Stuart Ramsay is a writer, consultant, and former brewery marketing and pub manager whose career helped shape early craft beer culture in the Pacific Northwest. Ramsay recounts his childhood in remote Highland communities in Scotland, his emigration to the United States in the late 1970s, and his early work in pubs and social clubs that shaped his understanding of beer, service, and community space. He traces his entry into American craft brewing through work at Yakima Brewing and Malting Company under Bert Grant and his subsequent role at BridgePort Brewing in Portland, where he managed the pub, oversaw sales and marketing, and helped define the character of one of Oregon’s first brewpubs. Ramsay discusses early craft brewing practices, beer styles, sanitation challenges, and the relationship between brewers, pub staff, and consumers, as well as the creation of beers such as Blue Heron. He reflects on the development of Portland’s beer culture, the founding of the Oregon Brewers Festival, the role of hops and local agriculture, and the gender dynamics of early brewing spaces. The interview concludes with Ramsay’s reflections on the evolution of craft beer, his later work writing about whiskey, and the lasting cultural significance of pubs as inclusive social spaces.
This interview was conducted by Tiah Edmunson-Morton October 17, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. It is a component of the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives Oral History Collection (OH 35), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.
