Ambling in April

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Thebeerchaser

In the last several posts, I’ve highlighted a few breweries (Baerlic, Ferment and Thunder Island) and two great bars (Holmans’ Bar and the Hi-Top Tavern). This edition of Thebeerchaser will just take a miscellaneous stroll through some random musings and relate a great week-long trip to Kauai in late February.

Upon returning, my wife and I decided that for the rest of March and April, we wouldn’t drink alcoholic beverages except on weekends (Friday and Saturday). This may not seem like much of a sacrifice, but I often enjoy a gin martini on weeknights while watching the Portland Trailblazers. (There were times when it assuaged the pain…).

And I have to say, besides ingesting fewer calories, the few non-alcoholic beers I’ve had are pretty good. It’s a trend. According to an article last month in The Beer Connoisseur:

“Non-alcoholic beer is booming as more consumers seek flavorful, alcohol-free options for social drinking and wellness.”

External photo attribution at the end of the post (#1)

I wondered what the reaction would be in the first dive bar I requested one and thought the conversation might go like this:

Beerchaser: “I’d like a pint of your best non-alcoholic beer.”

Bartender: “Sure buddy. You want to show me some fake ID?”

And Speaking of Kaui….

Kauai is our favorite Hawaiin Island and we had perfect weather. Besides just relaxing on the beach, we explored the island.

And speaking of relaxing, one of the best methods was on the beach – with a cold brew or an exotic drink with a little umbrella in it – reading a good novel. And that raises a good news – bad news situation.

The good news was that I got immersed in Warren Easley’s, last novel Deadly Redemption – a great read. The bad news is that I finished it and have now enjoyed all ten of his books. There aren’t currently any new Cal Claxton novels to read.

Friends had recommended an interesting and unique way to see the sunset on the north part of the island. We would certainly recommend the two-hour sunset golf tour on the Princeville Makai Golf Course. It was well worth the $60 per person fee.

There were about nine golf carts – each seating two – and the charismatic golf pro led the entourage with about six stops where he related the history of the island and other great anecdotes.

We saw amazing natural habitat including several fascinating albatross families and just reveled at what is a beautiful (and incredibly challenging) golf course.

“The final stop on the tour is truly one of the most stunning locations in the world to witness a sunset… our signature par 3, seventh hole on Princeville Makai that makes for the perfect viewing spot….”.

And we learned, among other facts, the wild chicken population – an estimated 450,000 compared to 80,000 people residing on Kauai, evidently dates back to Polynesian settlers in 1200 AD. Although strikingly colorful and perhaps keeping the bug population down, the constant crowing of these scavengers is annoying.

The golf pro also told us about a more recent infestation of large green parakeets when we saw one in one of the trees by the golf course. There are no natural predators.

“Along Kauai’s resort-studded south shore, thousands of wild rose-ringed parakeets with bright green feathers and brilliant red beaks obliterate hotel parking lots and vehicles daily with their poop. Full of seeds, the bird dung attracts rats. If not quickly removed, it can ruin car paint.

Transported to the Garden Isle as pets and then either intentionally or mistakenly released into the wild in the 1960s, the birds now number at least 11,000 on Kauai, according to the scientists who study them.” Honolulu Civic Beat – 6/2/21

Given this bleak history of infestations, it made me wonder if the Kauai Legislature might start restricting lawyers from visiting the Garden Isle. (#2 – #4)

And on the way back from the golf course…..

Some friends told us about a relatively new brewery we should check out for dinner and beer when returning. It was a good tip (although how often does Thebeerchaser not have that assessment when it involves a watering hole…).

NaPali Brewing opened in 2023 and is a family enterprise – the dream of Blake and Kati Conant.

“Our journey to create this space has been one of passion, dedication, and a deep love for the island we call home. We started this brewery with a dream to share the flavors and spirit of Wailua with every person who walks through our doors.”

It has an expansive floor plan, good live music and food you’ll enjoy. Janet and I sat at the bar and our bartender, Quade, was very personable and told us the story of the brewery. I still salivate when thinking about the Poke Bowl I had that night. (#5)

Leaving the Island

As we parked at our hotel on the return from the golf cart tour and brewery visit, we were approached by a couple who I initially thought was just trying to avoid one of the chickens roosting by the cars.

They stated, however, that they had been staying with some friends who stocked up on “salty snacks” and they were leaving for the airport for their night flight home. “Did we want them – otherwise they were going to have to throw them away?”

Janet puts rigorous rations on my consumption of these, but I quietly whispered to her that it would be rude to refuse their kind offer. Did we want to add to the Kauai landfill? And we were not leaving for another day and one-half.

Chipping in…..The goldfish were for the granddaughters at home.

Since we didn’t order a meal on the six-hour flight home, I enjoyed some Doritos and Lays Barbecue Chips. They paired well with one creative offering of Alaska Airlines – it’s new Cloud Cruiser Beer.

“(It’s) created exclusively for the airline through its partnership with Seattle-based brewery Fremont Brewing….this exclusive India pale ale (IPA) has been brewed specifically to taste great at high altitudes. It’s served in cans designed with bright and colorful artwork that pays homage to the Pacific Northwest region.” (emphasis supplied)

The statement “brewed specifically to taste great at high altitudes” may mean the intoxicating effect of a 6.5% ABV at 30,000 feet, but I took one can home and really enjoyed the beer just as much at our residence in West Linn, Oregon which is just 105 feet above sea level.

As we got home and reflected on the superb weather we had, I skimmed the Darwin Theory Winter Newsletter named appropriately, “Monkey Business,” which had arrived in the mail. No it’s not a recap of the Scopes Trial. Darwin’s Theory is one of my favorite dive bars – in Anchorage, Alaska. We visited it when we were on an Alaska cruise in 2014.

Talk about a contrast. The newsletter told the tale of the weather conditions they faced at the beginning of the year:

“One of the worst snowstorms ever, and there have been many, came through the first week of January. Solid hard rain for two days, winds that reached 100 miles per hour (that’s Hurricane level) followed by a cold front that froze the standing water.

Darwin’s did something that it has never done in the 45 years of operation, that’s closed its doors for the safety of its staff and customers, the glare ice was incredulous. Best never to see the likes of this storm for another 50 years.”

External Photo Attribution

#1. Wikimedia Commons (File:Bartender – Malmö-1992.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Author: John Leffmann – 1992.

#2. NaPali Brewing Website (Napali One Year Anniversary -capturedbyjolie-05-3aef4a24.jpg (1920×1280)).

#3. Wikimedia Commons (File:Green Parrot Cairns-1and (4197620649).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Sheba_Also – 13 December 2009.

#4. Wikimedia Commons (File:Red Junglefowl by Tisha Mukherjee 06.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Tisha_Mukherjee – 21 March 2025.

#5. Wikimedia Commons (File:Martin Lipton, McGraw Hill lawyer, cropped.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This work is from the Bernard Gotfryd collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work. Author: Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer – 1979.

Being Thankful

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Thebeerchaser

The beautiful Columbia River Gorge

Welcome to Thebeerchaser. If you’re seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title above to see all of the photos (especially the family photos at the end) and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post – #1.)

In this time of turmoil – not only in the US, but throughout the world – we have to work to gain perspective at times and reflect on our many blessings. One of my blessings is my wife, Janet – we had our 45th anniversary on March 29th.

Janet and I met in early 1979 at an evening Oregon City Planning Commission meeting when I was Chair of the Commission and she was a newly-hired Planning Department staffer. We started dating and got engaged at the Top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco in September.

Shortly after getting married, we even decided to attend graduate school together – my last two classes and her first two – Data Analysis for the Masters in Public Administration program at Portland State University.

It was in the early days of PCs so we had to drive in to Portland and wait with other students (sometime for 45 – 60 minutes) to have our punch cards run on the mainframe to produce a printout which we analyzed.

It was our first negotiation of the marriage – the winner would clean our bathrooms and the loser would go down and stand in line at Shattuck Hall….

I’m always thankful for the courage Duane (FDW) and Frannie (my parents) had in 1961. After visiting Oregon on a vacation the summer before, they decided we would move to Oregon with four kids – ages 8 to 14 – and without FDW having a job – to have a better life than in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Whenever I drive up the Columbia Gorge past Multnomah Falls and see majestic Mount Hood, I think of the sacrifices they made to make that move as well as remember the first time my family viewed those sights driving west on Interstate 84 to Portland when I was twelve.

So, on our anniversary, Janet and I decided to take a trip up the Gorge to the picturesque burg of Hood River – population of about 9,000 right on the banks of the Columbia River and with grand views of Mt. Hood in the background. Of course, on the way, there was a short stop for a beer and a tasty order of sweet potato fries at Thunder Island Brewing in Cascade Locks.

Thunder Island Brewing Co.

We’ d been to Thunder Island several years ago, when it was in a rather ramshackle structure with a few picnic tables adjacent to the parking lot and the offerings were sparse. Oh, has that changed, although unfortunately, their website doesn’t really relate the history except through several news articles in The Oregonian and Brew Public in 2021 – 2.

The owners’ account is almost always more meaningful and personal – especially when it’s the journey of former homebrewers who followed their dream such as Thunder Island’s husband and wife ownership team of Dave and Caroline Lipps Park.

That said, the 2021 Oregonian article by former Beer Writer, Andre Meunier – updated in 2023 – does a superb job of relating the 2013 origin, the relocation and their current operations.

Similarly, the September 2020 Columbia Gorge News story by its Editor and my friend, Kirby Neuman-Rhea provides great perspective:

“Owners Dave and Caroline Lipp embarked on a new building project and started a family all within the same year, operating their popular riverside brewery and pub under COVID-19 conditions as they prepared in late August to move from the original riverfront location 100 yards up to 601 N.W. WaNaPa Ave.”

The Lipps had to deal with high winds and the wildfires that swept the Gorge and caused the closure of all establishments relying on outdoor seating. But the new facility is very impressive – two stories with multiple bars, several dining areas and an expansive patio. (Right after the relocation, the patio was the only area open but was well received.)

Thunder Island takes its beer seriously as documented in Andre Meunier’s aforementioned article:

“Of all the changes, the most important might be the hiring of head brewer Jen House in February of 2021. Formerly of heralded Russian River Brewing, the California maker of popular Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder beers, House most recently brewed at Hood River’s Double Mountain Brewery.

She also holds a master’s degree from University of California at Davis fermentation program, and she has brought that expertise to Cascade Locks, along with consistent quality to Thunder Island’s beers.” (#2 – #3)

How’s that for a resume!

I’m sure the Brewery has won multiple beer awards, but again, their website surprisingly doesn’t mention these. I did find this after a search on the web – from 2022:

“We are thrilled to announce that we took home our first Oregon Beer Award with a bronze medal for our Mrs. Pierce’s Porter. We’re honored to be amongst so many amazing breweries and medal winners. Shout out to Jen for brewing such stellar beers.”

Our server, Helmit, was great and we tasted several beers and decided to go with a sampler with these four:

(YaYa Juicy IPA, Hatchery Hazy IPA, 140 IPA and Vertical Limit Amber Ale)

All were good, but the YaYa – their flagship – was our favorite. Thunder Island also has a great pub menu. We ate a shared order of delicious sweet potato waffle fries for $9 and we took a good part of it to go.

On to Hood River

We’ve made a number of trips to Hood River previously and always enjoy the quaint, but bustling, downtown area with great shops, two breweries (Pfriem and Ferment) and especially the walk along the Columbia River. It is outstanding – especially on a warm sunny day when the forecast had been cold and cloudy. (#4)

We love both of these breweries, but with time constraints, chose Ferment on this trip. It’s a multi-storied building with a large deck on the second-floor sporting plenty of tables. The expansive open area with a nice lawn in back of the brewery, also with picnic tables, provides additional space including an area for dogs (and kids) to roam, play frisbee, etc.

And the interior is spacious and classy with great views of the River and exposed brewing equipment. We just had time to split a beer and chose the Nelson IPA which rivaled the Thunder Island IPA. (# 5 – #6)

We had ninety minutes before our dinner reservations, so we parked a few blocks from Celilo Restuarant and strolled through downtown Hood River – a bunch of small shops – cycling, windsurfing, outdoor gear, galleries and a classic bookstore. (Janet persuaded me – with some effort – to avoid the temptation to hit the Oak Street Pub based on the Yelp review):

“While walking around Hood River I was looking for a local beer and something to snack on. I stumbled upon this place and decided to drop in. I was surprised to see they had fried Cheese Curds on the menu which was awesome! I was torn between those curds and the nachos.

I went with the curds because, when will I find curds again.The curds were just perfect. The beer selection could’ve been a bit more diverse but it was ok. Support local!”

Janet didn’t accept my contention that dining on cheese curds would significantly reduce our dinner expense. While she looked at some boutiques, I spent almost thirty minutes browsing in the Waucoma Book Store – also on Oak Street – and a very pleasurable experience.

And I was glad, although not surprised, when viewing the Staff Recommendations section to see nine of the ten novels (all of which I’ve devoured) written by my Beerchasing friend, author Warren Easley – the most recent Beerchasing Notable. (Only Matters of Doubt was missing – the first in the Cal Claxton series and a great read.) (#7 – #10)

Dinner

As we were waiting for Celilo to open at 5:00, I was preparing to get a photo of Janet in front of the restaurant and then a nice couple offered to take our picture. The manager was just opening the door and heard me say that it was our 45th anniversary.

And what a classy establishment – sparkling interior, great bar, friendly and knowledgeable servers and outstanding food based on our one visit. Janet wasn’t extremely hungry and wanted the salmon burger and I gave her a few bites of my New York Strip Steak – perfectly cooked medium rare with “Rosemary and garlic roasted red potatoes, Oak Rose kale, radish and blue cheese salad, horseradish cream, red wine sauce.”

My yearning for cheese curds was quickly forgotten and we took enough home for dinner the next night (we supplemented with our remaining waffle fries from Thunder Island). (#11 – #13)

And as I suspected, the establishment, opened in 1995, is locally owned and operated – the chef and managing partner, is Ben Stenn (photo above) and they have a great philosophy:

“…..the foundation of Celilo Restaurant when it opened in 2005 (is) Ben’s philosophy, ‘Know the source, Know your people, Know your food.’”

We waited to order our drinks until after the server took our menu choices and I was ready to order a dry gin martini (up with olives) when the bar manager appeared with two flutes of champagne and said, “Happy Anniversary.” Our experience at Celilo was a superb way to end a wonderful trip.

Thanks Celilo!

And to Close on the Thankful Theme….

On March 29, 1980, Janet and I were married in the Oregon City First Presbyterian Church. It’s been a whirlwind forty-five years and I thank God every day for Janet who has been a wonderful wife, mom to our two daughters and grandmother to our four wonderful granddaughters. And she’s also a wonderful Beerchasing companion (except to dive bars!)

Blessings and Cheers

Internal Photo Attribution

#1. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons File:Cape Horn, Columbia River Gorge NSA.jpg – Wikimedia Commons. This image is a work of the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. Author:
Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region – 9 September 1992.

#2, Wikimedia Commons (File:Panorama of Columbia River Shore – Hood River – Oregon – USA.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Author: Adam Jone Ph.D. – 29 September 2012.

#3. Thunder Island Brewing Facebook Page.(https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1935141349959870&set=a.260315430775812).

#4. Thunder Island Brewing Facebook Page. (https://www.facebook.com/ThunderIslandBrewing/posts/%EF%B8%8Fhead-brewer-jen-house-says-come-grab-a-pint-of-brave-noise-pale-ale-this-4-abv-/2203374693136533/).

#5. Ferment Brewing Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1212973380836468&set=pb.100063714512945.-2207520000&type=3).

#6. Ferment Brewing Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1078275794306228&set=pb.100063714512945.-2207520000&type=3).

#7. Waucoma Bookstore Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1059900462830808&set=pb.100064325935808.-2207520000&type=3).

#8. Waucoma Bookstore Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/HoodRiverChamber/photos/t.100064325935808/1372035909517338/?type=3).

#9 – #10. Warren Easley Website ((https://www.warreneasley.com/).

#11 – #13. Celilo Restaurant Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=490672409735957&set=a.490672376402627).

Author Warren Easley – Beerchaser Notable – Part II

Posted on November 21, 2024 by Thebeerchaser

Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please click on the title to bring up the post so the narrative isn’t clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post #1)

In my first post about this interesting Northwest author – he just published his tenth mystery novel in the Cal Claxton series, entitled Deadly Redemption – you learned about his educational background, culminating with a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Cal Berkley.

His goal was to be a university professor, but there were no jobs, so two years of post-doctoral work in chemistry followed at the University of Florida.

Below, you’ll learn about his dual career as a research scientist and international business executive and his writing journey started in 2002 with short stories and then publication of his first novel Matters of Doubt in 2013.

On a business trip for DuPont where he worked for thirty years starting in 1969, he fortuitously left the book Heaven’s Prisoners by his favorite author, James Lee Burke, in his motel room. On the long non-stop flight home from Atlanta, he had nothing to do and arrived at his destination with twenty-three pages of what eventually became his fifth book – Blood for Wine in 2017. (“I laid it aside and came back to it after I knew what I was doing.”)

I was first drawn to Warren’s books after reading a 2023 Willamette Week review by my friend, Richard Meeker, the former publisher of the paper. Easley’s five novels I’ve read to date have lived up to this description:

“The Cal Claxton mysteries are well plotted with believable, multidimensional characters. They are so good and compelling I plowed through all nine in the past three or four months, in the order in which they were written.” (#2)

And if one reads multiple other reviews, the above praise is not colored by the reviewer’s parochial Pacific Northwest bias. Take this one from Publishers Weekly on No Way to Die:

“In Easley’s satisfying seventh mystery featuring genial Oregon attorney Cal Claxton, he creates authentic characters and relationships, and his eloquent descriptions of the Oregon wilderness are sublime. This well-plotted, character-driven series just keeps getting better.” (#3)

“Well Plotted” – Publishers’ Weekly

Deadly Redemption (#4)

Now before telling you more about his fascinating background, let me give you the scoop on his latest book. In a recent telephone chat, Warren described it as “kind of a miracle book.”

“We were moving after 28 years, so it came in short bursts – five to ten pages at a time and by the end of August, I got the ending – always a challenge for me. I wrote furiously for four days and didn’t show any of it to Marge, my primary editor, until the first draft was done.”

I’m pretty excited about the positive feedback and sales have been brisk.” (#5)

353797135_10226971708790605_3028536348609558689_n

Warren and wife, Marge – his primary editor

He was leaving the next day after our conversation for a book tour in California. I asked him about his typical writing schedule for his books which average about 90,000 words. (It made me glad that I write blog posts and not novels – mine average about 2,500 words):

“It’s not real regimented – usually first thing in the morning for a couple of hours then 9:30 or 10:00 PM until midnight. My goal is five to ten pages every other day.”

He described Deadly Redemption as a

“….capstone, – Cal Claxton returns to LA after 13 years in Oregon to right a miscarriage of justice – I may decide to launch another series at this juncture.”

By the way, I asked about the origin of his protagonist’s name:

“Claxton was my mother’s maiden name and I thought Calvin was just kind of a ‘clunky’ moniker! And I wanted Cal to be a lawyer, not a private investigator.”

Beerchasing Expeditions

In 2023, I reached out to Warren by e-mail and told him about my blog and my thirty+ year background in the world of law and invited him to have a beer so I could interview him.

We raised our first mug at the Aurora Colony Pub – in the historic burg of Aurora – about twenty-five miles south of Portland, where Warren and his wife, Marge now live. (#6)

We had a great chat and discussed the setting of most of his novels – in beautiful Oregon Wine Country – above the City of Dundee – where Cal Claxton has his residence and law office in an historic home.

Cal resides there with his loyal pup, Archie, which coincidentally happens to be the same name and breed (Australian Shepherd) as Warren’s own pooch who will be four in January. (Next time we go Beerchasing, I will pick a place that is dog-friendly so Archie can join us.) (#7 – #8)

Since Dundee is the home of one of my favorite dive bars – one that prompted me to start this hobby in 2011 – I gently chided Warren that although Cal Claxton frequents a number of real and fictitious enterprises in Dundee (such as Red Hills Market), he had never been to Lumpy’s Landing – nor had Warren himself.

I suggested that we remedy that by having our second interview over beer in that colorful watering hole and Warren agreed. Although I hadn’t been back to Lumpy’s since my original visit and review in 2014, it retained the same great ambiance – probably most of the same regulars as well…..

The external reader board slogan which used to read, “Our beer is a cold as you exe’s heart,” was replaced with the one below:

Warren had a draft Breakside Wanderlust IPA and I opted for one of my favorites – a cold bottle of Miller High Life. And while the regulars played pool or lost their money on video poker, we drank-in some of the signs and memorabilia that typify most dives.

An Amazing Background

While Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” played in the background, I interrogated the author about how a guy with a long career as a research chemist and international business executive became a popular crime novelist.

His twenty-seven years at DuPont as Technical Director involved relocation and a lot of travel including a six-year stint in Geneva, Switzerland from 1983-89.

His friendship at DuPont with Mark Suwyn, a fellow chemist (PhD in inorganic chemistry from Washington State University) resulted in what must have been a lot of boring work lunches with discussions ranging from the periodic table of elements to modular calculations of biopolymers and the resulting index for molecular complexity:

𝐶m=∑𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑖𝑠𝑖⁢log2⁡(𝑉𝑖𝑏𝑖)−12⁢∑𝑗𝑑𝑗𝑒𝑗𝑠𝑗⁢log2⁡(𝑉𝑗𝑏𝑗).

But that relationship would be fortuitous (or perhaps come back to haunt him, given his new assignment….) after Warren initially retired from DuPont.

After years of educational achievement and twenty-seven years at DuPont, it would seem logical that Warren was ready to enjoy the fruits of retirement. He was not worried about being bored.

Warren was a good athlete in high school and college (UCRiverside ’59 – ’63) basketball and a football quarterback and is an avid hiker, fisherman and skier – adventure awaited. (#9 – #10)

A Side(ing) Trip!

Louisiana Pacific was founded in 1973 based in Portland, Oregon and Harry Merlo became both Chairman and CEO in 1974. Merlo, who died in 2016, was an Oregon power broker, philanthropist and sports team owner. But there were problems:

“During the 1990s, LP was the defendant in a major class-action lawsuit over its siding product known as Inner Seal, manufactured from the early 1990s through 1996….Many homeowners alleged that Inner-Seal siding, which carried a 25-year warranty, began to rot prematurely—discoloring, disintegrating, and even growing fungi.” Wikipedia

In addition to the siding issues, Merlo got into trouble as reported by Willamette Week:

“But in 1995, a confluence of events prompted its board of directors to abruptly boot Merlo. The feds charged the company with environmental crimes and fraud, and a female subordinate of Merlo’s sued for sexual harassment, alleging women were hired as assistants only if they were stunning, young and ‘likely to acquiesce to sexual advances by the CEO’, according to a 1995 story in Business Week.” (#11 – #12)

Replacing him in 1996 was Mark Suwyn, who needed help in resolving what resulted in millions in legal fees and payments to customers of about $750 million. Suwyn turned to his now-retired friend, Warren Easley, to fill what became a new court-mandated position at LP – Vice President of Quality and Technology.

Warren worked at LP from 1996 to 2002. He’s a modest guy, but some research reveals his influence in the company:

“In 1997 LP unveiled its Advanced Technology Center, which provided the company with the facilities to conceive, test, and improve new offerings. LP soon introduced a bevy of new product systems, including Smart Start siding, TechShield energy-efficient structural panels, TopNotch flooring, and Cocoon insulation….In 1998, LP returned once more to profitability, achieving $12.8 million of net profit from $2.29 billion in sales.” Wikipedia

The photos below show Warren with Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, LP CEO, Mark Suwyn and Warren speaking at the opening of LP’s Advanced Technology Center: (#13 – #14)

A Real Retirement

After writing several full-length novels and receiving numerous rejections for publication, Warren wrote Matters of Doubt. He knew it was good, but when he submitted it to Poisoned Pen Press, who had shown interest in his work, he got no response.

He was dejected and ready to quit, but his wife, Marge, talked him into following up. It turned out that they had lost the manuscript and a month later they offered him a three-book contract.

His “retirement career” has flourished with now ten novels and multiple awards including the Kay Snow National Award in 2012, named the Northwest’s Up and Coming Author by Willamette Writers in 2017 and the Spotted Owl Award for best mystery novel by a Pacific Northwest author in 2022. (#15)

In Conclusion

Having worked in the legal environment for over thirty-five years, I thought Warren showed a good understanding of how law firms work, legal ethics concepts and client representation for someone who wasn’t a lawyer. I wanted to find out if some others who had worked in that environment shared my perceptions of Warren’s book.

The short answer is “They do.”

Don Bowerman is a trial lawyer practicing in Oregon City. He has been my family’s attorney since we moved here in 1962. He has been the District Attorney for Clackamas County and the Vice President of the Oregon State Bar. An expert litigator, Don is a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

I loaned him Fatal Flaw on a Friday afternoon and Don called me on Monday and said he would drop by and return it stating, “I started reading it and couldn’t put it down. I finished it a 1 AM.” (#16 – #17)

Hap Ziegler is the President of Mesa Consulting in Santa Barbara. After earning his BS in math, economics and computer science at the University of Pittsburgh, he received his law degree at Duquesne University.

He has had a national practice in law firm consulting for many years and worked as a consultant on numerous projects at my firm Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. I recommended Warren’s books to him and got the following e-mail:

“Warren is an interesting character and he owes you a beer: I bought his first two books!” (Matters of Doubt and Dead Float)

In a follow-up e-mail, he stated:

” Cal Claxton is my new hero! Very enjoyable, well written.”

Warren Easley’s books are a good read and he’s a great guy with whom to raise a mug. (#18)

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1 – #2, #5, #8 – #10. Warren Easley Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/warren.easley).

#3 – #4, #15, #18. Warren Easley Website (https://www.warreneasley.com/).

#6. Aurora Colony Pub (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=461267196004801&set=a.461267156004805).

#7. Wikimedia Commons (File:Wine Country in Oregon Dundee Hills.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Author: Luke https://www.flickr.com/people/88071948@N00 – 12 September 2018.

#11. Oregon Sports Hall of Fame (Harry Merlo – Special Contributon to Sports | Oregon Sports Hall of Fame & Museum).

#12. BookBaby.com (When a door opens by Mark A Suwyn | BookBaby Bookshop).

#13 – #14. Courtesy of Warren Easley.

#16. Bowerman Law Group (https://www.bowermanlawgroup.com/don).

#17. Premier Professionals of Santa Barbara (https://www.premierprofessionalsb.com/links/497-santa-barbara-business-professionals/resources/2362-santa-barbara-management-consulting-r-w-ziegler-jr).

Beerchaser Notables – Author Warren Easley

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Thebeerchaser

(External Photo Attribution at the end of the post #1)

I have been remiss! Since starting this blog in late 2011, one of the features I’ve both enjoyed and on which I’ve gotten good feedback is my Beerchaser-of-the-Quarter (BOQ) posts.

Followers of Thebeerchaser will remember that these narratives feature individuals or groups which may or may not have anything to do with beer or bars but have a good story and in my humble opinion have made a contribution to society.

Past recipients of this “honor” include veterans (including a number of combat heroes), academicians, athletes, clerics, media personalities and, of course, lawyers. I’ve known the great majority personally and have interviewed many before writing.

For a fairly complete list through 2020, check out the following link: https://thebeerchaser.com/2020/12/13/beerchasers-of-the-quarter-who-what-why/

(The photos below show just a few. Clockwise from left)

Ret. Colonel Terry (Spike) McKinsey USMC, Author Brian Doyle, Fr. Chuck Wood, Duane (Thumper) Barton 1967 OSU Giant Killer Football, Environments Jack and Jan McGowan, 1798 Crew of the US Constitution (Old Ironsides). (#2)

The pandemic precluded my visits to bars and breweries temporarily and for some reason, I stopped naming new BOQs. I’ve at least done some updates, however, such as that in my last post on Little Beast Brewing, which demonstrates why Jack and Amy Faust and Jim Westwood garnered this label initially.

I’ve identified a number of worthy characters for the future, whose stories you would enjoy; however, researching, interviewing and writing once per quarter is a constraint I find a bit daunting – and perhaps interfering with the further exploration of new watering holes.

So I’m changing the title to “Beerchasing Notables.” (no specific timeline for naming them) Now meet my first – Warren C. Easley.

Two Careers

Warren Easley is a Pacific Northwest author who, before taking pen-in-hand to author compelling mystery novels starting in 2012, had a distinguished career as a research scientist and international business executive.

He graduated from UCal-Riverside in Chemistry and earned a PhD in Physical Chemistry from UCal-Berkley. (#3 – #4)

Warren now lives in Aurora, Oregon with his wife, Marge and dog, Archie, where he’s working on his tenth novel. You’ll definitely be interested in how they got to Oregon, but you’ll have to wait until my next post.

A Change of Pace in Authors

Without a hint of apology, I’m a great fan of escapist crime and adventure novels and my list (which I’ve kept on Excel for the last twenty years) is filled with fiction by Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, David Baldacci, James Crumley, etc.

I’ve also read all of the books by former Portland attorney, Phillip Margolin – one of my favorites because the settings for his New York Best-Seller crime novels are predominantly in Portland.

I was looking for a change of pace and happened upon an article in Portland newspaper, Willamette Week, by its former publisher, Richard Meeker.

As an aside, my friendship with Richard goes back to the early 1980’s, when his wife Ellen Rosenblum – now Oregon’s Attorney General – was on the Board of Governors of the Oregon State Bar and I worked there as Business Manager. (#5 – #6)

Before the quarterly Board meetings, Richard, four other attorney Board members and I used to have early-morning cut-throat ninety-minute three-on-three basketball games before the meeting commenced.

During a recent lunch, I suggested to Richard that I had a better elbow jumper, but he reminded me of the meeting in Newport, Oregon, where they had to delay my report to the Board while I was delayed in my hotel room vomiting after I overexerted myself. (He maintains it was from trying to guard him…..)

After reading Richard’s April 18, 2023 review in the paper entitled,” The Ninth Book (Fatal Flaw) in Oregon Author Warren C. Easley’s Cal Claxton Series Is a Deeply Plotted and Locally Set Delight.” (#7)

Since I trusted Richard’s judgement on fiction more than his ability to defend a pick-and-roll, I checked out Easley’s first novel at the library. Just as Warren expertly reels in trout on Oregon’s Deschutes River, he had me hooked (barbless) after two chapters.

Meeker states in his review:

“Each is populated with well-known local Portland hangouts, and each captures the flavor of our special place.

The Cal Claxton (his protagonist) mysteries are well plotted with believable, multidimensional characters. They are so good and compelling I plowed through all nine in the past three or four months, in the order in which they were written.” (#8)

And after reading part way through his first novel, Matters of Doubt, I discovered a connection. Notwithstanding his professional career in science and technology, Warren has an excellent grasp on what it’s like to practice law.

The Setting

A family tragedy results in Cal Claxton moving to Oregon where he sets up a solo-practice after being a hot-shot prosecutor in LA. Claxton’s new office and historical home are in the beautiful hills overlooking the rural community of Dundee (population 3,238).

It’s located in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country – about twenty-five miles from Portland. He also has a small office where he does pro-bono work in downtown Portland. (#9)

A sole practitioner’s existence is far different than that of a 150 lawyer Northwest regional law firm (Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt) with five offices, that I helped manage.

Author Easley, however, has an accurate understanding of legal ethics issues such as conflicts, billing practices, pro-bono representation and the constant pressure lawyers face balancing a consuming professional routine with a balanced life outside the office.

This perspective and his reference to many local points of interest in Portland and the Northwest made it compelling for me.

A Further Connection?

Further piquing my interest, Dundee – on Highway 18 on the way to the Oregon Coast – is also home of Lumpy’s Landing – one of my favorite bars and one of two dives at which the idea for my Beerchasing journey germinated shortly before my retirement – the other being the Stanley Rod and Gun Whitewater Saloon (in Idaho)

A Dundee Classic

Reaching Out

Warren Easley gives his e-mail address on his excellent website (Warreneasley.com) so although realizing there was a good chance that he wouldn’t respond, I still sent a missive inviting him to have a beer.

He and his wife had recently moved to Aurora – about halfway between Portland and Salem, and we agreed to meet for a brewski at the Aurora Colony Pub. I love watering holes in old historic buildings and the Pub is a perfect example:

“The building dates back to the 1930’s…originally home to a grocery store, then a barber shop, followed by a small tavern. You will find the original meat locker door in the middle of the main bar seating area which is still keeping our kegs and bottles of beer cold.

The pub is authentic with its sloping concrete floors, tin roof and old American atmosphere.”

This July, 2024 Yelp review portrayed it accurately:

“Looking for a stiff drink, the coldest beer in town, or a great meal? The colony pub has you covered.”

We didn’t order food, but looking at the menu where breakfast is served until noon, and reasonably-priced periodic specials include chicken-fried steak, taco bowls and an outstanding looking Reuben-burger with a “slow-roasted prime rib dinner” on Saturday for ($22.99) I vowed a return trip.

The tap list wasn’t robust but suited us fine as did the free popcorn – a fixture which is seen at fewer and fewer watering holes. (#10 – #12)

Warren and I had an excellent chat over beers. Since he mentions local Dundee businesses and eateries – some fictitious such as “Bake My Day”.” (Actual bakeries in London, GoldendaIe, WA and Mobile Alabama…..) – I asked him if he had ever raised a mug at Lumpy’s.

When he responded in the negative, I strongly suggested that we have a follow-up to complete my interview at this great dive – known for signs outside the entrance which state, “Our beer is a cold as your exe’s heart.”

Stay tuned for the whole story!

I was happy that Warren agreed and stay tuned for my next post in which I relate his interesting background and the details of his double career that I gleaned over beers at both the Aurora Colony Pub and Lumpy’s Landing.

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1. Willamette Week (The Ninth Book in Oregon Author Warren C. Easley’s Cal Claxton Series Is a Deeply Plotted and Locally Set Delight (wweek.com).

#2. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:The USS Constitution by C. Myron Clark.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929. Author: C. Myron Clark – 1876 – 1925.

#3. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:University of California, Riverside logo.svg – Wikimedia Commons) This image of simple geometry is ineligible for copyright and therefore in the public domain, because it consists entirely of information that is common property and contains no original authorship. Author: University of California, Riverside – 12 August 2015.

#4. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Seal of University of California, Berkeley.svg – Wikimedia Commons) This work is based on a work in the public domain. It has been digitally enhanced and/or modified. This derivative work has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its author, Casecrer. This applies worldwide. Author: University of California, Berkeley – 2014.

#5. Willamette Week (WNN – Willamette Week – Interviews (whoneedsnewspapers.org).

#6. Oregon Department of Justice (Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General – Oregon Department of Justice : Media (state.or.us).

#7. (Warren C. Easley – Author of the (warreneasley.com).

#8. (Warren C. Easley – Author of the (warreneasley.com).

#9. Wikimedia Commons (File:Willamette Valley Wine Country (25134584933).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Author: Sheila Sund – 30 August 2015.

#10 – #12. Aurora Colony Pub Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=461267196004801&set=a.461267156004805).