Oregon's First Brewpub Turns 30

Today marks in important milestone in Oregon history. But you aren't likely to see any coverage in the mainstream media. Why? Because it has nothing to do with the Kardashians or Star Wars or Back to the Future or a mass shooting. Nope.

Mike and Brian with Ron Wolf

Thirty years ago today McMenamins brewed the first batch of beer at their Hillsdale pub. Why is that significant? Because it made Hillsdale the first brewpub in modern Oregon history. The Brewpub Bill, passed in June 1985, paved the way for them to establish a brewery in an existing pub.

It may be instructive to recall that Bridgeport and Widmer were both brewing at that point. Bridgeport was actually selling beer by late 1984. The Widmers were right behind them and began selling beer in April 1985. But neither had a pub. Hillsdale was the first.

Those early Hillsdale beers were brewed with malt extract and other suspect ingredients. Not the best approach and, in fact, the beers were not especially good. Don't take my word for it. I didn't get here until 1989. Brian McMenamin provided his thoughts during a 2013 interview.

We weren’t really sure what the Brewpub Bill meant at first. Did it mean cooking beer on a stove in the kitchen? We knew we could use old dairy equipment. So we went down to Tillamook and found some tanks, jerry-rigged some stuff and it worked. We started making beer and it wasn’t good beer. We hired some people to help with it and we eventually had some decent stuff.

One of the people they hired was John Harris, who would become one of Oregon's iconic brewers at Deschutes and Full Sail before launching Ecliptic in 2013. By 1985, Harris had done some homebrewing, but had no pro experience. There were very few pro craft brewers in those days.. Head brewer Ron Wolf hired him, anyway. Harris recalled his experience in 2013.

On my first day at Hillsdale, I was supposed to bring rubber boots…but I forgot to buy them. I had to wear my hiking boots, which didn’t work very well. Fortunately, they didn't fire me. The system was tiny…about seven kegs. We had no temperature control and we used open fermenters. Consistency was a problem. Beers sometimes got a little sour. The whole concept of small breweries was revolutionary. The brewers at Henry Weinhard considered us renegades because our brewery was so primitive. We got some respect and the beer got better after we started mashing. 

The brewpub concept didn't take off instantly. But combining food with beer produced in tiny, on-site breweries eventually became a thing. Bridgeport established a pub and Portland Brewing opened on Northwest Flanders in March 1986. McMenamin's eventually established breweries in a number of their pubs, which became destinations because you could always find good beer there.

In the greater scheme of things, brewpubs were crucial to the development of our beer culture because they exposed people of all ages to craft beer in a friendly environment. If not for brewpubs, craft beer would have been relegated largely to the dark shadows of taverns and bars, and it's visibility would have suffered. We would not be where we are today.

To celebrate 30 years, a commemorative version of Hillsdale Ale will be poured at all McMenamin's locations today. No, this won't be a malt extract beer. They've examined the brewing notes from that original beer and recreated it to the best of their ability in an all-grain format. Pints of Hillsdale Ale will go for $4. Growler fills will be $8.

As most who follow the local beer scene know, the McMenamins pursued a different course than virtually all of the other craft or micro breweries. They never had any desire to distribute their beer beyond their own pubs and assorted properties. Their plan was wildly simplistic.

"Instead of buying it from someone else, we wanted to brew the beer to sell in our pubs," Brian McMenamin recalled. "If you haven't figured it out, we're stubborn Irish people. We like doing things ourselves."

You might say that stubborn, do-it-yourself approach has served and guided the brothers well over the years. And if you did, I'm pretty sure you'd be right.

Atiyeh's Link to Oregon Craft Beer

There's a fair amount of buzz in Portland media today surrounding the passing of Vic Atiyeh, Oregon's 32nd governor. Atiyeh served two terms, from 1979 to 1987. He passed away Sunday evening due to complications from injuries suffered several weeks ago.

Atiyeh's statue at PDX

Atiyeh was governor during a difficult economic stretch for Oregon. A national recession that struck in 1980 had staying power here. The double whammy was the collapse of timber industry revenues, which had floated the state for a century.

Looking for ways to keep the state solvent, Atiyeh launched a number of economic development initiatives that eventually resulted in trade relationships around the globe. Ironically, one of his most significant moments is generally under-appreciated. Atiyeh signed the Brewpub Bill (aka SB 813) into law in 1985.

At the time, no one had a clue what the Brewpub Bill would mean to the state. Founding craft brewers thought brewpubs would provide access to an otherwise allusive clientele. They thought good beer and good food in a family environment would push the business (they hardly thought of it as an industry) to new heights.

The story of how the brewpub legislation was bounced around the Oregon Legislature is covered in my book, Portland Beer: Crafting the Road to Beervana. In looking back, I discovered the brewpub idea was not universally supported by legislators. Some were against it because politically connected beer distributors didn't like it. Others thought approving brewpubs would give Coors access to Oregon, and they didn't like Coors' politics.

The fact is, the law that legalized brewpubs probably could not have gotten through the legislature on its own due to opposition in the state senate. The way it did get through, finally, was inserted into a bill that legalized the sale of alcohol in bed and breakfast establishments. The brewpub language was added to that bill and passed out of conference committee.

There was little fanfare when the bill reached Gov. Atiyeh's desk on July 13, 1985. He signed it into law and it was filed with the Secretary of State two days later. Little did anyone know.

The Brewpub Bill did not mark the beginning of the craft beer revolution in Oregon. And Oregon wasn't the first state to pass such legislation. But brewpubs turned out to be a crucial element in what has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Without them, craft beer would have remained largely hidden behind the blackened windows of taverns and bars. Instead, Oregonians got to experience craft beer in the well-lit comfort of brewpubs. The rest is history, really.

As we prepare for the 27th Oregon Brewers Festival, I hope someone will take notice and remember that the Brewpub Bill became law on Atiyeh's watch. We should toast Atiyeh and those who worked so hard to pass that legislation 29 years ago. We've come a long way.