Astoria, Oregon
The city of Astoria Oregon lies at the mouth of the Columbia river. Although the city played an important part in the settling of modern America in the Pacific Northwest, it is probably more well recognised for its place in popular culture. The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop and even Short Circuit were filmed on location in Astoria. As a result it has become somewhat of a Mecca for '80s film aficionados.
The first on my tour of the city was the Buoy Beer Company. This brewery is located on a pier in a former cannery building. It has a large restaurant seating area and a taproom if you just fancy drinks. Buoy also has something that most breweries can't offer … a glass floor. This allows you to observe the sea lions that live under the pier. II visited Buoy a couple of times for food and drinks, if you want somewhere with good food, beer and aquatic mammals, you can't go wrong. Still they have a pretty good range of core beers and some more unusual seasonal ones. Two of the more interesting ones I tried were the NW Red (6.7%), a malty amber beer, and a fruity Blood Orange Gose (4.2%). My only criticism of Buoy is that like a lot of American watering holes, they serve their beer far too cold which impairs the flavour.
Just up the boardwalk from Buoy Beer Company is the Astoria Brewing company. This large bar and brewery features a massive gift shop selling all sorts of Goonies merchandise. Their beers also reflect this with names such as Red Beard Amber Ale and Copperpot Hazy IPA. This was probably my least favourite of the places we checked out in Astoria. Although it seemed like a fun place from the decor, I couldn't help but feel like they were just cashing in on the town's tourists, I didn't get the vibe that it was a place that you would want to hang out in for a session. To be fair to them, the beer selection was varied and they had a couple of very good ones. I particularly enjoyed the Skipper's Sour Mash Stout (5%) and the Poopdeck Porter (6.2%)
At the far end of the boardwalk is Pier 39, home of the Rogue taproom in Astoria. This was my favourite location that we stopped at and it was well worth the long walk (if you're feeling lazy you can also get a brilliant little trolley tram along the boardwalk for a dollar). Pier 39 provides an amazing view of the water and the city. We sat here with some fantastic buffalo cauliflower and I enjoyed a set of two flights. Rogue produce some great beers and I thoroughly enjoyed a selection of their stouts. These included the Cherry Cordial Milk Stout (8.3% milk stout) and Hazlelutely Choctabulous (5.7% American stout).
The final place I checked out in Astoria was Fort George Brewery. Astoria was founded as a fort which switched names repeatedly between Fort Astoria, as it was possessed by the Americans, and Fort George as it was taken by the British. Fort George therefore felt like a welcome home… This brewery is located in downtown Astoria. There's a large brewery downstairs with a seating and dining area. Up the spiral staircase there's another bar and with loads more seating, views over the river and home made pizza. There's also a replica of Fort Astoria in a park attached to the rear of the brewery so after a few beers you can play capture the fort… or just be respectful of the city's history.
Fort George had my favourite local Astoria brews. They provide a flight of the week or you can pick your own from their extensive tap menu as I did. I went for Lager in the Rye (4.7%), Overdub Session IPA (4.5%), Suicide Squeeze (7.2% IPA) and Wizards of the Coast (6.9% saision). All of these beers were excellent and received four stars or above on Untappd. The best of the bunch was the CoHoperative ale, a beer brewed every year with a different annual recipe. As explained by the brewery:
Every year on the Wednesday after Labor Day, Fort George invites local hop growers to gather their bines and bring them to the pub. The hops are picked that day - by brewers, by owners, by publicans - and brewed the next morning. We call this beer CoHoperative Ale. These hops are picked fresh and are not dried, hence the term wet or fresh hopped. Fresh hops will only last a day or so. Similar to cooking with fresh herbs vs dried herbs, the wet hops add their own unique, unblemished flavors to the beer.
I also picked up a can of their 3-Way IPA, a big hoppy number, to enjoy back at the hotel. Fort George was my favourite out of all the places I visited in Astoria. I was pleased to read after I had left that they will be expanding their operations and are in the process of purchasing a larger unit on the river, another to add to the boardwalk beer crawl!
Astoria was the highlight of my Washington and Oregon adventure. If you’re ever on the American west coast I would highly recommend a visit. The combination of history, natural beauty and craft beer makes this city a must see.
