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Fred Eckhardt Papers, 1879-2013

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Eckhardt, Fred.
Title
Fred Eckhardt Papers
Dates
1879-2013 (inclusive)
1970-2010 (bulk)
Quantity
30 cubic feet, including 1866 photographs and 2561 negatives and positive slides, (30 boxes, including 2 oversize boxes)
Collection Number
MSS Eckhardt
Summary
The Fred Eckhardt Papers covers a broad range of topics related to craft beer brewing, as well as sake and wine making. Included are historical and contemporary brewing practices; research files and personal notes about northwest, regional, national, and international breweries; and photographs of brewing operations, brewers, national and international travels, and industry events. Eckhardt’s collection also includes his own publications, from periodicals to books. These files feature original research, correspondence, artwork and photographs, drafts, issue design templates, and final versions of his published work.
Otto Fredrick “Fred” Eckhardt (1926 - 2015) was a well-known advocate, critic, educator, mentor, and historian. A beloved member of the brewing community, Eckhardt has been called the icon, pioneer, and founding father of craft beer, as well as the much beloved “Dean of American beer writing.”
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English, Japanese
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Biographical Note

Otto Fredrick “Fred” Eckhardt (1926 - 2015) was a well-known advocate, critic, educator, mentor, and historian. Born in Everett, Washington, Eckhardt traveled widely with the U.S. Marine Corps before eventually moving to Portland, Oregon, where his written work on beer and brewing would encourage generations of people to think about beer in new ways. A beloved member of the brewing community, Eckhardt has been called the icon, pioneer, and founding father of craft beer, as well as the much beloved “Dean of American beer writing.”

A veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, Eckhardt’s experiences with beers abroad inspired him to brew both wine and beer at home during the 1960s when breweries were consolidating and beer was becoming more bland. Throughout his life, Eckhardt remained an avid homebrewer, particularly of sake, a Japanese rice beer. After leaving careers as a swim instructor and studio photographer, Eckardt began photographing new pubs and writing about beer full time. Inspired by a 1972 visit to Anchor Steam Brewery, Eckhardt became an avid proponent of tasteful, complex craft brews. He urged people to focus on flavor, style, and experience, mentoring homebrewers at the Oregon Brew Crew and writing regularly for industry publications like Celebrator Beer News and All About Beer.

Eckhardt rose to prominence in the brewing community with his 1970 A Treatise on Lager Beers, a guide to homebrewing and the evolution of lager beer (a hobby which was notably still illegal at the time of publication). His 1989 The Essentials of Beer Style is still considered a required read for brewers and beer lovers alike. Eckhardt’s immense influence on the American beer community is clear from the number of brews and festivals named is in honor. Works like his Treatise and Essentials were instrumental in the development of home and craft brewing, leaving behind a legacy of impassioned brewers and beer aficionados.

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Content Description

Fred Eckhardt’s collection offers an amazingly deep record of the birth, growth, and evolution of the craft brew industry. The collection covers a broad range of topics related to craft beer brewing, as well as sake and wine making, primarily featuring the period between 1970 and 2010. Included are historical and contemporary brewing practices; research files and personal notes about northwest, regional, national, and international breweries; published and unpublished material about international beer styles; and photographs of brewing operations, brewers, national and international travels, and industry events.

Eckhardt’s collection also features a series of self-published works, including the original research, correspondence, design templates, drafts, and final versions behind periodicals such as “Listen to Your Beer,” “Talk to Your Beer,” and “Amateur Brewer.” Also included are early editions of Eckhardt’s books, which detail the process and history of homebrewing, lager beer, and sake. Many of these publications feature photographs taken by Eckhardt, the majority of which are included in the collection as prints and negatives. These photographs showcase Japanese brewing operations, early Oregon and United States breweries, homebrew production, and professional landscape and studio portraiture.

The collection also encompasses other pieces written but not published by Eckhardt. As a beer critic and writer, Eckhardt collected and wrote many major industry periodicals, providing a dense record of the burgeoning craft brew industry. These articles are supplemented by research from Eckhardt’s extensive travels across the country from 1980 to 2000, a period marked by an explosive growth of microbreweries and brewpubs. During his trips to these establishments, as well as a number of festivals and competitions, Eckhardt kept extensive notes. These records detail beer tastings, brewery operations, judge's notes, personal reflections, and travel observations. Included with his personal notes are news clippings about breweries and events, promotional materials, maps, event programs, press releases, and correspondence. For events at which Eckhardt was a speaker, presentation notes are also included.

In addition to his own work, Eckhardt also collected that of other prominent beer writers, historians, and researchers. His book collection is extensive, covering a wide range of topics and authors, from well-known and popular examples like those of Charlie Papazian and Michael Jackson to smaller self-published pamphlets. Many books contain Eckhardt’s own notes as well as personalized messages from authors.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Fred Eckhardt Papers (MSS Eckhardt), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Fred Eckhardt Papers are arranged into eight series: 1. Eckhardt Publications & Publishing, 1965-2013; 2. Subject and Research Files, 1879-2013; 3. Teaching Materials and Lecture Notes, 1972-2001; 4. Events and Travel, 1982-2010; 5. Sake, 1908-2010; 6. Personal, 1955-1976; 7. Publications, 1869-2014; and 8. Photographs, 1964-2002.

Acquisition Information

These materials were donated to the Special Collections and Archives Research Centeer by Tom Reese, executor for the Eckhardt estate, in 2015.

Related Materials

Fred Eckhardt’s papers are complemented by several other collections. The Oregon Hops and Brewing Collection (MSS OHBC) contains information pertaining to the history, growth and culture of the Pacific Northwest brewing industry; included are newsletters for homebrew clubs such as the Oregon Brew Crew and Cascade Brewers Society, as well other noteworthy industry periodicals and publications. The Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives Oral History Collection (OH 35) includes interviews from industry professionals, journalists and community members; of note is a 2014 interview with Fred Eckhardt. Further information regarding the values, logistics, and goals of the burgeoning regional brewing community can be found in organizational collections like the Heart of the Valley Homebrewers Records (MSS HOTV), McMenamins Brewery Collection (MSS McMenamins), Ninkasi Brewing Company Collection, 2012-2014 (MSS Ninkasi), and the Oregon Brewers Guild Records. The personal research collections of Pete Dunlop (MSS Dunlop), Fred Bowman (MSS Bowman) and Robert Daly (MSS Daly) contain additional information regarding the beer writing process and Portland-area beer culture.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Beer industry--United States--History.
  • Beer--Oregon--Portland--History.
  • Beer--Periodicals.
  • Beer--United States.
  • Brewers--Oregon--Portland--Biography.
  • Brewing industry--Oregon.
  • Brewing--Amateurs' manuals.
  • Brewing--Periodicals.
  • Brewing.
  • Cooking (Beer)
  • Microbreweries--Oregon--Portland--History.
  • Microbreweries--United States.
  • Rice wines.
  • Wine and wine making--Amateurs' manuals.
  • Wine and wine making.

Personal Names

  • Eckhardt, Fred.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Film negatives.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Slides (photographs)

Finding Aid Authors: Tiah Edmunson-Morton, Victoria Hitner.
2016

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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