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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2015)
With almost 60 stout beers on tap — featuring fl avors from chocolate and coff ee to even oysters — Fort George Brewery prepares for its third annual Festival of Dark Arts on Saturday, Feb. 14 O cepting of almost anything you want to throw into them. They’re really an excellent food-y kind of beer. There Of bright ales with pungent, crisp and hoppy tang, LV MXVW WKLV LQFUHGLEOH YDULHW\ RI ÀDYRU DQG DURPD DQG tops are popping off. In particular, mouth feel and texture that you can “craft” brewing’s industrial rev- get.” olution is lubricated by IPA. Fort Furthermore, Harris stipulates Don’t forget about George Brewery has dubbed its that stouts invigorate senses of Stout Month Vortex IPA a “contribution to the smell and taste by inhibiting sight. IPA arms race.” “They all look the same,” he says. While the Festival of Dark Arts lasts only “It’s not popular because we “They all look black.” one day, Fort George’s Stout Month make it,” says Fort George co-own- Hence Stout Month and Fort runs throughout February. During the er Jack Harris of Vortex. “We make George’s third-annual Festival of month, over 60 stout beers — includ- it because it’s popular.” Dark Arts. ing those from outside breweries — Which is to take nothing away On Saturday, Feb. 14, the brew- will be off ered on rotating taps. from IPA and other hoppy beers — ery’s block-long, two-building it’s just that they don’t offer brew- campus will be taken over, replete ers the greatest palate with which with a resplendent collection of to paint. ZLQNLQJPLV¿WV¿UHGDQFHUVLFHFDUYHUVWDQJRWUXFNV “With an IPA,” Harris says, “people are mostly ex- tattoo guns, metal workers, glass blowers, musicians, pecting the hop character, and you can’t really mess with artists, and other wintery indulgence. that enough.” And, of course, plenty of stout — kegs upon kegs Stout, on the other hand, inspires and welcomes a upon kegs of it. vastly wider taste spectrum. “We’ll have almost 60 stouts on tap,” says Harris. “The great thing about stouts,” says Harris, “is that “Only 14 or 15 of those will be ours.” Guest taps will they’re really ac- come from near and far, including North Coast brewer- ies like Buoy and Seaside Brewing, Portland producers like Hopworks and Breakside, to Oregon stalwarts such Submitted photo by Justin Dylan Renney Michael Hurley Blue Skies for Black Hearts. Story by ANDREW TONRY Festival of Dark Arts Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14 Fort George Brewery 1483 Duane St., Astoria Get your ticket to darkness Sold at 9 a.m. day of festival $30 stout taster ticket includes 2015 mug and 10 tasting tokens $10 non-drinking admission $1 tasting tokens Festival entertainment Fort George Upstairs Stage Noon Blue Skies for Black Hearts Power pop quintet from Portland 2 p.m. Michael Hurley Freak-folk and snock rock, Brownsmead/Astoria Photo by Damian Mulinix Fire dancer “goldfi sh” performs for the gathered crowd by spinning a fl aming hula hoop around her waist at last year’s Festival of Dark Arts. 4 p.m. Marty O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra three-man orchestra playing trance-based blues 6 p.m. Summer Cannibals Punk-fl ecked four-piece from Portland 8 p.m. Orquestra Pacifi co Tropical Expanding the music of South America to the dance fl oors of the Pacifi c Northwest ‘They’re really an excellent food-y kind of beer. There is just this incredible variety of fl avor and aroma and mouth feel and texture that you can get.’ Photo by Andrew Tonry Jack Harris describes Fort George Brewery’s brewing processes during a tour. as Deschutes and Sierra Nevada, to out-of-state compa- triots/competitors like California’s Lagunitas and Wash- ington’s Elysian (not to mention this writer’s personal pick, Boneyard, from Bend). Even without the assist, though, house-made stouts on offer from Fort George will run the gamut. “We’ve got Viva la Stout, which is a Mexican choc- olate stout,” says Harris. “It’s spicy and chocolatey.” There’s another featuring cherries and Belgian Choc- olate, as well those with essences of coffee, fruit, nuts, cream and more. “We make an oyster stout,” says Harris. “We run the stout through two bushels of raw oysters until they pop open. If we’re brave we’ll eat the oysters, but they get re- ally bitter.” The resulting beer, he says, is much smoother. “You would not drink and go, ‘Wow this is an oys- ter,’” says Harris. “But it’s got a little brine-y character.” The oyster stout, however, is no modern culinary twist. “It’s an old, old recipe,” Harris says. “They’ve been doing that for 200 years.” The Festival of Dark Arts, in its most recent iteration, is turning three. To be sure: It is not a celebration of the profane, for which it has been occasionally mistaken. “There were some breweries that refused to partici- pate because they thought it was a little too creepy,” Harris says. “But it’s always been tongue-in-cheek. We’ve never GRQHDQ\VDFUL¿FHVRUWKLQJVOLNHWKDW%XWSHRSOHFRPHRXW and they dress up. It’s a lot of fun.” Lovell Showroom Stage 5 p.m. Derek Ecklund Oregon-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound artist and digital creative 6 p.m. Jessamyn Grace Egyptian Cabaret and Turkish-style Belly Dance guru from Astoria 7 p.m. Too Long Sparks Dark ambient pop, discordant guitars, looping layers of found sounds Photo by Andrew Tonry Hand-drawn labels reveal the distinct personalities of each Fort George Brewery beer. Costumed or not, Festival-goers (who would be wise to acquire advance tickets, as attendance is capped and can sell out) will be treated to as wide a variety of enter- tainment as stout. Upstairs, the Fort George restaurant will become a concert venue, featuring Portland daisy-pop indie-rock- ers Blue Skies For Black Hearts, Astorian treasure and underground folk legend Michael Hurley, whirling per- cussionist Papi Fimbres and his lively Orquestra Pacif- ico Tropical, as well as the modern Appalachian string of Marty O’Reilly and Summer Cannibal’s fuzzy, sneering, female-fronted garage pop. “We’ve got an ice sculptor,” adds Harris. “He uses an electric chainsaw and electric cutting tools. Solstice Forge will be here building stuff, banging on metal.” Fernhill, the glass blowing studio above Fort George, will also be offering demonstrations. In the Lovell Showroom will be another stage with live drawing and performance. Nearby Keepsake Tattoo will needle ink into sup- ple skin. There will be a food tent, a cigar tent and even dance lessons. “We’ve got this troupe of people that are coming on this mobile tango cart,” says Harris. “They’re going to pull in dancing tango and jump off and teach people how to tango out in the courtyard.” But it wouldn’t be the Festival of Dark Arts without ¿UHGDQFHUVDPDLQVWD\DVLQWHJUDODVVWRXW7KHÀDPH twirlers were included ever since the event was hatched by Harris in 2000 with curator Jessica Schleif. With the help of the Astoria Visual Arts group, it ran twice — in 2000 and in 2002 — before being resurrected at Fort George in 2013. “I was trying to break down beer into being the art,” says Harris of the Festival’s 2000 origin. “I was trying to blend it and break down the barriers and the distinction between beer and art — I wanted them to be the same thing.” Fort George Courtyard 5:30 p.m. Sisters of Fire fi re dancing 7:30 p.m. Sisters of Fire fi re dancing Other Dark Arts around the Fort Keepsake Tattoo + Aaron Toledo The Solstice Blacksmith Forge Rotten Photography Live Painting Tarot by Jessamyn Grace Cigar Tent The Beer Painter, Karen Eland Ice Sculpture Glass Blowing by Fernhill Glass The Dark Forest Minstrels Submitted photo Fort George Brewery will off er about 14 or 15 of its own stout beers and many others from local, regional and out-of-state breweries during the month of February and at the Feb. 14 Festival of Dark Arts. Submitted photo 12 | February 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com February 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 13
