It’s finally come to fruition and is officially released today: my first book, Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon! Published by the History Press, it covers the history of Bend and Central Oregon from a beery perspective from the frontier era of the 1880 and ’90s through today. Here’s the blurb from the back of the book:

With more breweries per capita than any other Oregon city, Bend is a beer mecca. Prior to Prohibition, the state had a burgeoning brewing industry and plenty of saloons to cater to the needs of the hardy frontiersmen who settled Central Oregon. The teetotaling ’20s brought all that to a screeching halt. Fifty years later, the arrival of pioneers like Deschutes Brewery and Bend Brewing Company breathed new life into Bend’s beer and brought about the booming industry for which the area is known today. Author and “The Brew Site” creator Jon Abernathy traces Bend and Central Oregon’s hoppy history from early settlement to the present day, sharing the stories behind its most famous breweries and the communities that have fostered the industry.

It was definitely a busy year working on this book, and a lot of fun and enlightening as well. I hope it shows! The book is definitely about beer but I’ve tried to incorporate a good amount of Bend history as well, and hopefully appeals to that broader audience.

If you’re interested in buying the book (and I hope you are!), you should be able to find it at the following locations:

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

And there will be more locations coming soon. If you’re interested in purchasing online, there are a number of options as well:

• History Press
• Amazon.com
• Barnes & Noble
• Powell’s

There are also signing and meet the author events lining up, all of which you can find on the book site as well as the Facebook page.

And, I want to give a big “thank you!” to all the breweries and folks I’ve talked to or who have helped out to bring this book to fruition. It simply would not have come together otherwise. Cheers!