Lisa Morrison Oral History Interview

Lisa Morrison is the majority owner at Belmont Station in Portland. In her interview, Morrison talks about growing up in Oklahoma, moving to Colorado for high school, and college experiences at Colorado State University. It was at CSU that her interest in imported and local microbrews was sparked. After graduating with a degree in Technical Journalism, Morrison was a television news reporter and anchor, a career she continued after moving to Portland in 1989. In addition to exploring the rapidly expanding beer culture in Portland, she began home brewing with her husband and soon joined the Oregon Brew Crew. Soon this personal interest or avocation turned into a career when she started to write about beer for local and national publications, and then later a radio show where she interviewed people from all aspects of the brewing community. Morrison talks about her process for identifying and chronicling beer culture, experiences as a woman in the journalism and brewing industries, beer education/appreciation classes she taught (including Sud Sisters, Barleys Angels), experiences mentoring and encouraging exploration of styles, and her impact on the industry, as well as her work establishing well-known festivals like PDX Beer Week, Craft Beer Month, and Fred Fest.