The Red Shed Tapes: A McMenamins Podcast

We take you inside a little-known McMenamins tradition: the annual Barley Brew. On this day, a group of McMenamins folk follow in the footsteps of our first brewers from the '80s to craft a very special beer celebrating the birthday of our first pub, the Barley Mill. You'll hear about the people who make it happen, how it began, and how a touch of magic makes this beer like no other. Check out the...

This episode is all about connections. The connections between  an unexpected gift, a thousand-year old poem, a legendary jazz musician, a stolen illustration, the Grateful Dead, and how they all converged in the creation of a secret room at McMenamins Kennedy School. You'll hear the story behind it all, including descriptions from the artists on how it all came to fruition. Check out the transcri...

In this episode marking the 20 th anniversary of Portland's iconic concert series December to Remember, we listen in on a conversation between co-founders Jimi Biron, McMenamins' music director, and Mark Hamilton, program director for 94/7 fm. You'll hear how the series is unique and why so many Portlanders who've been to December to Remember shows are still saying, "I heard them when."   Check ou...

Today when you go to a pub in Oregon, you'll find a long list of locally brewed craft beers. That wasn't always the case. In 1985 a handful of brewing pioneers, including Mike and Brian McMenamin, changed the future of beer in Oregon forever. Host Shannon McMenamin and her cousin Conners take a look back at the role their dads played in passing the Brewpub Bill; we hear from some of the original p...

On this B-side episode we dip into our archives to hear journalist Garrett Graff's expert take on the government's 80-year search for alien life. The Pulitzer Prize finalist explores everything from CIA insiders to the "summer of the flying saucer" to the odds of life out there.   Check out the transcript & photos here on the BLOG   Produced by McMenamins and Gretchen Kilby Host: Shannon McMenamin...

Today on the B-side … In 1961 a couple driving across New Hampshire spotted something unusual in the night sky. What happened next is the stuff of science fiction – only it wasn't to Betty and Barney Hill. On this episode of The Red Shed Tapes , B-side you'll hear the detailed account and evidence of their alien encounter from ET contact researcher and the Hills' niece, Kathleen Marden.   Check ou...

Welcome to the first B-side episode of The Red Shed Tapes ! In these episodes we play recordings and interviews from our archives… In this episode you'll hear Top Gun pilot David Fravor's play-by-play of his close encounter with the "Tic Tac" UFO, made famous by The New York Times . Commander Fravor spoke at McMenamins UFO Fest 2019 in what he called, "probably my first and last public appearance....

Customers at McMenamins pubs and hotels often look around in wonder at how nothing matches, yet everything goes together. They contemplate unusual, historical objects filling spaces from floor to ceiling and marvel at bars intricately carved. In this episode, host Shannon McMenamin delves into where it all came from. She talks to antiques dealers and a local historian, gets nostalgic about the old...

What kind of pub/hotel/handcrafting/live music business has a history department? And why? In Episode 3 of The Red Shed Tapes we're talking about how history is an integral part of the McMenamins experience and how 28-year historian Tim Hills built a department from the ground up as the company was restoring buildings from the roof down. We'll meet staff historians, hear from superstar drag queen...

Creating a place to hear music is a lot like creating music itself: You have to know when to leave space for drama and resonance, and every decision counts. In Episode Two of The Red Shed Tapes, we'll hear about reopening the legendary Crystal Ballroom during the height of Portland's indie rock era. We'll find out why curating playlists for each McMenamins pub is a lot like mixing the perfect cock...

Join host Shannon McMenamin on a long, strange trip through McMenamins' destiny-altering love of beer, art, music, history, and community. Opening the Barley Mill in 1983, helping pass legislation that forever changed Oregon's pub and dining culture, hiring Thursday Jane (who's still with the company 40 years later), and unearthing the Red Shed itself from a tangle of wild blackberry bushes –– it'...

Welcome to "The Red Shed Tapes," a mixtape of the stories and lore at the heart of McMenamins' long, strange trip. An ongoing collection of history, interviews and behind the scenes antics, "The Red Shed Tapes" celebrates McMenamins' devotion to community, art, music, historic preservation, and enchanting spaces where people forge lasting memories. Grab your headphones, pour yourself a pint, and m...