Karen Sheley Oral History Interview, December 18, 2019

Partial Transcript: Okay. Go ahead and introduce yourself.

Segment Synopsis: Sheley discusses her childhood growing up in Syracuse, New York. She talks about her parents’ careers, noting that her mother was a pediatric physical therapist and her father was an insurance broker. She talks about how her parents have influenced her and also discusses her relationship with her siblings.

Partial Transcript: So you went to school to study musicology and music. How did how did that become a field of study that you chose?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about her love for music and her undergraduate degree in musicology. She briefly talks about her experiences in that program as well as er other academic interests, which included linguistics and anthropology.

Partial Transcript: So what was Northwestern like?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about her memories of Northwestern University. She notes that she had a close group of friends that she still keeps in contact with but that she doesn’t remember much other than that.

Partial Transcript: What was, what was Russia like in the early nineties from your perspective?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley explains that a few years after graduating from college she had the opportunity to work and study in Moscow, Russia. Se discusses her memories of the travel program she was in, noting that everyone was extremely friendly and supportive, her life in Russia, and her memories of the political tumult in the U.S.S.R.

Partial Transcript: Everything in their society was just turned on its head.

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about her experiences living in Russia and Czechoslovakia during the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. She recalls that people were extremely worried about their futures and that it had an extremely deleterious effect on many of her friends in terms of their economic status. She also notes that it was very politically tumultuous and surrounded by uncertainty. All the same, she states that the people remained friendly to her and that she was able to continue with her studies.

Partial Transcript: So how did people feel about that?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley explains how, after graduating from the linguistics program she was enrolled in in Moscow, she decided to travel to the Soviet Union where she studied hops. She talks about the differences between European and American hops, traditional Czech and German brewing, the history of brewing in that part of Europe, and the friends she made while there.

Partial Transcript: When did you know it was time to come back?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about her decision to return to the U.S., noting that she felt she had learned all she could in the Czech Republic and was ready to return home. She wanted to learn more about politics and international affairs, which ultimately led her to attend law school. Sheley states that she decided on Georgetown Law because of its reputation; she recalls that she enjoyed her time there and learned a great deal.

Partial Transcript: Why did you want to work in beer?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about her decision to start a career in the brewing industry. She explains that she was tired of academia but still remained interested in the hops research she conducted while in the Czech Republic, which led her to the beer industry. One of her connections at Georgetown knew people at Widmer Brothers Brewing, so she took a job there and moved to Portland.

Partial Transcript: What was Widmer like?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley describes her memories of Widmer Brothers Brewing. She talks about the people who worked there, providing anecdotes about other brewers and the managers at the company. She also talks about the types of beer that were popular at the time and how that’s changed over the years.

Partial Transcript: What about the external feedback? What did you hear when you're out and about?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about the brewing industry more broadly and how craft breweries competed against larger corporate breweries. She states that in areas such as the Pacific Northwest there was a large demand for local and artisanal beers, which allowed craft breweries to succeed financially, but in many other areas craft breweries struggled to compete with larger companies.

Partial Transcript: So eventually we got to the point where, like, we either got to do this or just shut up shop about it.

Segment Synopsis: Sheley describes how she founded Gateway Brewing with her husband, Joel Sheley. She explains that they started it in their garage shortly after getting married, and it expanded from there. She talks about the difficulties of founding a brewery, how it impacted her family life, and how it has grown since then.

Partial Transcript: What was the point when you decided that it was time to stop talking and actually give up your garage or part of your garage?

Segment Synopsis: In this portion of the interview, Sheley talks about the practical and business-related aspects of starting a brewery. She discusses the equipment they had to buy when upgrading their brewery, the importance of making connections with other brewers, and how to build a customer base.

Partial Transcript: So are there, are there former brewers who work there or people who have worked in brewing and now work there?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about her continued interest and involvement in the hops industry. She discusses the relationship between hops workers and brewers and describes her own personal experience working in both industries at the same time.

Partial Transcript: So we met at the Pink Boot Society. What brought you to that group?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley discusses her involvement in the Pink Boot Society, an organization of women brewers. She talks about the value of building relationships with other women in the industry, the importance of creating spaces for women, and how her feelings on this issue have changed over time.

Partial Transcript: Do you go to those meetings sometimes and think, oh, you should have been there then or do you not feel that like that?

Segment Synopsis: Sheley states that over time the brewing industry has become more inclusive towards women. She explains that there are many more female brewers now than there were when she was first starting in her career and that there is less discrimination against women in the industry.

Partial Transcript: So at one end there's a whole lot of people who are in our segment, who are small, who will, like, enjoying what we're doing, doing good, making really good products.

Segment Synopsis: Sheley talks about the current state of the beer industry and how small breweries fit into it. She also discusses overlap between the brewing industry and restaurant and hospitality industries.