JANUARY 26, 2017 // 7
BEST BREWPUB & BEST PIZZA
Fort George Brewery
Astoria, Oregon
BEST BREWPUB
Runner-up: Buoy Beer Co., Astoria
Honorable Mention: North Jetty Brewing,
Seaview, Washington
BEST PIZZA
Runner-up: Fultano’s Pizza, Astoria
Honorable Mention: Baked Alaska, Astoria
By NANCY McCARTHY
Just in time for its 10th
anniversary, Fort George
Brewery & Public House
has received two anniver-
sary presents: two Readers’
Choice Awards for Best
Brewpub and for Best Pizza.
While the brewpub is
being celebrated for its
original brews and the pizza
for its yumminess, com-
pany president Jack Harris
believes Fort George’s
customer service — which
strives to make the restau-
rant’s patrons comfortable
— is also being recognized
by the awards.
“We get a lot of tourist
traffic, but we really cater
to local residents,” he said.
“We work really, really hard
on service. That’s the rea-
son we’re here; we’re here
for hospitality.”
The staff even pays
attention to online reviews
and emails. “We try to learn
from them,” Harris added.
Brewed on the same
site as the pub, the beers
range from the Fort George
regulars, including Vortex
IPA and Cavatica Stout,
to the seasonals, such as
Cascadian Brown Porter
and Sunrise Oatmeal Pale
Ale. Through their new
Sweet Virginia Series proj-
ect, brewers will produce
limited runs of barrel-aged
and rare beers regularly.
Fort George beers are also
distributed to stores and
other locations throughout
the Northwest.
Then, there’s the pizza.
First comes the flour
PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY
Housed in a former automotive facility built in 1924, the Fort
George Brewery + Public House in downtown Astoria offers its
own beers and gourmet pizzas.
PHOTO BY NANCY MCCARTHY
Golfers play a round of golf at the Astoria Golf & Country Club.
BEST GOLF COURSE
Astoria Golf
& Country Club
PHOTO BY DANNY MILLER
Warrenton, Oregon
Fort George’s Sucker Punch
sour beer, available season-
ally in May and June, has a
refreshing lemon-lime flavor.
sourced in the Pacific
Northwest. Making the
dough takes patience. “It’s
a three-day process,” Harris
said. “We have a rotation
going all the time.”
Next, the wood-fired
oven: “We have to burn a
ton of firewood,” he said.
Finally, Chef Jeff Gra-
ham: “He’s always tweak-
ing the recipes. He works
on the dough, the sauces,
the nitrate-free meats,”
Harris added.
Ingredients such as truf-
fle cheese, chipotle hanger
steak, house-smoked pulled
pork, seasonal mushrooms,
house-made sausages and a
variety of cheeses add to the
tantalizing pizza choices.
But during the past 10
years, Fort George has
become an integral support-
er — and hub — of local
efforts.
“We have an amazing
staff; we are here to make
this a better community,”
Harris said.
Runner-up: Peninsula Golf Course, Long Beach
Honorable Mention: Highlands Golf Club, Gearhart
By NANCY McCARTHY
FILE PHOTO
Fort George bakes its pizzas in a wood-fired oven located
on the second floor. The pizzas are made with organic flour
sourced in the Pacific Northwest, and toppings include house-
made sausage, pulled pork, truffle cheeses and more.
Harris and his fellow
co-founder, Chris Nemlow-
ill, revitalized two dilapi-
dated buildings in down-
town Astoria and turned
them into a thriving pub and
brewery. A weekly Thurs-
day lecture series is offered
on a wide range of topics;
the Troll Radio Review,
sponsored by Coast Com-
munity Radio, is broadcast
live from the pub on the last
Saturday of the month; the
Fort George Benefit Night
on last Tuesdays assists lo-
cal nonprofits — more than
$96,000 has been raised;
and the one-day Festival of
Dark Arts in February gath-
ers together enthusiasts of
Fort George’s black stout to
enjoy the beer, local music
and crafts.
Harris calls the Readers’
Choice Awards a “great
honor” and a “nice anniver-
sary present.”
The staff’s goal is to
have customers “leave here
with a smile on their face,”
he said.
“We strive to make peo-
ple happy,” Harris added.
Fort George Brewery, upstairs
pizza and Lovell Taproom
are at 1483 Duane St. Check
fortgeorgebrewery.com or call
503 325-7468 for information.
One reason, among
several, that the Astoria Golf
& Country Club won the
Readers’ Choice Award for
Best Golf Course: It’s a fun
course to play.
“It’s not a cookie-cutter
golf course,” said Ed Leinen-
kugel, manager. “Thanks
to the terrain, it’s the kind
of golf course that no one
would get tired of playing.”
Founded in 1923 on a
former cranberry field, the
private 18-hole golf course
runs between the dunes and
along the rolling terrain
of the Clatsop Plains. The
local weather on the course
— less than a mile from the
Pacific Ocean – makes the
course even more chal-
lenging year round. Yet it’s
playable for all abilities.
“It provides plenty of
challenge for skillful players,
but if you hit a bad shot,
you can recover,” Leinen-
kugel said. “It is regarded
as among the top five golf
courses in Northern Oregon.”
The course is home to the
eight-day Oregon Coast Invi-
tational Tournament, which
attracts nearly 400 golfters
from throughout the country.
In addition to offering a
fun, challenging course, the
staff “embraces the spirit of
hospitality,” he added. “We
enjoy what we do; we are
enthusiastic; we are en-
gaged.”
After a round of golf,
members and their guests
head to the clubhouse for a
meal. Full breakfasts, lunch-
es and dinners are listed on
the menu.
Receiving a Readers’
Choice Award gives the
club’s staff a sense of pride,
Leinenkugel said. “It’s al-
ways nice to be recognized,”
he added. “I think this
course has a strong connec-
tion to the community.”
Astoria Golf and Country
Club is located at 33445 Sun-
set Beach Lane in Warrenton.