Beer

The History of Brewing in Oregon

By rayhenein

  • Liberty Brewery opened in Portland

    Liberty Brewery opened in Portland
    In 1852, Henry Saxer, a German immigrant, moved west and opened Liberty Brewery in Portland. Liberty Brewery became the first documented brewery in Oregon, quickly inspiring entrepenurial minds to explore the market of craft beer.

  • Henry Weinhard

    Henry Weinhard
    Saxer’s successor, Henry Weinhard, arrived in 1855. Roughly ten years later Weinhard bought both of Henry Saxer’s breweries, including the Liberty Brewery. By 1875 weinhards company grew to production of 40,000 barrels a year, even shipping to ports in Asia.

  • Skidmore Fountain Beer Fountain

    Skidmore Fountain Beer Fountain
    With the introduction of the Skidmore Fountain, Portland’s oldest piece of public art, Henry Weinhard appealed to the city of Portland to have his beer pumped through the fountain on its dedication day. Savvy advertising? We think so. Unfortunately for Weinhard and the city of portland, the proposal was turned down for safety reasons.

  • Prohibition Repealed

    Prohibition Repealed
    In 1933, Congress repealed prohibition behind the leadership of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. F.D.R. was famously quoted as telling his aide, “I think this would be a good time for a beer,” right after signing the bill.
    >By the 1970s, a pivotal shift in the cultural landscape of Oregon paved the road for an eventual transition into a further localization of goods. A certain sense of provincialism created a demand for locally created products using locally sourced or grown resources.

  • McMenamin Brothers

    McMenamin Brothers
    In 1985, a small group of up and coming brewers, including the likes of the McMenamin brothers, Richard and Nancy Ponzi of Bridgeport Brewing, and Rob Widmer of Widmer Brothers Brewing pushed a new law through Oregon Legislature that permitted the combination of brewing and retail sales on the same property; a critical change that helped shape today’s industry.

  • America’s Microbrew Capital

    By 1990, with more craft breweries and brewpubs per capita than any other city in the United States, Portland was proclaimed “America’s Microbrew Capital.”

  • Present Breweries

    Present-Right now, the state of Oregon registers over 180breweries and 223 brewing facilities in the state. Quantity produced leaped another 8% from 2012 to 2013 and it is projected to increase exponentially this coming year. The total economic impact of the beer market in Oregon is 2.83 billion dollars. Portland, the city that pioneered craft beer in America, currently has more breweries than any city in world. An increased demand for locally sourced ingredients and production has created a bou