Pubs & Restaurants

30th Anniversary of the First Brew

On October 25, 1985, McMenamins' first beer was brewed in a small copper kettle at Hillsdale Brewery. It was a liquid malt extract brew, highly hopped for the era, brewed by the Hillsdale's first brewer Ron Wolf and dubbed "Hillsdale Ale." Falling loosely in the ‘Special Bitter' classification of beer styles, Hillsdale Ale became McMenamins first bona-fide company standard beer, pre-dating Terminator, Hammerhead and Ruby.

   

Today McMenamins has created, brewed and kegged more than one million kegs.

In celebration of three decades of small-batch brewing, a 30th Anniversary commemorative batch of Hillsdale Ale will be poured at every McMenamins location across the land for one day only. This revisited brew is based on careful studies of the original brewing records from Hillsdale and Cornelius Pass Roadhouse as it evolved during its 13-month run. It has been parsed and adjusted with enough poetic license to translate what was historically a malt extract brew to a modern all-grain interpretation. We believe that the aim of the original concept of that first company standard can now be poured into your pint on this special date.

On October 25, you're invited to stop by and raise a pint to our pioneer beer! Hillsdale Ale is $4 all day, $8 to fill your growler, and collect a special stamp for your McMenamins Passport. We'll have two Discovery Hunts, one in Oregon and one in Washington.  

Portland-Area Hunt: East Vancouver, McMenamins on the Columbia, Hillsdale, John Barleycorns, Crystal Brewery, Fulton & Highland

Seattle-Area Hunt: Mill Creek, Anderson School, Queen Anne & Six Arms

And keeping the cosmos in proper alignment and bringing the narrative full circle, the Hillsdale Brewery will even be brewing Hillsdale Ale in its magnificent new copper kettle that day.

30th Anniversary Beer stats:
Malt: Great Western Malting NW Pale Ale Malt, Great Western Malting Munich Malt, Great Western Malting Dextrapils 
Hops: Centennial (Bittering), Brewer's Gold (Flavor & Aroma), Tettnanger (Flavor & Aroma)
OG
: 1.045 TG: 1.010 ABV: 4.51% SRM: 4 IBU: 38


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