Farmers were already growing hops in the verdant valleys of the Oregon Territory, and a thirsty throng of hearty dock workers, lumbermen and laborers lived in nearby Portland, where the only brewer in town was fellow German, Henry Saxer. The Pacific Northwest must have appeared to Weinhard as a missive sent from an all-knowing all-loving, all-brewing deity. Former Oregonian columnist, Jonathan Nicholas “What Widmer and BridgePort and the rest brought to the scene was that most blessed of all benedictions: fresh ale, brewed right there right now.” Weinhard began brewing his way westward, refining his craft along the way-first in Philadelphia, then Cleveland and finally out to Fort Vancouver, Washington. New York City was no civilized environment in which to ply his brewing skills. Had the French been precisely 34 years more punctual in their gifting of the Statue of Liberty, the young German might have envisioned a bottle of Henry Weinhard’s beer, instead of a torch, atop Lady Luck’s outstretched arm.īorn in the Kingdom of Württemberg and apprenticed to the brewing trade in Stuttgart, Weinhard, in 1852, emigrated into America’s political foreplay of the Civil War. The same year that Saxer opened Liberty Brewery, the 22-year-old Weinhard, had just arrived in America by way of Ellis Island. But it was his successor, Henry Weinhard, who would become the icon of Oregon beer for the next hundred years. Henry Saxer, a German immigrant, was first to the trade in the Oregon Territory, establishing Liberty Brewery in Portland in 1852. Oregon’s brewing fairy tale begins a long time ago in the loose confederation of states now known as Germany. Oregon’s first Brewmasters: Henry Saxer and Henry Weinhard create Oregon beer The preceding century and a half was a hell of a fight. While today’s aficionados drink in the benefits of this trend, each sip of this finely brewed culture in Oregon has been more than 150 years in the making. In 2009 alone, the state added ten new breweries. As Oregonians strive for a locally driven food model, the state has become the largest commercial market for locally crafted beers. Recently, even while the economy has been contracting, craft brewing in Oregon has been expanding. The state counts more than ninety breweries, leads the nation in microbeer drinkers, has one of two colleges in the country that condones brewing beer as an academic pursuit, displays a trophy case with too many top medals at the Great American Beer Festival to mention and is the second leading hops producer in the country. Today Oregon is at the vanguard for craft brewing. To the casual beer enthusiast-aren’t we all?-the modern culture of hip brewpubs across Oregon serving some of the world’s best craft beers appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon led by such brewers as Ninkasi Brewing in Eugene, Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland and the ubiquitous McMenamins establishments. Written by Bob Woodward with Laurel Bennett
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