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The beer was
absolutely
delicious and the
color of a fading
sunset over the
South Jetty.
Photo by Matt Love
Fort George Brewery brewer Piper Gladwell holds a glass of Booty’s Back Lager, a
specialty beer brewed in conjunction with Astoria author Matt Love’s new book, “A
Nice Piece of Astoria: A Narrative Guide.”
A G LIMPSE I NSIDE
An occasional feature by MATT LOVE
Fort George Brewery
There I sat in Jack Harris’
offi ce inside Astoria’s Fort
George Brewery. Vintage
Hamm’s Beer memorabilia
decorated the walls. Jack, a
co-owner, was to my right,
and Piper Gladwill, a brew-
er, was to my left. We were
all tasting Piper’s new beer,
Booty’s Back Lager, pro-
duced in collaboration for
the release of my new book,
“A Nice Piece of Astoria: A
Narrative Guide.”
Months ago, Jack had
graciously decided to sup-
port my book in novel
fashion, by pairing it with a
special beer (with a cheeky
name), thereby enabling me
to leverage Fort George’s
stunningly high profi le to
promote my book tempo-
rarily over the summer.
It’s this kind of entrepre-
neurial synergy between
independent
businesses
like Fort George and my
publishing house, Nestucca
Spit Press, that makes living
and working in Astoria such
an interesting and reward-
ing experience. More such
collaborations are needed.
They only need conjuring.
The beer was absolute-
ly delicious and the color
of a fading sunset over the
South Jetty. I couldn’t wait
for this golden libation to be
available on tap!
Jack had invited me up
for a preview of the beer and
wanted me to write some-
thing up for it. I was fl attered
and naturally agreed.
I took a few more sips
and drafted the blurb below
right on the spot:
Tag line: The Indoor
Camping Beer of Summer
Return to the halcyon
Pacifi c Northwest days be-
fore Mount St. Helens blew
up, the legendary hazy
afternoons of jean cutoff s
and shimmering derrières
fl oating on inner tubes and
air mattresses, down rivers,
across lakes. Return to the
days of crisp lagers brewed
in the Pacifi c Northwest.
Enjoy Fort George Brew-
ery’s new special beer, Boo-
ty’s Back Lager and think
Youngs River Falls 1979 all
over again. This is the re-
freshing taste of Astoria this
summer, from the land of
sky blue waters and eternal
rain.
Wow! I thought, That was
easy. I would love a job tast-
ing Oregon beers and writ-
ing creative descriptions of
them. What a gig! I’d even do
it for trade.
NW
word
nerd
By RYAN HUME
Maritime
>PHUԥW$,P@
adjective
1. of or related to the sea,
especially in terms of mili-
tary, commercial shipping,
fi shing and naviga-
tion
2. Columbia
River Maritime
Museum: sitting
harborside off
Marine Drive
in downtown
Astoria, this
private nonprofi t
boasts a collection of over
30,000 objects related to
military, nautical and fi shing
history in the Graveyard of
the Pacifi c, including the
docked Lightship Co-
lumbia, a registered
National Historic
Landmark
Origin:
First
recorded in
1550. Either enters
English through
the Middle French
maritime or comes directly
from the same Latin source,
maritimus, meaning “of the
sea,” by way of the
root, mare, for sea
(mare in English,
as it relates to a
horse, comes
down a diff er-
ent branch
from the
Germanic
families).
home sometime next month for the
community to behold and
possibly board at the 17th
Street dock.”
—Erick
Bengel, “Historic
Astoria ferry,
Tourist No. 2, may come
home soon,” The Daily
Astorian, July 13, 2015, P. A1
“Formation of a permanent
organization to sponsor a maritime
museum here was begun last week
with election of offi cers and selection
of a name.
Columbia River Maritime
Museum at Astoria was the
name chosen.”
— “Name Picked for
Museum,” The Sunday
Oregonian, April 8,
1962, P. 21
“A 91-year-old piece
of Astoria’s maritime
history — the Tourist
No. 2 ferry — will return
Matt Love is the author/editor
of 14 books about Oregon.
They are available at coastal
bookstores and through
www.nestuccaspitpress.com
July 23, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 23