Category Archives: The Book

Breweries, The Book

Four years ago today…

…the Book was officially released! It’s hard to believe it’s only been four years, and in that time there have been quite a few changes to the Bend beer scene, including new breweries:

  • Monkless Belgian Ales, which opened late in 2014
  • Craft Kitchen and Brewery, which spun out of Old Mill Brew Werks and Fresh Tracks Brewing (all interlinked, the latter two no longer in existence)
  • Kobold Brewing
  • Immersion Brewing
  • Crooked Jay Brewing
  • Boss Rambler Beer Club
  • Geist Beerworks
  • Porter Brewing
  • Spider City Brewing

And unfortunately there have been closures as well:

  • Old Mill Brew Works and Fresh Tracks Brewing, as mentioned above
  • Below Grade Brewing
  • Rat Hole Brewing (the owners opened the Camp Abbot Taphouse in Sunriver (now also closed), but ceased the brewery operations
  • Juniper Brewing
  • North Rim Brewing

Both Juniper and North Rim opened the same year the book came out—they are mentioned in there—and closed last year.

Other breweries have undergone change in the intervening four years as well; Deschutes Brewery opened a taproom in Roanoake, Virginia; Bend Brewing Company changed ownership and expanded; Silver Moon, Three Creeks, Boneyard, and Crux Fermentation Project all opened production breweries; 10 Barrel opened a pub at its east Bend brewery.

All of which would be worth another chapter or two in a hypothetical second edition! (People ask me about that all the time, ultimately it’s up to the publisher.)

It’s been a great four years, and Bend Beer continues to sell, for which I want to thank everyone who has bought a copy (or more than one) as well as everyone who will buy it in the future!

Raise a beer to four years of Bend Beer!

The Book

Released two years ago today!

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the release of Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon!

Bend Beer is out!

It has been a terrific two years and Bend’s beer scene is as vibrant as ever. I wrote a post last year summarizing the changes that occurred in the one year since the book was published; of course there have been even more changes since then!

  • Monkless Belgian Ales expanded into the 10-barrel brewery formerly occupied by Fresh Tracks Brewing (which started as Brew Werks Brewing, and this space was originally 10 Barrel’s).
  • Immersion Brewing opened their brewpub and brew-on-premise location, in the Old Mill Marketplace complex next door to Atlas Cider.
  • Kobold Brewing opened, a two-barrel production brewery headed up by former homebrewer Steve Anderson.
  • Deschutes Brewery announced that Roanoke, Virginia will be the location of their east coast brewery.
  • New breweries for the region are in the works, including Good Earth Brewing (Terrebonne), Crooked River Brewing (Prineville), and possibly Crooked Jay Brewing (Bend) and White Mare Brewing (Bend) — these last two are still in the rumored stage.
  • New cideries, the growth of hop farming, and even more beer-related businesses and services have punctuated the past two years as well.

But don’t let that deter you from the book itself! If you haven’t read it yet, you can still pick it up  at Amazon and a number of places around Bend and Central Oregon (see sidebar).

And of course I greatly appreciate all the support of those who have bought Bend Beer over the past two years! That definitely makes it all worthwhile.

Have you read the book? Have a favorite period in our beer history that stands out to you? (I’m partial to the frontier days and Prohibition, myself—such interesting stories from those days.) Let me know, and always feel free to send any questions my way!

Cheers!

Deals, The Book, Where To Buy

Take an extra 25% off of “Bend Beer” at Amazon now!

Right now, through December 14, Amazon.com is offering 25% off any one book! That means you can get Bend Beer at Amazon for the stunning low price of $10.33! Just use the coupon code “25OFFBOOK” when you are checking out.

This is the perfect time time buy Bend Beer for yourself or better yet, as a Christmas gift for the beer and/or history lover in your life! What are you waiting for?

The Book, Where To Buy

Where to Buy “Bend Beer” for Christmas

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving yesterday, and it’s time to start thinking about shopping for Christmas. Since today is Black Friday, and Monday is Cyber Monday, I figured it’s time to recap where you buy your copy of Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon!

First, you can buy the book online at History Press, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Powell’s Books, but if you’re shopping around town here in Central Oregon, you should also be able to find the book at the following places:

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Bowman Museum (Prineville)
  • Broken Top Bottle Shop
  • Central Oregon Locavore
  • Costco (possibly—they were out last I checked)
  • Deschutes Brewery (the 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
  • Redmond Craft Brewing Supply
  • The Brew Shop
  • The Growler Guys (East side)
  • Visit Bend (Bend Visitor Center)
  • Worthy Brewing

If you can’t find it at one of those locations, please let me know!

Happy holidays!

The Book

“Bend Beer,” one year later

One year ago today, October 21st, was the official publish date of Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon! Over the course of the past year there have been many events and signings where I have been able to talk about the book, beer, and Bend’s history, and the book itself has been successful and sold very well. A big “Thank You!” to all of the folks who have bought the book, attended an event, and/or have supported Bend Beer along the way!

Of course the Central Oregon beer scene has not been static over this past year, so I thought it would be interesting to review the various changes that have occurred over the past year from where the book leaves off (which was “current” as of about June, 2014).

10 Barrel Brewing sold to Anheuser-Busch. The news broke on this the week after Bend Beer came out—talk about timing! The owners of 10 Barrel had quietly been in talks with ABInBev for about seven months prior to the announcement of the sale, the terms of which have not been disclosed. There was a temporary backlash in the community but 10 Barrel bounced back and is currently in the process of expansion.

Monkless Belgian Ales becomes the region’s 26th brewery. This tiny one-barrel nanobrewery wasn’t even on my radar prior to the book release, but became official shortly thereafter. They exclusively brew Belgian-styled ales and are currently only on tap at Humm Kombucha.

Old Mill Brew Works closes its doors. The OMBW pub closed down—but in its place, Craft Kitchen and Brewery opened up in the same location. Interestingly enough, Brew Werks Brewing, which had been a separate entity from OMBW at that point, did not close, and instead rebranded as Fresh Tracks Brewing.

Bridge 99 Brewery opened up its tasting room and new brewery space. Located behind Wubba’s BBQ Shack on Bend’s north side, the larger space will ultimately house the seven-barrel brewing system that are in Bridge 99’s plans.

Immersion Brewing announced. The people behind Immersion Brewing, to be located in the Old Mill District down the road from Crux Fermentation Project, plan to offer a “U-Brew” model for customers to brew up their own batches of beer from a pre-determined selection of recipes, as well as having their own in-house 10-barrel brewhouse and brewpub.

Prineville’s Solstice Brewing renamed to Ochoco Brewing. In a nod to the city’s history, Solstice, which was the first brewery in Prineville since 1906, renamed itself after the region’s first-ever brewery, Ochoco, which operated from 1882 to 1890.

Deschutes Brewery is searching out an East Coast location. From humble origins in downtown Bend in 1988 to one of the largest craft breweries today, Deschutes will be opening a brewery on the East Coast by 2019. Currently the final location is yet to be determined, though it sounds like it’s between Asheville, North Carolina, and Roanoke, Virginia. Definitely an exciting chapter for the region’s oldest brewery!

The Book

The perfect Father’s Day gift!

Father’s Day is this Sunday and I can’t think of a better gift for Dad than a copy of Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon! Fortunately I’ve got you covered—in addition to being able to buy the book online (you can find it at History Press, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Powell’s Books), you can also find the book around the area at the following places:

  • Barnes & Noble
  • Bowman Museum (Prineville)
  • Broken Top Bottle Shop
  • Central Oregon Locavore
  • Costco
  • Deschutes Brewery (the 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
  • Redmond Craft Brewing Supply
  • The Brew Shop
  • The Growler Guys (East side)
  • Visit Bend (Bend Visitor Center)
  • Worthy Brewing

(If you can’t find it at one of those locations, please let me know!)

And don’t forget to pair the book with a beer! Happy Father’s Day!

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!

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.

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!

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!