Horse Brass Pub
4534 SE Belmont, Portland, OR
1976—There are various stories about how Don Younger acquired the Horse Brass Pub, but what’s certain is that it wasn’t until after he owned it that he decided to find out just what an English pub was. So he headed to Great Britain in 1977. “That’s when I knew,” he said, his eyes dancing. What, he wasn’t yet sure, “but I was going to do the pub thing.” In the years since, scores of publicans have visited Portland to learn the secret from him.
The Hopland Brewery
13351 S. Highway 101, Hopland, CA
1977—Jack McAuliffe founded New Albion Brewing in Sonoma in 1976 and started selling beer in 1977. It was the first new brewery to open in the United States since Prohibition, and the first modern microbrewery. When it closed in 1982, its yeast, some equipment and several employees headed to Hopland to start Mendocino Brewing, which thrives today. Brewing now takes place at Ukiah (still using that New Albion yeast), while the Hopland pub serves Mendocino beers. Parts of the old New Albion system decorate the Ukiah brewery, while Hopland has old bottles and case boxes on display.
Benaroya Hall
200 University St., Seattle
1979—Every time Charles Finkel and his wife attend the symphony, he can’t help but think about when Merchant du Vin had its offices in a Tudor-style building on this spot. After reading Jackson’s World Guide to Beer, Finkel called him in London to praise the book. They quickly became friends. Soon they were sharing beers in Finkel’s kitchen (where Ayinger’s dopplebock, Celebrator, got its name), and by 1979 Jackson was conducting tastings at Merchant du Vin for retailers and restaurateurs. It was no accident that Seattle was one of the first beachheads for specialty beer. Finkel threw a party at another MdV location, Lechi on Lake Washington, to celebrate Jackson’s 50th birthday. By this time, he had started Pike Brewing Co., so they brewed a commemorative Michael Jackson beer called Old Companion.
Millennium Harvest House
1345 28th St., Boulder
1982—This hotel was called the Hilton Harvest House in 1982 when a modest 20 breweries brought about 35 beers to the first Great American Beer Festival. At the 2004 festival, 100 judges from four countries judged 2,016 beers in 67 style categories.
