About the BeeR Zone
You may be wondering: Does Oregon’s North Coast really need a beer blog?
Our answer: Absolutely!
If you’re fortunate enough to live here, Astoria Beer Zone will give you valuable insight into the local craft beer community and its artisans. We’ll let you know about tasty new beer releases, upcoming festivals and fun events, and much more. You’ll be up to date on the latest brew-related happenings, which will make you sound super-smart when you’re out with friends.
If you’re planning a visit to the Astoria area and you love beer, let ABZ be your guide. Check out our handy beer map and breweries page for valuable info. Read our informative and (hopefully) entertaining posts and scroll through the handy archive of Thirsty Growler newspaper columns, then plan your trip wisely.
Astoria author William Dean and some friends launched the blog in spring 2023 after he realized that his monthly column in The Astorian was merely whetting the community’s appetite for craft beer news.
Dean knew, sadly, that a lot of great, timely material was being lost between columns. A blog that could be updated as often as needed seemed like the best solution.
Thus, ABZ was born. Consider the blog your source for all things related to North Coast beer in one convenient spot! Besides newsy stuff, we’ll have Q/As with interesting people in the beer world, as well as fun features.
At the Beer Zone, we take our editorial integrity seriously. Nobody tells us what to write or how to write it, and we very much like it that way. That said, newsy tips make us positively giddy. Please contact us.
So … who’s this Dean guy anyway?
Dean is an award-winning writer and editor who had a lengthy career as an investigative journalist before becoming a novelist. He is the author of three suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest: Militia Men, Dangerous Freedom and The Ghosts We Know. He’s been writing the craft beer column since December 2021.
Dean lives in Astoria, where he has been trying (unsuccessfully) to befriend the sea lions.
