FL-Oregon Trail Part 2: Brewing Astoria on the Rock

By now you've hopefully read "Part 1: The Road to Portland" & know that we've been on the road to the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival. Last week, we visited our friends at Fort George Brewery to brew a couple batches of beer with their crew. Here's a glimpse into our visit:

We arrived in Astoria on Sunday, July 22nd just in time to be greeted by our most gracious host, Constance, and the Fort George family. They welcomed us with cans of Vortex IPA & Sunrise OPA, moose sliders & quinoa salad. A feast was had in this beautiful yard:

Constance's Garden of 'eden

Joining us in Astoria was our head brewer, Norman Dixon, & brewer, Rick Crance. The next morning at 8am we arrived at the Fort George Building to brew with Fort George brewers Piper & Jason Palmberg. While the production brewery at Fort George--keeping up demand for their 5 mainstays (1811 Lager, Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, Vortex IPA, & Cavatica Stout)--is a 30bbl brew-house, Piper is the lead brewer of the system in the Fort George Pub, dubbed "Sweet Virginia". Her brewing system is a 9bbl steam-jacketed powerhouse that keeps the Fort George fans satisfied with one-off batches & pub-only beers:

Sweet Virginia in action

During our 3-day visit, we brewed two batches of beer. The first was Fort George Brewery's Nut Red Ale. This session with Piper & Jason helped our brewers familiarize with Sweet Virginia. The following day, we brewed our return collaboration, Astoria on the Rock (see: Vortex on the Bay: Cross-Country Handshake). Astoria on the Rock is a Double IPA recipe brewed at Fort George Brewery with Astoria water & Fort George yeast. The hop varieties showcased are Summit, Centennial, Chinook, & Cascade. It will be released in August at Fort George Brewery & Public House.

Brewing Astoria on the Rock

Piper & Norman checking the kettle during sparge

90% of brewing is cleaning up

Brew day is over, time to reap the rewards

After a good brew day comes disc golf

Coming up next will be a re-cap of our time at the 25th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland.

Helpful Links:

More Info on Fort George Brewery & their Vortex IPA can be found on their website: http://www.fortgeorgebrewery.com