Oregon Brewers Festival Donates $10,000 To Honor State’s Forgotten Beer Pioneers
(PORTLAND, OR) – Art Larrance, director of the Oregon Brewers Festival and longtime craft beer advocate, has donated $10,000 to the Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery/Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation on behalf of the festival. The donation will support the restoration of the tomb of George Frederick Bottler, one of Oregon’s earliest brewers.
Bottler’s tomb, now crumbling in the oldest part of Lone Fir, is one of the first structures built in the historic cemetery in Southeast Portland. It paints a picture of two key figures in the origin of Brewvana: pioneer brothers, both named George, who arrived in Oregon in 1856. George Michael Bottler — a Portland fireman, founding member of the German Benevolent Association and a Mason — established Portland’s second brewery, City Brewery, in 1857 with partner Henry Weinhard, while brother George F. started The Dalles Brewery in 1859.
“Supporting the restoration of Bottler’s tomb is an opportunity for fellow brewers to pull together and show support for two of the first brewers in the state, just as the brewing community pulled together 150 years ago,” explained Larrance. “This is a project where we can restore and preserve our craft brewing heritage.”
George M. was traveling in Germany when George F. died, so fellow Portland brewers — including Edward F. Schrader, Henry Saxer and Henry Weinhard — made arrangements for George F. to be buried in the Lone Fir Cemetery. When George M. returned from Germany, he built a tomb over his brother’s grave and purchased two other plots nearby to house his own remains. George M. later died in Munich, Germany, leaving no family to care for the tomb.
To learn more about the Bottler Tomb restoration project, visit www.friendsoflonefircemetery.org.
About Lone Fir Cemetery
Lone Fir Cemetery is listed on the National Register for Historic Place and was recognized as one of the 10 best cemeteries to visit, according to National Geographic Traveler. It is a living storybook of Oregon’s history, recognizing the known and honoring the forgotten. Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery are dedicated to education, preservation and restoration efforts that support the historically significant greenspace and seek to honor the deceased and their survivors through encouraging community involvement. For more information, visit www.lonefir.org.
About the Oregon Brewers Festival
The Oregon Brewers Festival was founded in 1988 as an opportunity to expose the public to microbrews at a time when the craft brewing industry was just getting off the ground. Today, that industry has succeeded, especially in Oregon, where 137 brewing companies operate 175 brewing facilities in 59 cities in Oregon. There are 51 breweries operating within the Portland city limits, more than any other city in the world. The 2012 Oregon Brewers Festival generated an economic impact of $30 million for the local economy. The Oregon Brewers Festival always takes place the last full weekend in July; the 27th annual event will take place July 23 through July 27, 2014. For more information, visit www.oregonbrewfest.com.
