Lucky Lager Brewery closed in 1985 after more than 100 years of beer production in downtown Vancouver. Lucky was the one-time epicenter of beer in Clark County before it closed. January’s “History on Tap” event will explore how a culture of craft brewing was born after it shut down.
If you like your history with a side of suds then you’ll like the new interactive series Clark County Historical Museum is launching in January.
“History on Tap” will be held at the Kiggins Theatre in downtown Vancouver. Along with a discussion about a historical topic, it will feature trivia and a Q&A segment with a local historian — all while sipping a selection of local brews.
Fittingly, the title of the specific historical topic to be covered during the first event is “Lucky to Loowit: The Fall of Lucky Lager and the Rise of the Craft Brewing Industry.”
“We’re excited to partner with the historic Kiggins Theatre on this new and exciting event for the community,” Brad Richardson, CCHM executive director, said in the event’s announcement. “Our goal is to have fun with our history and explore popular historical stories in an engaging way.”
The evening will begin with a gameshow-style segment: audience members will be invited on stage to answer history questions about Clark County and more. The questions will come directly from a trivia game created by local author and historian Pat Jollota.
Jollota will then answer questions on local history — gathered from social media, email, or submitted through the museum — in a segment called “Ask Pat.”
The topic of the night will be explored in the final segment. Steve Bader, of Bader Beer and Wine Supply, will give the Jan. 17 presentation.
“The closing of Lucky Lager Brewery in 1985 seemed to signal the end of more than 100 years of beer production in downtown Vancouver,” Bader said in the announcement. “Over the last two decades, however, passionate local brewers have come together through small bars, pubs, and microbreweries to create a culture of craft brewing in our community. We are in the midst of an exciting new chapter in Vancouver beer making.”
Other topics in 2019 will include Pat Jollota’s newest book, “The Murder of JoAnn Dewey in Vancouver, Washington” in April and “Stuff We Used to Believe” in July. The last 2019 program will be in October, during which local historians will discuss scary Clark County ghost stories.
