MARCH 29, 2018 // 9
You need not be Irish to love Pouring at the Coast
Dark-hearted blonde, candy
cap stout are local standouts
By R.J. MARX
FOR COAST WEEKEND
A
Who’s Who of coastal brews came
to Seaside Saturday for the ninth
annual Pouring at the Coast craft
beer festival. Beermakers from Cannon
Beach, Seaside, Astoria and beyond shared
their magic as the event coincided with St.
Patrick’s Day festivities, a wall of green
everywhere.
“This has been a fantastic day,” Brian
Owen, executive director of the Seaside
Chamber of Commerce said. “The weather
broke — the sun came out — it’s called
Oregon.”
Owen proclaimed Saturday’s event one
of the best-attended days in the event’s
history. Guests mingled from display to
display, with occasional breaks for snacks
and catching up with old friends.
“People are running around, happy
and drinking beer,” Brandy Stewart, of
the Seaside Chamber of Commerce, said.
“Smooth as can be.”
Stewart said 25 volunteers in two shifts
helped with pouring, ticket sales, secu-
rity — “You name it.” An hour into the
event she said she anticipated about 1,200
guests.
Local breweries, including co-sponsor
Seaside Brewing Co., along with Seaside’s
Buoy and Cannon Beach’s Public Coast
and Pelican brewers, stood out among the
more than 30 brewers from around the
Pacific Northwest.
Pelican Brewing Co.’s head brewer
Bryce Snyder came up from Pacific City,
where he joined Trevor McLean, assistant
general manager of Pelican’s Cannon
Beach location.
“We’re getting a ton of visitors,” Mc-
Lean said. “They’re coming back for the
dark-hearted blonde,” he said, referring
to the Sleepy Monk-inspired stout with a
coffee infusion.
Seaside’s Stephanie Stevenson of
Rascals volunteered with Ecliptic Brewing
of Northeast Portland, Daria Stein, who,
though posted next to Gearhart chamber
volunteer Andrew Stein, is no relation.
Buoy Beer’s founding brewer Dan
Hamilton and his daughter Jessyka
Dart-McLean, events and marketing man-
ager of Buoy, poured a European lager and
a Czech pils.
Public Coast’s master brewer Will Le-
roux, attending his second Pouring at the
Stephanie Stevenson of Rascals and Daria
Stein of Ecliptic Brewing, based in Northeast
Portland.
R.J. MARX PHOTOS
Jessyka Dart-McLean and Buoy Beer CO. founding brewer Dan Hamilton at Pouring at the Coast
Pouring at the Coast in Seaside
Pouring at the Coast founder Jimmy Griffin of Seaside Brewing Co. and Ken Heman of the Sea-
side Visitor Bureau.
Coast event, presented his award-winning
’67 Blonde Ale and Candy Cap Russian
Imperial Stout, a maple-, caramel- and
pecan-flavored beer from a local mush-
room, the candy cap. The concoction
proved a favorite with Jim Paino, newly
appointed director of the Cannon Beach
Chamber of Commerce and Cannon
Beach Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn
as they showed support for the local craft
brew scene.
Seaside Brewing Co.’s Jimmy Griffin
described the event’s “exciting vibe.”
“We’ve got some breweries you don’t
see a whole lot out this way,” he said.
“People are breaking out the seasonals. A
lot of breweries send things out here as a
‘live lab,’ to see how it’s going to fly for
the rest of the festival season.”
Griffin said there are more brewers
than ever. “Some of them are into their
business more than the brotherhood. But
out on the coast, specifically, everybody’s
really tight and everybody helps each
other out. The North Coast is going to
become its own beer destination in and of
itself. We think it’s unique and we’re glad
to be part of it.” CW