Monthly Archives: October 2014

Events and Signings

Halloween pre-funk and signing at Platypus Pub

Okay to be fair I don’t know about the “Halloween pre-funk” part but wouldn’t it be great to get people to come out in costume to the Platypus Pub tonight (Thursday, October 30) to meet me and get a signed copy of the book? Well that is what you should be doing tonight, as I’ll be at the Platypus starting at 6pm, meeting people, signing books, and drinking some great beer! Will I be wearing a costume? Who knows…

Platypus Pub

I know as of yesterday there were still a number of pumpkin beers on tap as well—one of my favorite styles and perfect for Halloween!

And the Platypus is a great venue, located in the basement of an old church (which went through several restaurant revisions before being purchased by the current owners, including a French restaurant and an Italian restaurant). The Brew Shop is on the main level, which not only sells homebrewing supplies but also sports an extensive bottle shop. The basement Pub has a speakeasy vibe that I’ve always liked, and with 15 taps of great beer available it is one of the best beer beers in town.

So come on down, wear a costume, and have a great time!

Events and Signings, Interviews

Meet me at the Growler Guys, and listen to me on the radio today

Today is the first signing and meet the author event for Bend Beer and it’s taking place at the Growler Guys, at their original eastside Bend location! From 3 to 5pm I’ll be on hand, signing books and talking about beer at Oregon’s original growler fill station, the one that kicked off the growler craze for the entire state!

So make sure to come down this afternoon, say hi, buy a book, have a beer and fill a growler. As a special treat, the Growler Guys are putting a selection of beers from our local breweries that I picked to represent our amazing craft beer scene. Come on down!

The Growler Guys, Oregon's first growler fill station

Also today, I’m going to be on the radio—Beer O’Clock Radio, hosted by the Beer Goddess (and friend) Lisa Morrison! Lisa interviewed me about the book, beer history, how it came together, and more, and it airs today at 3:00pm on FM NEWS KXL 101 in Portland, as well as a number of other regional stations:

  • Coos Bay: KWRO 630 AM
  • Corvallis: KLOO 1340 AM
  • Enterprise: KWVR 1340 AM
  • Eugene: KPNW 1120 AM
  • Klamath Falls: KFLS 1450 AM
  • Medford: KCMX 880 AM
  • The Dalles: KACI 1300 AM
  • Tillamook: KTIL 1590 AM
  • Spokane: KYRS — 92.3FM and 88.1 FM

You can also listen to it streaming online on their page.

Cheers!

The Book

The book is officially released!

Today is the official release date for Bend Beer! Looks like the hard work paid off:

Bend Beer is out!

It’s available online of course (see here), and you can find it on the shelves at the following locations so far (with more to come!):

  • Barnes & Noble (Bend)
  • Costco (Bend)
  • Deschutes Brewery – tasting room and downtown pub
  • McMenamins Old St. Francis School
  • Visit Bend (Bend Visitor Center, downtown Bend)
  • Des Chutes Historical Museum (Bend)
  • The Brew Shop (Bend)
  • Powell’s Books (Portland)
  • Central Oregon Locavore (Bend)
  • Paulina Springs Books (Sisters and Redmond)

Don’t forget the events are lining up too!

Cheers!

Events and Signings

Upcoming signing events

These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of prep for the upcoming release of the book (October 21!), and the History Press’s publicist has been a dynamo and lining up signing and meet-the-author events. Here’s what we have planned so far:

  • The Growler Guys, Saturday, October 25: The original east Bend Growler Guys features 36 taps of amazing beers and ciders and is the one that started it all here in Oregon! Come down from 3 to 5pm Saturday to meet the author, drink some beer, fill some growlers, and get a signed book!
  • The Platypus Pub, Thursday, October 30: Starting at 6pm one of the region’s hands-down best beer bars is hosting a event just before Halloween that is sure to be awesome. Should we request costumes?
  • Silver Moon Brewing, Thursday, November 6: One of the region’s OG breweries is hosting a book signing party from 5 to 8pm to celebrate the release of the book, so make sure to come down for great beer and buy a signed book!
  • Des Chutes Historical Museum, Friday, November 7: The Historical Society is hosting the official book release party on First Friday starting at 6:30pm! Deschutes Brewery will be on-hand as well, pouring their award-winning beer. Come join the party and celebrate where Bend’s history meets Bend’s first brewery! Afterward we’ll lead a pub crawl through downtown Bend to visit some of the places where Bend’s beer got its start.
  • The Growler Guys (West), Thursday,  November 13: Come down to the Westside Growler Guys for a chance to meet Jon, get a signed copy of “Bend Beer”, and enjoy some great craft beer (grab a pint, and fill a growler)! With 30 taps of delicious beer on hand it’s sure to be a great event!
  • Rat Hole Brewpub, Saturday, November 29: One of Bend’s newest (and smallest!) breweries is hosting an event the Saturday after Thanksgiving—come down to the Brewpub to enjoy some great food and beer and meet the author at 7pm.
  • McMenamins Old St. Francis School, Thursday, December 4: The OSF is a great historic venue for a beer history book event, so be sure to join us from 6 to 9pm. There may even be a special beer from brewer Mike “Curly” White on hand too!
  • Powell’s Books (Portland), Friday, December 5: At 7:30pm we’ll have a signing and meet the author along with another Oregon book release, Oregon Breweries! Come down and meet both Jon and Oregon Breweries author Brian Yaeger and be sure to purchase both books—what a great gift pack for Christmas! Afterwards there will be a pub crawl through Portland’s Pearl District.
  • Belmont Station (Portland), Saturday, December 6: Come down to one of Portland’s best bottleshops and beer bars to meet both Jon Abernathy, author of Bend Beer, and Brian Yaeger, author of Oregon Breweries! We’ll be partying on the patio from 1 to 3pm and soaking in Portland’s great beer culture!
  • Worthy Brewing, Saturday, December 13: What better way to temper Christmas shopping than with lunch, beer, and books? Worthy Brewing is hosting a signing and meet the author event at their eastside brewery starting at 1pm.
  • Broken Top Bottle Shop, Tuesday, December 16: Along with the Platypus Pub, BTBS is one of the region’s absolute best beer bars with a great bottleshop to boot! Come down at 7pm for a signing and meet the author event and enjoy some of BTBS’s great food and beers.
The Book

“Bend Beer” is available for pre-purchase

Bend Beer front coverThe book will hit brick-and-mortar shelves on October 21, but if you’d like to order it online, Bend Beer is available for pre-order at the following sites:

The History Press

Order direct from the publisher, and you can also select from the History Press’s entire catalog—particularly their American Palate series for beer of 34 other regional beer history titles.

Amazon.com

Barnes and Noble

Powell’s City of Books

And in addition to being available online at Powell’s, there is going to be a signing event at Powell’s in Portland on December 5! (Stay tuned for more details on that and other events.)

Buy now at one of the above links! Or if you would rather wait to buy a copy in person we’ll have a list of available locations where the book will be for sale soon.