The Red Shed Tapes Podcast, Episode 3 Transcript
One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills: McMenamins History Department

Title lyric from the Grateful Dead’s “St. Stephen” SPEAKERS: Shannon McMenamin, Tim Hills, Mike McMenamin, Jon Smart, Brian McMenamin, Poison Waters, Elysia Scholl, and Caitlin Popp With archival audio including James Brown, Lyle Hehn, Kolieha Bush, Poison Waters and Bruce Maccabee I. Historical Pit Stop: A James Brown Story Kind of Explains It All 0:00…

Read More

The Red Shed Tapes Podcast, Episode 1 Transcript
Long, Strange Trip

SPEAKERS Mike McMenamin, Shannon McMenamin, Thursday Jane, Brian McMenamin, Patrick McNurney Shannon McMenamin  00:00 Hi, I’m Shannon McMenamin, host of The Red Shed Tapes and part of the leadership team running our family owned company. Growing up, my dad always drove a van; my brothers and I spent a lot of time rolling around in…

Read More

12th Annual Running of the Brewers

On September 8th, McMenamins brewery district managers arrived at Willamette Valley’s Sodbuster Farms as trucks overflowing with just-harvested Mosaic hops rolled in from the fields. 30- and 50-pound bags were packed, and the managers were off, racing to each of their breweries with the freshest of hops. Within minutes, these beautiful, fragrant Mosaics were added…

Read More

Celebrating Our 35th Anniversary of Our First Beer

McMenamins First Beer

1985. Ronald Reagan is president, The Goonies is popular in theaters, the Unabomber is at large in the U.S., Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. and McMenamins’ first beer is born. In 1985 McMenamins was two years old and, after the recent passage of the Brewpub Bill, just dipping our toes into the proverbial mash of…

Read More

Cheers to Oregon Beer

Hello from the History Department, and happy Oregon Craft Beer Month! McMenamins operates 25 breweries – the newest (at the Anderson School in Bothell, WA) opened in September 2015. Since our first brew at the Hillsdale Brewery & Public House in 1985, we have produced more than 68,500 batches. For example, in 2014, we collectively…

Read More

Ruby Turns 30

Ruby’s 30th birthday is this coming Monday, March 21. This light, fruity, raspberry beer is one of our best-selling recipes. Who among us hasn’t heard from a guest or customer at least once, “I love Ruby!” Thanks for that, and CHEERS! In 1986, McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery & Public House became the first brewery in the Pacific Northwest to legally use fruit in the brewing of ales.

Read More

The Stout is Out

Hooray, the stout is out! Today marks the annual release of our McMenamins Irish Stout, on tap now through the end of the month.

From the McMenamins brewers themselves: “McMenamins Irish Stout is made as traditionally as possible with our own little twist. It is a very dark, ebony-colored stout with a thick, creamy and long-lasting head. The flavor is a fantastic fusion of coffee-like roasted barley bitterness and semi-sweet chocolate. A moderate hop bitterness balances pleasingly with this hearty backbone, while tiny nitrogen bubbles enhance the sensation on your taste buds with a smooth, silky creaminess.”

Read More

Liquidator ca. 1985, Documented

Recently, Tim and brewery operations manager John Richen did some photo-beer sleuthing using some old (new to us) photos that beer legend/writer/muse Fred Eckhardt (who passed away just last month) took back in 1985, very soon after the historic Brewpub Law was passed in Oregon. They were for use in one of his “Listen to Your Beer” newsletters.

Read More

Sunflower IPA Blooms Again

Dry-Hopped Sunflower IPAWe’ve added more bloom to our traditional Sunflower IPA recipe, complete with an array of hop varieties for added aroma and hop flavor, to brew up one batch of Dry-Hopped Sunflower IPA. Starting July 1, these limited-edition bottles of Dry-Hopped Sunflower IPA are available for sale until they run out. You can find the 22-ounce bottles at all our Oregon and Vancouver, Wash. locations  for $5.10 each.

Read More