Beer Lovers,

It seems appropriate to take a picture of the recently tapped, new batch of XVI Chapel on this gorgeous (some might say, "Georgeous") Sunday evening when the music is playing and the vibe is great at the Fort George. This batch is the 'Cheers to Belgian Beers' festival batch which we fermented with Inglemusnter yeast and pleased the crowds at lucky lab in Portland with one of the favorite beers of the festival.

Speaking of festivals, this Saturday at 3:30pm the Fort George Liberate the Ales festival will begin out in the parking lot. We'll be serving up smoked ribs, house-made cornbread, coleslaw and watermelon with Fort George beers. Los Comatosos will be opening up the evening music at 4pm and Ma Barley will party from 7pm until expulsions in the sky occur.

July 11th will be the next Second Saturday of the Month BBQ. The Dry County Cooks will be playing at 2:30pm and the BBQ goes until 7pm.

I've also attached a press release on the 4th for more info...

Cheers,

Chris Nemlowill

Fort George Brewery + Public House

1483 Duane St.

Astoria, OR 97103

Press Release June 26, 2009

Fort George Hosts Community Celebration
July 4, 2009: Liberate the Ales Festival

You don’t have to wait for the fireworks to start celebrating this 4th of July. The Fort George Brewery + Public house is hosting a community celebration, the 2nd annual Liberate the Ales Festival. It includes a beer garden, barbeque, and music in the parking lot of the Fort George on the 4th of July (a Saturday this year).

Festivities begin at 3:30 p.m. with smoked baby back ribs, house-made cornbread, coleslaw and watermelon on the menu.

Local Latin-folk band Los Comatosos is once again reuniting for this event, starting at 4 p.m., and Astoria reggae group, Ma Barley plays at 7 p.m. until the fireworks.

In July, breweries across the state are holding special events for Oregon Craft Beer Month, including the Fort George’s Liberate the Ales Festival.

All ages are welcome and there is no cover charge to participate in the festivities.

Fort George Brewery + Public House · 1483 Duane Street Astoria, OR 97103
(503) 325-PINT · www.fortgeorgebrewery.com

Sunday, July 5th Matt Zelzer 8pm

Raised in the smoggy settlements outside Los Angeles, half way through his life, Matthew’s family relocated further North, where endless cities give way to suburbs, farms, and finally the Pacific Ocean. Just shy of 14, Matthew took up surfing and electric guitar, thus extending a lifelong relationship with music (and the sea). Matthew now lives in Portland, Oregon, between traveling off of the map, in search of a world hidden beneath the Formica veneer of the disposable age.

Mosley Wotta & DJ Mud

Sunday, June 28th
8pm No Cover
Fort George Brewery
1483 Duane St-Astoria
www.myspace.com/mowotta

Equal parts poet, performance artist and musician, Mosley Wotta has a nasty habit of turning hip-hop conventions on their head. The towering lyricist from the mountain town of Bend, Oregon rattles off cerebral, often brain-wrangling rhymes over beats that are hardly your typical rap music fare. Teaming up with DJ Mud, Mosley Wotta has cultivated a sound that bridges the gap between hip-hop and rock and spans several other spaces between genres – and all of it will have you moving your hips.

Coming to hip-hop through the avenue of slam poetry, Mosely Wotta incorporates challenging lyrics that are as much poetry as they are an element of a hip-hop music. Also a visual artist in several mediums including painting, Mosely Wotta incorporates his artistic sense into his music, oftentimes using his quick-tongued rhymes to paint an entire story to his listener. In a word, Wotta is an artist at heart, and that’s not something that’s likely to change, even as his sound makes its way out of the Oregon mountains and across the country.

On stage, the duo creates an ocean of sound that makes them sound more like a massive rap group that then mere two men they are, forcing even the most shoe-gazing of crowds to take notice. The dynamic Mosley commands a crowd to move when he’s on the mic, and oftentimes they do, engaging with the often-smiling hip-hop artist.

Lisa Miller and Her Kin Duo

Sunday, June 21st
8pm No Cover
Fort George Brewery
1483 Duane St.

Lisa and Ian Miller of Lisa & Her Kin, in support of the bands newest release, “Chicken Shack” have begun performing as a duo to present some new original material. “It’s a thrill (to be) playing to some new audiences in a more intimate setting and arranging the songs in such way that they work in a more acoustic type atmosphere” says Lisa.

Recently, Ian and Lisa established their own music publishing business-Miller Hi-Life Music.This gave them the opportunity to have other performers in search of new music hear what they have to offer.

Both Ian and Lisa are quite prolific and as co-writers have begun to produce some great material that is ready for an audience. In an intimate acoustic setting, their lyrics, song structure, vocal stylings and sense of humor are allowed to fill the room and reach the audience in a way that isn’t always possible when performing with the their full band. This is an act you won’t want to miss.

The bands CDs "Chicken Shack" and “Two Weeks In Texas” will be available at the show for purchase as well as “KIN” t-shirts and bumper stickers…Are You Kin Yet?

Beer Lover's!!!

Spruce Budd Ale is flowing and the first Fort George Summer BBQ happens tomorrow starting at 2pm. Vortex IPA, Spruce Budd Ale, Coffee Girl Stout and North-II Grand Crüe will be pouring in the parking lot with Cicada Omega playing starting at 2pm. Perfect accompaniment for the 40 pounds of BBQ'd beef brisket that Dana has smoked for 8 hours. The band will be playing until 4pm but the BBQ will go until 7pm. Below you will see the press release for more info on Spruce Budd Ale and in the last blog post you can read up on the band, Cicada Omega. We hope to see you tomorrow.

You’ve heard of Tree-Hugger… Now comes Tree-Drinker
Spruce Budd Ale: Fort George Brewery + Public House’s Latest Eclectic Beer

Fort George brewers finally got a legitimate beer-making reason to venture outside the brewery to enjoy the nice weather we’ve been having. They laced up their hiking boots and set out in the ripe forests of Clatsop County to gather 30 pounds of fresh, bright green, Sitka Spruce buds. The result—what they’re calling the perfect summer ale.

Spruce Budd Ale, is now flowing at the Fort George Brewery + Public House in Astoria, Oregon. This style of beer replaces hops with spruce. For this particular batch, Fort George brewers used about two-thirds of their handpicked spruce buds in the initial boil, and during fermentation, “dry spruced” it with the rest. The aroma unmistakably reflects this walk in the trees, while the flavor of citrus comes through in tasting.

“This completely organic beer is the perfect companion for long hikes in our city parks, or sitting in the sun out in front of the pub,” said Chris Nemlowill of the Fort George.

Spruce ale has a rich history of sailors drinking it to prevent scurvy, as fresh spruce shoots are a natural source of vitamin C. Captain Cook gave spruce beer to his crew and the Vikings, who then passed their love of this beer to the Scottish.

Spruce Budd Ale Ingredients (Source: Fort George):

· Gambrinus Organic Pilsner Malt
· Cage Free, Free-Range, Happily Grown, Clatsop County Spruce Buds
· Fort George Ale Yeast

First BBQ of the year on June 13th!

Cicada Omega
Saturday, June 13th-2-4pm No Cover
BBQ in the Fort's Parking Lot
(first of the summer series-every second Saturday through August)
Fort George Brewery
1483 Duane St. Astoria
http://www.cicadaomega.com
This is the Fort George's second summer of parking lot BBQ's. The festivities run June through September on the second Satruday of each month with an extra BBQ on Saturday, August 15 that will coincide with the Regatta Parade. Kicking off the first BBQ is Portland's Cicada Omega playing from 2 to 4pm on Saturday, June 13th. Cicada Omega is a southern original. The music is a continuation of blues, country, gospel, R&B and rock traditions. It is an other-wordly blend of pounding rhythm, southern evangelism and electrified junk. With two drummers, a home-made upright bass, and electric guitar, mixed with the chants, screams, and preaching of a snake-handling front man, their music takes traditional music, puts it in a blender, and turns it up to the breaking point. They have been described as "southern goth" or "gospel
punk," but they defy categories by reinventing musical traditions rather than simply following them.

As strange as it all may sound, it comes from the most honest of places. It is the music of four Kentuckians who have a 15 year history. People have come and gone, band
names have changed, and the music has evolved. But the root is still the same. They write songs that get you moving while telling you stories about lost souls, indians,
aliens, sex, the Devil, and the mysterious, strange south. It is juke-joint music deeply rooted in blues and gospel, but also takes off into other realms. If asked for influences
you would find not only John Lee Hooker, the Staples Singers, and Dr. John, but also Black Sabbath, Prince, and Hank Williams.

The group is fronted by preacher-guitarist sooth-sayer and harmonica man Reverend B.D. Winfield. With a wide vocal range and sometimes rage in his tone, he acts as a
catalyst much like an auctioneer selling soul. The drums are split and doubled. Dave Rue plays a traditional kit that keeps everything in line. And Salim Sundiata Sanchez mixes it up with latin percussion and found objects. The two combine to work like a voodoo machine producing hypnotic rhythms with endless energy and style.The bass is played by Daniyel Hicks. Well, that is, if you can call it a "bass." He plays an electrified oil drum upright bass. (You just have to see it to believe it.) He likes loud, dirty low tones that carry a solid rhythm in between everything. The vocals are split between Sanchez, Hicks, and Winfield, with the Reverend taking lead. It often comes down to call and response type vocals with stomping and yelling, each member displaying his own style. The name comes from the insect cicada. The cicada is a loud, flying insect that lives in the south. It is a cousin to the locust mentioned in Revelations. Cicada Omega stands for that last plague. They're sort of the unruly ones bringing up the rear.

As a whole, the group gives a refreshing sound to the music of the deep south. And when you see them live, you take away an experience like you've never had, and that
you'll never forget. So come prepared to shake, holler, laugh and be intoxicated, for they, "are Cicada Omega and they bring new age, old age, space age transcendental
junkyard blues form the dark and bloody ground of Kentucky."

Finn Riggins
Sunday, June 14th
8pm No Cover
Fort George Brewery
1483 Duane St.-Astoria

Touring to the North Coast Finn Riggins brings there alternative rock music to the Fort George Brewery and Public House on Sunday, June 14th. Finn Riggins is the result of a longtime collaboration between Cameron Bouiss, Eric Gilbert and Lisa Simpson. Having met while completing their music degrees at the University of Idaho, the trio began playing music together in 2000, an endeavor that would ultimately culminate in what is now Finn Riggins. In August of 2006, Bouiss, Gilbert and Simpson quit their jobs and moved to Sun Valley, Idaho to stitch together the outlines of Finn Riggins at "the helibase" - a secret practice spot/tour launch pad. Practices yielded shows, shows yielded tours and by the end of their first year as a group, Finn Riggins found themselves a national touring act who lived as much on the road as they did at home.

Finn Riggins has been touring the U.S. relentlessly in support of its debut full length A SOLDIER, A SAINT, AN OCEAN EXPLORER released Nov. 13th 2007 on Tender Loving Empire -- an independent record label, fine art/literature publishing house, fashion collective, art gallery and screen printer based in Portland, OR.

In 2008 alone, Finn Riggins played over 200 shows in 35 different states, including appearances at esteemed festivals like the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, and Music Fest Northwest in Portland, OR. They've made a name for themselves as road warriors brandishing a fresh take on NW indie rock and helping to further push Idaho on to the national independent music scene.

As the calendar flips to 2009, Finn Riggins is relocating to Boise, ID to begin work on a new record and to further immerse themselves in Idaho's growing music scene. They will perform at 8pm and there is no cover.