Instead of travelogue, I am going to throw up some photos from my recent 3-city tour of Oregon interspersed with beer lists.
Wayfinder Hell, Flowers in the Kettle hazy IPA, Panopoly Hefeweizen, Doomtown IPA and Hidden Hand Black Lager.
Upright Supercool IPA, Old Town Pillowfist IPA and pFriem Bright Pale Ale.
Portland – McMinnville – Astoria / Part 1
I will be posting photos and additional commentary on my recent trip to Oregon, but here are some initial reactions from stops in Portland, McMinnville and finally Astoria….
It has been a patio drinking kind of trip. Sitting at Wayfinder beer watching the tables fill up with Portlanders who take every opportunity to sit outside to Allegory Brewing in McMinnville before the UFO parade to the sorta-outside seating section at Fort George. Usually, one bundles up in Oregon but even at the tip top of the state with Washington across the water of the Columbia it has been blue skies.
Beer-wise Wayfinder was strong. Primarily light and tilted to belles and dark lagers with an excellent hefe. I snuck into Beer Mongers for a quick pint and ran across Mirage Brewing of Seattle whose Neon Guts hopped pils was really nice.
From there to Allegory who had nine beers on offer and nary a dud in m6 taster tray of five. They even had a barrel-aged small stout.
Then all the way up the 101 to Astoria. Walking to Fort George, after parking the car a couple blocks from their city block I walked past a distillery, a cidery, a bottle shop and tap house and Astoria’s newest brewery, Reach Break. Typical Oregon.
More Oregon photos and a list of beers drunk in later posts.
Featured PDX Beer Review # 2 – IPA from Buoy Beer
I had heard a tiny bit about the “other” Astoria brewery, Buoy Beer but had never had a beer from them before. But I think I should have purchased the 22oz bottle of pilsner before the IPA. I took a sip and immediately grabbed the bottle to look for a bottled on date which is never a good sign for an IPA. Even the most British and restrained of IPA’s have a hop kick somewhere but it was missing here. This beer was bottled Mid-January of this year so it shouldn’t have been this hop-less. There is citrus here in tiny amounts but the rest is some ESB-esque mix of flavors.
Maybe it was an “old” beer or mis-treated in transit but I will have to try fresh next time.
Brewer’s Retreat – Astoria
A while back I posted about a Brewer’s Retreat where you got to brew with celebrity brewers on a ranch. Now there is an Oregon Coast version, Astoria to be precise where you will be brewing with those in charge from Deschutes, Rogue, Fort George and Buoy.
This is not for the faint of wallet but if I had won the Super Bowl pool at work, I would have thought long and hard about booking a ticket. Sounds like an awesome itinerary + you get the beer you made at the end!
Holiday Ale # 10 – Magnanimous
Day 10 of the Christmas Ale countdown leads us to Astoria, Oregon and Fort George Brewing for cans of Magnanimous IPA…
“Fort George presents to you its latest seasonal collaboration, Magnanimous IPA, a joint effort with Earth & Sky Farm of Oregon City. Bestowed with generous amounts of hand-harvested Grand Fir tips and bountiful additions of Simcoe and Chinook hops, Magnanimous IPA offers a noble blend of lush piney hops and fresh evergreen aroma.”
Fort George + cans =
Thanks to a major expansion Fort George has 16 oz. cans upcoming!
1811 Pre-Prohibition Lager & Vortex IPA are the first two to show up.
The Lager is being brewed for Astoria’s Bicentennial next month. That is how you celebrate history.
IPA + Indian food
I have not seen this idea before (doesn’t mean it hasn’t been done) but it is brilliant!
If you are in the most NW part of Oregon then you should try it.
Indian Food and IPAs
Reservations are required. $55 will buy you five courses of food with beer to match each course; this price includes gratuity. A $5 discount per person will apply when you buy 2 or more tickets. Stop in or Call 503-325-PINT to make your reservation today!
When
Wed Jan 13 6pm – 9pm Pacific Time
Where
1483 Duane Street, Astoria, OR 97103
Divinity from Ft. George Brewing
I have had only two of Ft. George’s beers but both were intriguing enough to return to but this link about their newest version of Divinity sounds tempting.
How do you spell Ollalaberry though?