home How can you experience the rich fabric of life in a locale without visiting the bars? The answer is, you can't. about the site Let it Pour originated in 1999 as a column in Hipfish, an alternative magazine based in Astoria. drinking map Click on the map or use the pop up menu to navigate to a particular town's review listing. drinking holes A complete listing of drinking hole reviews in alphabetical order. search Quickly search all articles on this site by keyword. Try searching for something unexpected, like Paul Newman. best place to drink What is the best place to drink on the North Oregon Coast? writer in residence Using proper grammar in drunken conversations, tactfully correcting usages of quadruple negatives, and sitting in a corner and writing to show people who never read that someone actually writes for virtually no pay r.i.p. oregon taverns What is especially sad is to have witnessed how video poker slowly transformed taverns from gritty bastions of independence into de facto tax collectors for the state and just another greedy special interest group that lobbies to keep its average $76,000 per year earned through its cut of the take.

about the site

Let it Pour originated in 1999 as a column in Hipfish, an alternative magazine based in Astoria. I received considerable positive response to the pieces and it led me to believe they might possess literary life past their initial publication. Some of these joints have since gone out of business, changed ownership, or been remodeled, but I haven’t revised the pieces. I took all the photos myself and my good friend Brandy Graves designed the site.

I will continue to update the site, adding new subjects to the Let it Pour Kingdom. Contact me to recommend joints I haven't "investigated." Let It Pour is dedicated to the late Janet Kruse, one of the greatest people who ever graced the state of Oregon.

about the writer

I am the author of The Far Out Story of Vortex I and Grasping Wastrels vs. Beaches Forever Inc.: Covering the Fights for the Soul of the Oregon Coast. I also am a regular op-ed contributor and book reviewer for the Oregonian and teach English and journalism at Taft High School in Lincoln City. In 2003 I launched Nestucca Spit Press, an independent company that publishes books exclusively about Oregon. I live at the Oregon Coast where for eight years I’ve served as caretaker of the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I also act as Writer in Residence for the Sportsman Tavern in Pacific City. I have three crazy dogs.