Monthly Archives: December 2014

The Book

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! This has been an amazing year, one that started around this time last year as I kicked off writing this book in earnest, and there is no way the book would have turned out as good as it did (or even have come out!) without the help of many people. I’m very grateful for that help and for the positive response the book has generated! Thank you all!

And thank you to everyone who has bought the book as well! I hope more than a few of you found it under your tree this Christmas morning!

Looking forward to 2015!

Events and Signings

Signing at Costco – worth fighting the crowds for!

Today (Saturday, December 20) I’m doing a book signing at Costco from 1 to 3pm!

Yes, I know—Costco? Really? In fact, Costco moves a ton of books and they do author signings all the time. And we were just in the other day and they have a huge pile of my books:

"Bend Beer" at Costco

So if you’re looking for the book for the holidays, brave the Costco crowds and come down to see me and I’ll sign one for you! (You still have to buy the book through Costco.) And if you need any last minute gift ideas (only 4 shopping days left!) you know where I’ll be!

Events and Signings

Broken Top Bottle Shop and a holiday raffle

Broken Top Bottle ShopTonight I’ll be at Broken Top Bottle Shop from 7 to 9pm for a book signing—and to sweeten the pot, we’re doing a holiday raffle for a book that you can enter for free! (But you’ll have to be present at BTBS tonight to collect.)

Here’s how that will work: anyone who attends tonight will get a free raffle ticket. That’s it! We’ll draw for a book probably towards the end of the evening, maybe around 8:30, so you will need to stick around.

Want an extra raffle ticket? Go to this post on Facebook and follow the directions there. Easy!

And even if you can’t stick around for the raffle, come down for a little while and get a beer at one of Bend’s best beer joints—Broken Top Bottle Shop has been knocking it out of the park since early 2012, after they bought the defunct Abbey Pub. They have 12 taps of great beer and a killer menu that appeals to carnivores and vegetarians alike. Don’t forget their coolers filled with many bottles of beer and cider to go!

Come on down tonight, get a signed copy of the book, and stick around for the raffle! Cheers!

Events and Signings

Worthy Winter Weekend!

This Saturday there two back-to-back events that I’ve got going on which should make for a fun day.

First up is a book signing at Worthy Brewing, one of Bend’s newest breweries (not even two years old yet!) that has one of the most amazing properties in town, with their hop yard, beer garden, greenhouse, 30-barrel brewery and expansive space, and great restaurant pub. From 1 to 3pm I’ll be on hand, selling and signing books—the perfect lunch hour break! So if you’re needing to take a break from holiday shopping, come over to Worthy from 1 to 3, grab a bite and a beer and say hello. And buy a book or two (or three)—it makes a great gift! You can get some of your shopping done while enjoying a beer—what’s better than that?

To sweeten the pot, Worthy will have a special firkin cask of beer on tap for the signing as well: their Eastside Pale Ale on French oak spirals. And a food pairing: Fresh Halibut Steak, basked with a lemon caper sauce, served with sautéed seasonal veggies and wild rice.

Don’t miss it!

Immediately afterward, I’ll be heading over to the west side to GoodLife Brewing for the Central Oregon Winter Beer Festival, where they have been kind enough to let me set up a table and sell some books. I should be there from 4 until 9pm when the Fest ends, so make sure to come by and check out the book and say “Hi.”

The Winter Beer Fest costs only $10 to enter, and you get the glass and first four tasting tokens with that. Additional tokens are $1 each. Almost all of Central Oregon’s breweries, plus Atlas Cider, will be there, pouring their winter specialties. I don’t have Atlas Cider in the book, but I wrote about everyone else—so enjoy their beer, then pick up a book to read more about those that brewed it!

Reviews, The Book

Review Roundup

Love ’em or hate ’em, book reviews are an important fact of life for authors. Personally I look forward to them because yes, good or bad I want to know what people think of what I write, and I want to know how I can do better.

So that in mind, here are links to three of the first reviews I know about (with the bonus that all are positive!).

The Source Weekly: The Story Behind Your Pint, by Kevin Gifford

By the Barrel: Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon. Get it!, by Mark Lindner

Beervana Buzz: Jon Abernathy’s ‘Bend Beer’ Earns Two Thumbs Up, by Pete Dunlop

I will add the disclaimer that I also personally know all three of these reviewers, and in Pete’s case I’ve read his book, Portland Beer, as well.

Events and Signings

Portland! For the weekend

Leaving early Friday morning for a whirlwind tour of Portland, where the big event is going to be a Powell’s Books Friday evening at 7:30, but we’ve managed to pack more into the itinerary so Portlandites, keep an eye out and you could get a signed copy of the book! Here’s what’s happening:

  • The Holiday Ale Fest: From roughly noon to 6pm Friday, I’ll be at the HAF (one of the premier Oregon beer festivals!) thanks to the generosity of the organizers. You’ll be able to find me at the table near the back and I’ll have plenty of books to sell and sign. I’ll even sign other stuff if you want!
  • Powell’s Books: Starting at 7:30pm Friday, come to Powell’s Pearl Room on the third floor for a reading/talk about Bend Beer, Q & A, and signing. I’ll be joining Brian Yaeger who just published Oregon Breweries this week and I’m quite sure it’s going to an interesting night! Plus it’s Powell’s Books—that’s the Big Time!
  • Pub Crawl: Right after the Powell’s signing, we’ll be joining Brian on a pub crawl through Portland’s Pearl District, starting with Deschutes Brewery, followed by the newly-opened Fat Head’s Brewing, and then over to Rogue’s brewpub on Flanders. Depending on how the night goes there may be a fourth stop at the Tugboat Brewery (which happens to be one of my favorite Portland brewpubs). It’s free to join, so come with us!
  • Belmont Station: Saturday from 1 to 3pm both Brian and myself will be at one of the hands-down best bottleshops and beer bars in Portland, if not anywhere, Belmont Station, signing books, talking (and drinking) beer, and having an all-around great time. I absolutely love Belmont Station and I have to give a big thanks to co-owner Lisa Morrison for hosting us—it’s going to be a great time, so make sure to come by!

I love Portland, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend. Make sure to come find me at one of these events!

Cheers!

Events and Signings

McMenamins Old St. Francis School: Signing and a special beer

Thursday, December 4 from 6 to 9pm, McMenamins Old St. Francis School is hosting a signing and meet the author event for the book, and even better—brewer Mike “Curly” White has brewed a special beer as tribute to the book, Homesteader’s Pre-Prohibition Lager!

McMenamins Old St. Francis School brewery

McMenamins is one of my favorite Bend breweries not only for the amazing location but also because White is brewing some great beer in the small six-barrel basement brewery. He has an amazing range of beers coming from the that brewery, and Homesteader’s is his first Pre-Prohibition-style of beer. Here’s the description of the beer:

The Homesteader is a tribute to those that came before us in the history of brewing. A popular lager made before Prohibition wiped out many small community breweries. The Homesteader’s Lager is mild in body and mouth feel. An easy malt flavor of chewy bread gives this a well-rounded experience. A slight hop bitterness and flavor reminds you of the time when a beer was smooth and refreshing. Using a Pilsen lager yeast for this concoction lets the beer finish with crisp and appealing roll on the palate. No wonder many breweries relied on this style of lager time and time again. Look back in your books (especially ones about Central Oregon Brewing) and you’ll see how this style was a stepping stone to the craft beer sensation!

Come down and get a special taste of this special beer, buy a copy of the book, and chat with me—I can share some stories and history surrounding the St. Francis School, McMenamins, and more! And really, there are few better places to pick up a book about Bend’s beer history than McMenamins, as the property is just oozing history everywhere you look (something that McMenamins does very, very well).

See you then!

The Book

Where to buy “Bend Beer”

As we are now solidly in the holiday shopping season, it’s a good time to post an up-to-date list of where you can buy Bend Beer, both in a brick-and-mortar establishment and online. I’m happy to report that the number of locations you can purchase the book is growing—here’s the current list (locations in Bend unless otherwise noted):

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Broken Top Bottle Shop
  • Central Oregon Locavore
  • Costco
  • Deschutes Brewery (Pub and Tasting Room)
  • Des Chutes Historical Museum
  • Dudley’s Bookstore
  • High Desert Museum
  • McMenamins Old St. Francis School
  • Paulina Springs Books (Sisters and Redmond)
  • Pine Ridge Inn
  • Powell’s Books (Portland)
  • Redmond Craft Brewing Supply
  • The Brew Shop
  • The Growler Guys (Bend)
  • Visit Bend (Bend Visitor Center)
  • Worthy Brewing

If buying online is more your thing, there are a number of sites where you can get a hold of the book (including some I hadn’t seen before):

And yes, there are ebook versions available as well, at the respective sites.

Happy shopping!