Don Younger Beer Publications Collection, 1979-2007

Predominant Dates: 1985-2000

The Don Younger Beer Publications Collection is comprised of periodicals and newsletters collected by Younger about brewing in the United States. Don Younger bought the Horse Brass Pub in Portland, Oregon in 1976. He was a strong supporter of local beer and a mentor for other publicans.

Creators

ID: MSS Younger

Extent: 2.0 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

Biographical / Historical Notes

Don Younger bought the Horse Brass Pub in Portland, Oregon in 1976. He was a strong supporter of local beer and a mentor for other publicans; he was also a book and beer memorabilia collector.

Donald Allan Younger was born in San Francisco in 1941. The first bar he set foot in was the Howdy Doody in Gresham, Oregon. Though he was 17, he looked 13, snd he was served a Blitz beer anyway. He loved it. By the late 1960s, he was a regional office manager in Portland, Oregon for Lever Brothers, a consumer goods company that promoted brands like Lifebouy, Pepsodent, and Mrs. Butterworth’s. When his brother Bill returned from Vietnam and suggested they buy a tavern, Younger agreed. They opened the Mad Hatter tavern in Southeast Portland in 1967 and later Strawberry Fields in suburban Gresham. Rules for operating a tavern at that time were restrictive, with limitations on singing or dancing and ban on having windows or serving wine; when those were loosened, the clientele changed and brought different interests for food and drinks.

Younger’s acquisition of the Horse Brass Pub in 1976 is steeped in lore. The one most often told is that one afternoon while his car was being fixed he stopped at the “homey English-style pub” on Southeast Belmont Street, which sold pizza. He’d never been to the Horse Brass before, never drank anything besides light American lagers, and hadn’t visited the U.K. He and then-owner Jay Brandon drank a lot and, as legend has it, Younger awoke the next morning with the deed to the bar scribbled on a cocktail napkin in his pocket. It’s unclear if he won it in a poker game or just bought the place, but it is clear that his brother was surprised to co-own a new property.

In 1977, the Horse Brass began carrying bottles of New Albion, the first "microbrewery" in America in the post-Prohibition era, which was a stretch for the small Sonoma, California brewery. Younger was also excited by the opening of Portland’s Cartwright Brewery in 1979 because he looked forward to serving beer from a local microbrewery. In 1982, he put Grant’s from Yakima, Washington on tap, which was the first microbrewery beer he served that wasn't in bottles. He said that people in Portland were ready for good beer, all they needed was someone to make it. Soon, he served beers from Anchor Brewing and Sierra Nevada, both from California, and BridgePort Brewing and Widmer Brothers Brewing, which both opened in Portland in 1984. Younger was dedicated to finding ways to showcase the promising new breweries and often ended up being the first Portland account for the brewers now regarded as pioneers. He offered early breweries like McMenamins, Rogue, Deschutes, and Portland Brewing some of their first tap handles. Rogue Ales still makes Younger's Special Bitters, named for Don's favorite beer brand and in honor of his late brother. Beyond serving beers from different breweries, he also encouraged different styles; in 1983, the Horse Brass put in the first cask hand pump, which was likely the first cask-conditioned beer available in a U.S. bar after Prohibition.

He also offered a gathering place for people to share and consume both local and imported beers. It was at the Horse Brass that brewers came together to draft the 1985 Oregon Brewpub Bill, which allowed breweries to make and sell their own beer onsite. Younger also played a leading role the creation of Oregon Craft Beer Month to offer breweries who were left out of the Oregon Brewers Festival an opportunity to promote their products; organizers called it “Fringe Fest,” later known as Oregon Beer Week and then Oregon Craft Beer Month. He was a mentor for others running pubs in America, and publicans from across the country consulted him for advice; as a result, he became part of a group of bar owners who called themselves the Publican National Committee.

Younger helped his friend Joy Campbell start Belmont Station in a small space next door to the Horse Brass Pub, which was among the first “craft” beer stores in the country. Concerned they wouldn’t succeed just selling beer, Younger and Campbell also offered hard-to-find British foods and breweriana. He owned or co-owned several other businesses, including the Rose and Raindrop in Portland and Lovejoy’s on the Oregon Coast; there was also a “sister” pub in the U.K. called the Princess of Wales. Younger helped found Lompoc Brewing in 1996 in Portland and was co-owner of the three New Old Lompoc locations. He also lent money to Duane Sorenson, the Stumptown Coffee Roasters founder, who worked at Belmont Station for nine months in 1999.

When reflecting on the broader success of breweries in Portland, Younger often credited Mike McMenamin and Bill McCormick (McCormick & Schmick’s, Jakes) for promoting local beer and international styles in their businesses. McMenamin opened the first distributorship, purportedly to sell bottles for Cartwright Brewing; then he opened the Produce Row Café and the Fat Little Rooster bar in SE Portland, before opening the Hillsdale Pub. McCormick offered multiple taps of different beers; their prominence as a restaurant in Portland gave others selling a more diverse beer menu credibility.

Younger died in Portland Oregon on January 31, 2011 after a short illness.

Author: Tiah Edmunson-Morton

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Arrangement

Preferred Citation: Don YoungerBeer Publications Collection (MSS Younger), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Acquisition Note: The collection was donated to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center by Mark Campbell, friend of Don Younger, in 2019.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

Container List

Series 1: Publications, 1984-2007 Add to Shelf

These publications include information about regional and national events such as brewery or bar openings, information about styles and travel, biographical information for brewers, developments in technology or legal restrictions, and information about the culture of beer.

Box-Folder 1.01: American Breweriana Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.02: Bar Tourists of America, 1986-1989 Add to Shelf: Published by Jack McDougall in Cranford, New Jersey. Includes reprints of news stories related to bars.
Box-Folder 1.03: Beer and Breweriana , 1996–1997 Add to Shelf: Published by Betty and Duncan Perry in the Czech Republic and Delaware.
Box-Folder 1.04: Beer Talk, 1995 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.05: Beer Travelers , 1995–1997 Add to Shelf: Published by Stan Hieronymus and Daria Labinsky in Washington, Illinois.
Box-Folder 1.06: Brass Tacks, Horse Brass Pub newsletter, 1991–1996 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.07: Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP), 1992–1993 Add to Shelf: Homebrewing newsletter published by Erik Henchal in Derwood, Maryland.
Box-Folder 1.08: Eyewitness Companions Book on Beer by Michael Jackson, 2007 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.09: Malt Advocate, 1994–1997 Add to Shelf: Select issues, includes Don Younger notes.
Box-Folder 1.10: Mead-Anderings, 1988-1997 Add to Shelf: Quarterly newsletter published by George and Pat Saxon at Phoenix Imports in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Box-Folder 1.11: Michigan Beer Guide, 1999–2001 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.12: Miscellaneous Newsletters, 1998–2001 Add to Shelf: Includes an article on Jim Bernau and information on Holiday Ale Festival
Box-Folder 1.13: Northwest Brew News, 1994-1997 Add to Shelf: Newsletter published six times a year by Russ Ulrich and Jim Jamison in Bothell, Washington.
Box-Folder 1.14: On Tap: The Newsletter, 1994-1995 Add to Shelf: Newsletter published six times a year by Steve Johnson in Clemson, South Carolina.
Box-Folder 1.15: The Pint Post, 1988-1997 Add to Shelf: Newsletter published quarterly by the Microbrewery Appreciation Society in Seattle, Washington; Larry and Carol Bauch, publisher and editor. Includes 10^th anniversary issue.
Box-Folder 1.16: Schmitt’s Taps, 1994 Add to Shelf: Newsletter published monthly by Bill Maner and Tom Schmitt, Editor Don Goins in Seattle, Washington.
Box-Folder 1.17: Schmitt’s Taps, 1996-1997 Add to Shelf: Newsletter published monthly by Tom Schmitt, Editor Adam Credo in Seattle, Washington.
Box-Folder 1.18: Schmitt’s Taps, 1998 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.19: Schmitt’s Taps, 1999 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.20: Slainte: Journal of Classic Malts Society, 1995 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.21: What’s on Tap, 1996–1999 Add to Shelf: Newsletter published by William Brand and Steve Johnson in Berkeley, California.
Box-Folder 2.01: Alephenalia Beer News, 1984–1993 Add to Shelf: Published by Charles Finkel from Merchant du Vin in Seattle, Washington. Includes articles by Michael Jackson.
Box-Folder 2.02: Beer: The Magazine, 1994-1996 Add to Shelf: Edited by Bill Owens
Box-Folder 2.03: Great Lakes Brewing News, 1998-1999 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.04: Midwest Beer Notes, 1996–1999 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.05: Northwest Beer Journal, 1999 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.06: Northwest Beer Notes, 1996-1999 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.07: Rocky Mountain Beer Notes, 1998 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.01: Southwest Brewing News, 1996-1997 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.02: What’s Brewing, Colorado-based newspaper, 1997-1998 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.03: What’s Brewing, newspaper for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 2000 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.04: What’s Brewing, newspaper for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 2001 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.05: Willamette Week, 1994–1998 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.06: Yankee Brew News, 1996-1987 Add to Shelf

Series 2: Subject and research files, 1979-2000 Add to Shelf

Younger created indices for articles in beer and brewing publications. The dates for some issues are noted, but since the creation date of the indices is unclear the dates recorded are the dates articles were published.

He also kept subject files based on topics, people, or businesses. Of note are materials related to the history and newsletter for the Horse Brass Pub; materials related to Oregon's Brewpub Bill, which allowed breweries to produce and sell beer on the same site; information about the Microbrew Appreciation Society; and materials related to Merchant du Vin and Charles Finkel, who was also the owner of the Pike Brewing Company in Seattle and a collector of beer history books.

Box-Folder 1.22: Ale Street News Index, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.23: All About Beer Index, 1979-1997 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.24: American Brewer Index, 1987-1997 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.25: Beer Across America Index, 1996 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.26: Beer and Tavern Chronicles Index, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.27: Beer Connoisseur Index, 1997-1998 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.28: Drink Index, 1997 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.29: Northwest Beer Journal Index and Correspondence, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.30: Northwest Beer Notes Index, 1997-1998 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.31: Northwest Brew News Index, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.32: The Pint Post Index, 1987-1997 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.33: Yankee Brew News Index, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.34: Bar Tourists of America, 1992-1994 Add to Shelf: Correspondence and promotional materials.
Box-Folder 1.35: Blank Beer Company Calendars, 1995-2000 Add to Shelf: Includes calendars for 1995 and 2000.
Box-Folder 1.36: Oregon's Brewpub Bill, 1985–1987 Add to Shelf: Includes correspondence with Dick Ponzi and the Bureau of Licenses.
Box-Folder 1.37: British and European Beer, undated Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.38: Fred Eckhardt, 1983-1994 Add to Shelf: Includes issues of Listen to Your Beer, news clippings from the Oregonian, index to articles.
Box-Folder 1.39: Horse Brass Pub, 1992–1995 Add to Shelf: Correspondence, picture of pub interior, history, puns, news clippings, content for newsletter.
Box-Folder 1.40: Malt Advocate: Buyers Guide, 1996 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.41: Merchant du Vin, 1987-1988 Add to Shelf: Includes information about the Alephenalia newsletter and a listing of materials in Charles Finkel’s library.
Box-Folder 1.42: The Microbrew Appreciation Society, 1994 Add to Shelf: Includes membership information.

People, Places, and Topics

Related Materials

Information and Credits