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A desire to escape the dull corporate life and an affinity for homebrewing led Kurt and Rob Widmer to cobble together $60,000 to start a microbrewery in 1984 in what’s now the Pearl District.
Portland had all the basic ingredients for craft brewing to take off, says Lisa Morrison, a longtime beer writer and advocate. A DIY ethic, an openness to new ideas, cheap warehouse space, and a growing farm-to-table movement. But the scene still lacked a certain fizz.
The eureka moment came in 1986. Like so many innovations, it was a combination of good luck and quick thinking under pressure.
Microbrewers couldn’t afford to bottle or can their beer in those days, so the only way to sell was on draft. Widmer’s first two beers, Altbier and Weizenbier, were finding an audience at local pubs. The Dublin Pub asked the Widmers for a third tap.
The problem was that the Widmer brothers couldn’t afford the equipment to make another style from scratch. Then came the epiphany: Create something new by leaving their Weizenbier unfiltered.
The result was something as cloudy as a typical Portland sky: Hefeweizen.
Despite the murky appearance, the beer tasted light and refreshing. Bartenders served it with a wedge of lemon. “No one was doing anything remotely like that,” Morrison says. “It was different. Cloudy. Full of character, but friendly and easy to drink.”
Hefe was a runaway hit. Soon bars and restaurants all over Portland were adding taps for microbrew pioneers like Widmer, BridgePort, Portland Brewing, and Full Sail. Hefe has won at least 30 awards (including Best Gold American Wheat Beer in 2023).
From there, craft brewing grew like the foam on a perfect pour. Within 20 years, Portland boasted more than 30 breweries. Brewers explored styles ancient and new, brought in seasonality, complex tastes, varying textures, and a range of strengths.
“We benefited from great local ingredients. Excellent water, local hops, local yeast from Hood River,” says Morrison, who co-owns the Belmont Station bottle shop and, in 2021, became the first woman inducted into the Oregon Beer Hall of Fame.
Like so many hospitality businesses, brewpubs took a hit during the pandemic. So how to keep the industry fresh?
Meet some friends at a brewpub, try some great local beer, and drink a toast to the Hefeweizen that kicked it all off. After all, beer is the quintessential taste of togetherness.
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