2.23.2010

Beerman Creek String Band

Sunday, February 28th
8pm No Cover
Fort George Brewery

On Sunday, February 28th, Astoria's Beerman Creek String Band will play at the Fort George Brewery and Public House. You can hear them usually once a month on KMUN 91.9 fm's Troll Radio Review with host Debbie Twombly. They kick up a good time with their stompin' good old-timey string band music which include twin fiddles, mandolin, harmonicas, the spoons and hearty voices. A good night for dancing. The music starts at 8pm. All ages are and there will be no cover charge.



2.21.2010

The Quick and Easy Boys




Sunday, February 21st
8pm No Cover
Fort George Brewery
1483 Duane St.-Astoria
www.thequickandeasyboys.com


The Quick & Easy Boys are a power-trio from Portland, Oregon who create their own brand of rock 'n' roll mixing together honky-tonk, funk, and a DIY punk attitude. Imagine the Minutemen, Funkadelic and Willie Nelson rolled into one. Their high-energy thought-provoking original music provides a bounce to your step that can only lead to a whole lot of dancing.

Formed in 2005, The Quick & Easy Boys quickly made a name for themselves in Eugene, Oregon before moving themselves to Portland and building a fan base there. Passing through a few incarnations and the core members Jimmy Russell on guitar, Sean Badders on bass, and Mike Goetz on drums continue evolving musically as a band…and audiences continue their enthusiastic calling of “Yeah Bud!” at every show. Their 2008 release “Bad Decisions With Good People” has left people raving about their unique and vibrant sound.

The Quick & Easy Boys continue touring throughout the Western United States, opening for bands like TheThe, Pimps of Joytime, Bob Wayne & the Outlaw Carnies, Vince Herman, Scott Law and Shanti Groove. They will release a new CD in the Spring of 2010 in their quest to constantly re-invent “Honkadelic”.

2.09.2010

Fort George Brewery taking over entire Astoria city block By Special to The Oregonian

February 08, 2010, 9:59PM
Jamie Francis/The Oregonian


The Lovell Building (lower white structure in the middle) will become a 30-barrel brewery by the summer of 2011. Fort George Brewery partners Jack Harris and Chris Nemlowill bought the building, which dates to 1921 and is adjacent to their existing brew pub.



Thanks to the expanding Fort George Brewery and Pub, Astoria will soon be a canning town again -- but instead of fish, these cans will contain 16 ounces of Vortex India Pale Ale.

In October, Fort George partners Chris Nemlowill and Jack Harris bought their entire city block with the help of the Small Business Administration. The purchases include the 1924 Fort George Building that houses their brewpub -- they previously leased 2,900 square feet of the building -- the adjacent 1921 Lovell Building, a disused 30,000-square-foot GM auto dealership and other property for $1.65 million with the help of Small Business Administration loans.




Jamie Francis/The Oregonian
Head brewer Spencer Gotter cleans mash as he makes Cavita Stout at Fort George Brewery and Pub in Astoria. Celebrating February as “Stout Month,” the Stout & Oysters Brewers Dinner will be held at the pub Wednesday evening.
The deal gives Astoria its own Brewery Block, and Nemlowill and Harris have lots of plans, beginning with a new production brewery and canning line on the ground floor of the Lovell Building.

Subsequent phases include an open air beer garden for the sunnier months, new outdoor seating and a multi-level deck at the pub, artisan shops -- a glassblower, metalsmith and historic renovators -- on the second floor of the Lovell Building and eventually a barrel-aging room and event space on the second floor of the Fort George Building.

"We're looking to attract synergistic businesses to the block," said Nemlowill, "people that will integrate with our emphasis on the local and on Astoria history. We'll make it a one-block version of what the McMenamins have done with Edgefield."

If you go
Address: Fort George Brewery & Public House, 1483 Duane St., Astoria, 1-503-325-7468

Stout Month: Fort George celebrates the dark month of February with the darkest of beers, stouts, and has several pub-brewed stouts on tap, including Badda Bing, a flanders-style sour cherry stout; The Murky Pearl, brewed with Willapa Bay oysters; Bourbon Barrel-aged Cavatica Stout; Spank Stout, brewed with 3 varieties of hot pepper; and Coffee Girl Stout, made with espresso.

Stout & Oysters Brewers Dinner: An introduction to a sublime food and beer pairing -- five courses of fresh oysters and hearty stouts. 6 p.m. Wednesday at the pub; $55.

Right now, though, they're concentrating on the 8,000-square-foot former auto repair shop that will house the new production brewery, canning line and cold storage.

Brewer Jack Harris and his crew of helpers will trek to Houston, Texas in March to disassemble a used 30-barrel brew system (930 gallons) and three 1,800-gallon fermentation tanks that they're buying from St. Arnold Brewing and load it onto five trucks for the trek to Astoria. The system will increase capacity nearly fourfold from thee current 260 gallon brewhouse, which will remain in operation in the Fort George Building.

Harris expects to have the new system installed and in production by September and hopes to have cans of Vortex IPA in Portland for the July 2011 Oregon Brewers Festival.

If the idea of good beer in cans surprises you, you've missed a quiet revolution.

Craft brewers are increasingly using cans because they protect beer from light damage -- those beers in green and clear bottles acquire their special taste from light turning hop oils into off-flavor compounds -- and they prevent oxidation. Brewers are learning that if you put good beer in cans, you'll get good beer out. Also, recycle rates are higher for cans, transportation costs are lower and they appeal to outdoor-minded craft beer customers.

"Canning is so perfect a metaphor for Astoria," said Zetty McKay, Nemlowill's wife and owner of Coffee Girl, a popular local coffee shop on Astoria's Pier 39. "Canneries used to line the wharves in this town, so it'll be good to have an Astoria product in cans going out to the world once again."

Nemlowill, Harris and McKay are well attuned to their community and its history, and their emphasis on running businesses that appeal to locals has paid off. "We don't especially go after the tourist dollar," says Nemlowill, " because Astoria really isn't a tourist town like all the cute beach towns with their boutiques. This is a working river town -- Astoria is very blue collar."

It's also chockablock with history. The original Fort George, founded in 1811, was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific Coast. The Fort George Building stand is built on the site of old fort, and the spring that watered it. Astoria is coming to realize and capitalizing on its history as seen in the renovation downtown and the fact that Clatsop Community College now offers classes in historic preservation, but the brewpub's future home was in sad shape when Nemlowill was looking for a building.

"This was derelict when I first saw it in October of 2005," he said, sitting in the warm, woody dining room of his bustling brewpub. "The windows were busted out and the city said the place was a public nuisance, but when I looked up and saw those huge wooden beams, I just knew that we had to try and save it."

"I asked Jack Harris, who was brewmaster at Bill's Tavern in Cannon Beach, to be my business consultant," Nemlowill said. "But I was really hoping he'd become my business partner, because Jack has years of experience in the business, and he makes wonderful beer."




Jamie Francis/The Oregonian
Fort George Brewery and Pub partners Jack Harris, left, and Chris Nemlowill recently bought the 1921 Lovell Building adjacent to their existing Astoria brewery and plan to starting shipping cans of beer from the new 30-barrel brewery during summer or fall of 2011.
Nemlowill and Harris became business partners and moved into the bigger part of the ground floor of the Fort George Building -- a bakery and coffee shop called the Blue Scorcher occupies the other part -- and began to refurbish and build the brewpub. The booths are made from 40-year-old Alaskan cedar that located in a float shack near Brownsmead, east of Astoria. The cedar was too knotty to be used, as intended, for a boat, so a transaction was negotiated for $1,500 -- and a bottle of Wild Turkey to close the deal.

They restored the senescent building to life and usefulness by creating a place that exemplifies the central tenet of craft: the best beer is local. Fort George is a reminder of why the Brits call their favorite pubs "locals," and it's an example of how to build a business in tough times by paying attention to your customers and your community.

"There are lots of people who want to rent this place out for parties," said Walt Postlewait, an Astoria-based business consultant, "but these guys just won't do it."

But Fort George is feeling a bit cramped thanks to its success. Sixty people filled the dining room for a brewers dinner in mid-January and Nemlowill says he could've sold 20 more tickets if he had the room. "Our business plan called for expanding," he says, "but more like in 10 years, not after three-and-a-half years."

John Foyston is a Portland writer and expert in Oregon craft brewing: 503-805-0637; ; blog.oregonlive.com/thebeerhere

2.08.2010

ZWICKELMANIA-OREGON BREWERY TOUR

This President’s Day weekend, dozens of Oregon breweries and brewpubs will open their doors to visitors for the state’s 2nd annual Zwickelmania. Zwickelmania, hosted by the Oregon Brewers Guild (OBG), is a free statewide event that offers visitors a chance to tour Oregon breweries, meet the brewers and sample their favorite beers.
When: Saturday, February 13th, 2010 from 11-4 pm
What: Oregon Brewers Guild Brewery Open House.

Fort George Brewery + Public House
1483 Duane St.
Astoria
11-4pm
Open to the public for tours all day. 8 stouts on tap that you can order up individually or by tasters trays of 8. Stout and possibly IPA out of the Zwickel.

Check out the link below for more details and brewery's.

http://oregonbeer.org/zwickelmania/

2.07.2010

Oyster and Stout Brewer's Dinner Feb. 10th

Our Oyster and Stout Brewer's Dinner will be on Wed. Feb. 10th. It is already sold out but you can call to get on a waiting list. Below you can view the menu. All brewer's dinners will be held on the second Wednesday of every month and start at 6:00 P.M. $55.00 will buy you five courses of food with beer to match each course; this price includes gratuity. A $5.00 per person discount will apply for anyone who purchases two or more tickets and reservations are required. So please call 503-325-PINT for reservations and more info.

Oysters and Stouts Pairing Dinner

Wednesday, February 10th 2010

Intro

A Trio of Oysters on the half shell
Sholie, Goose Point and Kumamotto Oysters served with a Malt Vinegar Mingionett

Fort George Brewery - The Murky Pearl

Soup
Cream of Asparagus and Oyster Bisque

North Coast Brewery - Old Rasputin

Salad
Tempura battered Willpa Bay Extra Small Oysters On a Bed of Micro Greens With a Chervil Vinaigrette

Oskar Blues Brewery: Ten Fidy

MAIN COURSE

Oysters Rockefeller
Goose point Oysters On The Half Shell Baked With Spinach, Bacon, Onions and a Little Pernod

Deschutes Brewery - The Abyss

DESSERT

Coffee Girl Stout molten cake
A Dark Chocolate Cake Made With Coffee Girl Stout With a Warm Ganache Filling

Fort George Brewery - Coffee Girl Stout

Call out to Homebrewer's: Bring us your Beer!!

The Fort George Brewer + Public House will celebrate and honor the art of homebrewing at a special beer-pairing dinner on Wednesday, April 14th. Homebrewing provides the passion, creativity and innovation that resurrected and sustains the craft brewing movement. Homage will be paid to these pioneers by featuring a five-course dinner designed to compliment each beer.

Homebrewers interested in featuring their beer should submit a two-bottle sample to the Fort George Brewery by 5pm, Friday March 26th for consideration.

Beers will be selected based on quality, variety, creativity and compatibility with food. Only one beer per brewer will be chosen, though brewers may submit as many varieties as they wish. The homebrewer must be able to provide tasting samples for a dinner of 38 guests (approximately 3.5 gallons or 38 12oz bottles) by Monday, April 12th and will have a seat of honor at the dinner. No homebrew will be bought or sold.

Selected Homebrewers will be notified by April 1st and the full menu will be released at this time.

This dinner has become a much anticipated grand finale to our annual series of brewers dinners The brewing talent on display has challenged the kitchen to create an exceptionally innovative menu and the atmosphere has been jubilant, as each brewer describes their beer and passion for homebrewing.

Please call (503) 325-PINT for submission information, reservations to the dinner or other inquiries. Log onto www.fortgeorgebrewery.com for all the latest Fort George information.

Stout Month is finally here with 8 Stouts on Tap

February 1st marked the beginning of Stout Month at the Fort George Brewery. 8 stouts will be featured this year, including Badda Bing, a flanders-style sour cherry stout; The Murky Pearl, brewed with Willapa Bay oysters; Bourbon Barrel-aged Cavatica Stout; and the ever-popular Coffee Girl Stout, made with espresso. Several guest stouts will also be on tap, including The Abyss from Deschutes Brewery. A flight of all the stouts are available for a blind tasting, and commemorative Stout Month t-shirts are on sale. For only $25 you can get a stout taster tray and a shirt! Below you will find a little more information about each beer we will have on tap this month.



The Murky Pearl
7.8% ABV
Right before we transferred this beer to the fermentor, we ran the wort through 3 buckets of Willapa Bay Oysters. We let the oysters sit in the wort until they started to pop open infusing the beer with the briny oyster juice. Although you cannot taste an immense amount of oyster in this stout, you can taste a hint of salty goodness that lingers in this beer. Drinking this beer is truly like kissing the ocean.

Coffee Girl
9.5% ABV
Dry hopped with 8 lbs. of coffee beans from Ethiopia called Halle Sclassie Sodamo.The beans give a bit of a fruity taste along with hints of cardamom, cream, ginger and caramel. This is a perfect blend for our coffee girl beer that has a strong malty and chocolate taste. The beans have been sitting and aging with the beer for two and a half weeks and in time, the beans and brew have evolved into something spectacular.

Bourbon BBL Cavatica Stout
8.6% ABV
Our Cavatica Stout was left to sit and age in Wild Turkey barrels for two and a half months. The day before we transferred the stout into a serving tank we had one of the Wild Turkey barrels explode on us sending delicious stout all down Duane St. It never smelled so good on this block. What was once a very delicious bourbon stout has become a limited edition bourbon stout.

Badda Bing Cherry Stout
8.2% ABV
Although one of our most time consuming beers to make, the Badda Bing stout was worth the time. Dry hopped with 40 lbs. of cherries this stout radiates a cherry tartness that refuses to be ignored. Before we put all of the cherries into the fermentor, we had to pit all of the cherries and sanitize them. This in itself took 6 people two hours to do all of this immense work ( all the while Spencer Brewed another beer). It was named by Pam Armstrong and is refreshing at any point in the day.

Guest Stouts that we will have rotating through out the month:

Exxxcaliber Imperial Stout
Roots Brewing Company - Portland, OR
8.6% ABV
48 IBU
Brewed in the imperial style using a variety of specialty malts and Noble Hops. This stout has wonderful chocolate and coffee notes and a smooth, hearty and complex body.

Ten FIDY Imperial Stout
Oskar Blues - Lyons, CO
10.5% ABV 98 IBU
This titanic, immensely viscous stout is loaded with inimitable flavors of chocolate covered caramel and coffee and hide a hefty 98 IBUs underneath the smooth blanket of malt. Ten FIDY is made with enormous amounts of two-row malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats and hops. Ten FIDY is the ultimate celebration of dark malts and boundary-stretching beer.

Oatis Oatmeal Stout
Ninkasi - Eugene, OR
7.5% ABV 45 IBU
Dark complex and delicious, strong, flavorful Oatmeal Stout. Enough hops to balance the large amounts of dark and roasted malts, with the addition of oatmeal creating a creamy smooth drinkability.

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
North Coast Brewing - Fort Bragg, CA
9% ABV 75 IBU
Produced in the tradition of 18th century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following where ever it goes. It is a rich intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish.

The Abyss Imperial Stout
Deschutes Brewery - Bend, OR
11% ABV 65 IBU
4th Release
This imperial stout was aged in wood, and poured out roasty, woody and sweet. Very well balanced with the roastiness up front but not overpowering. This stout is smooth with hints of licorice, chocolate, molasses, graham cracker and bownies.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout
Stone Brewing Company - Escondido, CA
10.5% ABV 90+ IBU
Brewed in the authentic style of an imperial Russian stout, this beer is massive. Intensely aromatic (notes of anise, black currants, coffee roastiness, alcohol) and heavy on the palate, this brew goes where few can - and fewer dare to even try. The style originated from Czarist Russia's demand for even thicker English stouts. Expect our version of this mysterious brew to pour like Siberian crude and taste even heavier.

The Old Fashioned Lovers


Sunday, February 7th
8pm No Cover
Fort George Brewery
1483 Duane St.-Astoria
www.fortgeorgebrewery.com


Ivy Ross and Joel Ricci are touring from Portland to San Francisco and back up the coast during the first week of February, a male/female acoustic duo singing in harmony performing original material on trumpet and guitar. The Old Fashioned Lovers paint a nostalgic picture of innocent, old-fashioned love while employing intricate vocal harmonies, simple sweet guitar and evocative muted pocket trumpet. Their honest and engaging soundscapes create a warm, cozy, and inspiring atmosphere perfect for cuddling and sipping your favorite winter-time beverage. Guests at tonight's performance
will be waltzed to a wooden porch where they can close their eyes and feel the gentle breeze that blows in the spring.