Brewing history touches every corner of Washington. Before the territory gained statehood, homesteader operations like Colville Brewery helped establish towns. In 1865, Joseph Meeker planted the state's first hops in Steilacoom. Within a few years, that modest crop became a 500-acre empire, and Washington led the nation in hop production by 1900s.
Enterprising pioneers like Emil Sick and City Brewery's Catherine Stahl galvanized early Pacific Northwest brewing. In 1982, Bert Grant's Yakima Brewing and Malting Company opened the first brewpub in the country since Prohibition. Soon, Seattle's Independent Ale Brewing Company led a statewide craft tap takeover, and today, there are nearly three hundred breweries and brewpubs in Washington. Historian Michael F. Rizzo, author of Washington Beer: A Heady History of Washington State Brewing, unveils the epic story of beer in the Evergreen State.

Michael F. Rizzo is a historian and author of 12 books, including Washington Beer: A Heady history of Washington State Brewing and Buffalo Beer: The History of Brewing in the Nickel City, about his hometown of Buffalo, NY. From 2015-2017, Michael co-hosted the podcast "Northwest Brew Talk," where he interviewed dozens of brewery entrepreneurs in Washington.

Stay the night, mention History Pub at check-in for 15% off your room.

These events are open to everyone interested in Pacific Northwest history, and beyond! Often co-sponsored by local or state historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers, historians and documentaries expounding on topics from indigenous history to the birth of Portland, early explorers to hop growing, and on and on! It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp