Growing up in Germany, Henry Weinhard came from a culture where beer drinking was a part of a social life which included families and friends. It was much different in the American West, where saloons were filled primarily with male beer drinkers.
The Oregon Historical Society.
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At 22, having completed a brewer apprenticeship, Henry Weinhard left a small town in Southern Germany to immigrate to the United States. Weinhard arrived in the Pacific Northwest via the Columbia River in 1856 and quickly secured a position as a Brewmaster at Vancouver Brewery. Soon after, he bought the brewery along with two others.
Weinhard’s beer empire grew rapidly. As he shipped beer up and down the West Coast and internationally, his name becoming synonymous with beer. A philanthropist to his beloved Portland, he offered to connect Skidmore Fountain to his brewery to supply the working men of Portland with free beer. Sadly his generous offer never came to fruition.
Watch the Oregon Experience Documentary “Beervana” to learn more about how beer culture has evolved in Portland.
This series is in partnership with The Oregon Historical Society