Bert Grant opened the country’s first brewpub in 1982 in Yakima, Washington and had been a fixture in the industry until his death in late July of 2001. Due to various financial troubles after his death, the original brewpub finally shuttered its doors in December of last year. But as reported last week in an AP story that was printed throughout local papers in the Pacific Northwest, Aaron Gamache, a 31-year-old beer lover and hop farmer in Toppenish, is planning on re-opening the pub under the name “Bert’s Pub” as an homage to Bert Grant, a move that has been endorsed by Grant’s family. Sounds like a nice legacy and one which I wholeheartedly — or would that be wholehoppedly — support.
Bert Grant and me at the Oregon Brewers Festival some time in the mid-1990s.