager with a strong marketing foundation coupled with beerindustry ***and***company knowledge as well as public company governance experience. He has animpressive and diverse career with both large and emerging growth consumer product companies andhas an entrepreneurial orientation having started and launched a number of companies, businessesand brands”.“Scott’s extensive beer and beverage experience will be a great asset,” added Hancock. Barnum wasPresident and Chief Operating Officer of Pete’s Brewing Company when it was a public company andworked a number of years at Miller Brewing Company where he launched and managed Miller’s specialtyand craft beer subsidiary and led the marketing effort behind Miller’s core brands, includingMiller Lite. Additionally, he spent nearly 9 years with PepsiCo in its soft drink and snackdivisions in brand management. Barnum also spearheaded eBay’s launch internationally as itsGeneral Manager/VP International shortly after the company went public. He has been a member ofPyramid’s Board of Directors for the last seven years.“Pyramid is well on its way to being an exceptional company with great products, people andprospects,” noted Barnum. “The business has momentum and its true potential is now beginning to berealized. I’m excited and fortunate to be back in the beer business with a company that I’ve knownfor the last 12 years both as a board member and as an industry competitor and admirer,” heconcluded.Barnum earned an MBA from Columbia University in New York and a BBA from Pacific LutheranUniversity in Tacoma, Washington. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family andwill be based out of the company’s Seattle and Berkeley offices.Chairman Hancock added, “I want to pay tribute to John Lennon’s contribution over thepast two years. He achieved his primary mission of successfully repositioning the Pyramid brandand restoring top-line momentum to the company. He has reshaped and improved Pyramid’s marketingdirection and we greatly appreciate his expertise in this area. John leaves us in much bettershape than he found us. We thank him and wish him well in his future endeavors.”**Forward-Looking Statements**This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securitieslaws. All statements that do not concern historical facts are forward-looking statements concerningfuture performance, developments or events, concerning potential sales, restaurant expansion,production capacity, pending agreements with third parties and any other guidance on futureperiods, constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use offorward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,”“expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “momentum,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” or“will,” or the negative thereof, or comparable terminology. While we believe these expectations,assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are onlypredictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond ourcontrol and which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from our statedexpectations. The Company’s actual future results could differ materially from those projected inthe forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include,but are not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A of Part I, “Risk Factors,” included in ourAnnual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 as filed with the Securities andExchange Commission (the “SEC”). Any forward-looking statements are made only as
 

 
of the date hereof. We do not intend to update any such statements or to publicly announce theresults of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except asmay be required by law.*About Pyramid Breweries Inc.*Pyramid Breweries Inc. is a leading brewer of specialty, full-flavored beers and sodas producedunder the Pyramid, MacTarnahan’s and Thomas Kemper brands. The independent company owns twoalehouse restaurants adjacent to its full production breweries under the Pyramid Alehouse andMacTarnahan Taproom brand names in Berkeley, California and Portland, Oregon, respectively, andthree alehouse restaurants in Walnut Creek and Sacramento, California and Seattle, Washington. Moreinformation about Pyramid Breweries is available at www.pyramidbrew.com**For More Information Contact:**