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Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives: HOME

This guide provides a list of archival collections related to hops and brewing history, as well as tips and resources for doing research.

WELCOME TO YOUR GUIDE FOR NORTHWEST BREWING HISTORY!

Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives, established in 2013, is the first in the U.S. dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing materials that tell the story of Northwest brewing. We focus on materials related the regional hops and barley farming, craft and home brewing, cider, mead, and the OSU research that dates to the 1890s.

Cornerstones for the archives are the papers of world renowned beer historian Fred Eckhardt; the records of the Oregon Hop Growers Association; extensive industry periodicals and book collections; and research reports on plant disease, breeding, and processing. The archives also include oral histories with growers, brewers, and scientists; homebrew club newsletters; industry periodicals; photographs; memorabilia; and advertising materials and art from breweries throughout the state.

At its core, OHBA is a community archiving project. We work with the people who changed the face of an industry and set in motion a movement, so let's work together to keep our history local! We are actively seeking materials pertaining to growing and brewing history. You can learn more about what we collect at http://bit.ly/ohbacollect

MORE WAYS TO RESEARCH BEER

This guide is complimented by the guide to beer research, where you'll find tips for finding primary and secondary sources, as well as tips for researching people, businesses, the industry, the social and cultural components of beer, and how to find information on ingredients or recipes. It is not meant to be exhaustive! Every historical researcher will find new avenues to physical archival sources or troves of digitized documents, but it will provide you with strategies for locating relevant information, as well as tips for using Google Scholar and government resources, bibliographies of frequently cited academic press books and popular blogs, topics and time periods, and digital collections. 

The OSU Library History research subject guide will provide general information on search strategies and starting points; guidance on finding print and electronic books, journal articles, and primary sources through the library; and using newspapers in your historical research.

MORE ON NORTHWEST BEER

  • The Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives is housed at the OSU Library in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center and is open to all researchers. 
  • This guide contains information about the Oregon Hops and Brewing collections and related resources. Please visit the OHBA site for history and administrative information.
  • Make sure to follow The Brewstorian blog for up-to-date information regarding current projects, new collections, recently digitized materials, et. al. 

Librarian/Archivist