Zooming Back to History-Tiah Edmunson-Morton

December 16: Women behind the pints: Oregon’s 19th century brewery wives

You may have heard beer is big in Oregon. Brewers talk about high-quality water and fresh hops, but also connect to the story of the Northwest settlers, the rugged white men who made lager and supplied saloons for thirsty laborers. An important detail is missing from most 19th century Oregon beer history: these brewers didn’t arrive alone. Though the name over the door was a man’s, and women weren’t likely to be found in the brewhouse or serving lager in a saloon, their involvement as wives, widows, and daughters is an important, unknown, and untold story.