History Pub – Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon presented by Joe Abernathy

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 creator of “The Brew Site” 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.  

 

Jon Abernathy has been blogging about craft beer for more than a decade and drinking and homebrewing it for far longer. Having grown up in Central Oregon, Jon went to school in Spokane, Washington, graduating from Eastern Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in French and ultimately began working in the computer industry as a web developer after returning to Bend. Blogging was a natural outlet for a web developer with a love of writing (and beer), and in 2004, Jon launched The Brew Site, a blog dedicated to all things beer and brewing. The blog has gone on to become the longest-running American beer blog and has documented the change and rapid growth that has characterized the Bend and Central Oregon brewing scene. You can visit the companion website to Jon’s book, Bend Beer: A History of Brewing in Central Oregon at bendbeerhistory.com.