THETHIRSTYGROWLER
For Astoria’s
top brewers, it’s
about ‘family’
BY WILLIAM DEAN
Brews & News
• Fort George has pulled the plug on its
Festival of the Dark Arts, a celebration of
dark beers. The February festival usually
draws thousands of people, but the brew-
ery decided there was no way to safely
spread out the crowds. Stay tuned for
other Stout Month events, however.
• Buoy Beer Co. has released its special
Doppelbock Decapitator, available for a
limited time in the taproom and in bottles.
The delicious dark brew was aged for a year in
Fireside Bourbon barrels. Enjoy!
• Obelisk is on track to open its Astoria
brewery this spring. Permits are in hand and
remodeling is underway inside the former
Columbia Fruit & Produce building on Bond
Street, including a ramp leading to a new
entrance that will open into a taproom.
They share hops, grain and other essen-
tial supplies in a pinch. They collaborate
from time to time on special beers. They
call each other “friends” or “family.”
Definitely not rivals.
The brewers behind Astoria’s booming
craft beer business are stubbornly colle-
gial, offering support, tips and sometimes
even recipes when asked. They applaud
when someone leaves the nest to risk a
start-up of their own.
With another brewery opening in spring
2022, competition for supermarket space
and bar taps will only get tougher. And yet
the nurturing community vibe persists.
“They’re my friends,” Michal Franko-
wicz, head brewer at Fort George Brew-
ery, said of his fellow beer makers. “It’s
not competitive between us. We’re always
there to help each other, no matter what
Frankowicz inside Fort George’s waterfront brewhouse, part of a recent major expansion.
10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Photos by William Dean
Fort George Brewery head brewer Michal Frankowicz at the control panel for the new
waterfront brewing facility.
the situation is.”
That pledge was proven recently when
one of Frankowicz’s creative brewers,
Dave Coyne, announced he was leaving
Fort George to launch Obelisk Beer Co.
Obelisk is preparing to open in a few
months in a converted former warehouse
less than a mile from Frankowicz’s water-
front brewing facility. In many compet-
itive businesses, such a move could be
viewed as a threat. Not in the craft beer
business.
Coyne, who is teaming with Nathan
Lampson, another Fort George alum, says
they’ve received nothing but support from
their former colleagues.
“Lots of pats on the back,” Coyne said.
“They really want us to succeed.”
On other levels, the family spirit among
brewers is equally remarkable. They all
share stories of helping each other out
during various ill-timed supply shortages
— from boxes of hops and bags of grain to
aluminum cans and glass growlers.
John Dalgren, head brewer at Astoria
Brewing Co., remembers running out of
a certain type of hops at an inopportune
time. His batch could have been ruined,
but he put a call out to other local brewers
and the key ingredient was rushed to his
downtown brewhouse.
“They’ve done it for me, and I’ll do it
for them if I can,” he said.
Perhaps the single-biggest evidence that
a true community of brewers exists is its
eagerness to create special beer together
— a sign of mutual respect.
Collaboration beers between two or
more breweries, often using unique ingre-
dients and recipes, demonstrate how the
art of beer-making and the consumer come
first, despite mounting competitive pres-
sures. Most of Astoria’s breweries have
collaborated in the past, often for charity.
And then there’s that willingness to
share recipes. Frankowicz says a home
brewer called him one day asking how
to make a certain Fort George beer. The
brewer sent the man the full “brew sheet”
and wished him well.
It all seems a bit strange. Would Coke
and Pepsi share secrets? Did Steve Jobs
and Bill Gates ever compare notes?
Brewers are just different, said Matt
Jones, head brewer at Buoy Beer. “For us,
it’s definitely about community. We would
always help another brewery if we can.”
While the quest to create a signature
IPA or stout is never-ending, between
brewers it’s a friendly pursuit of perfec-
tion, not a rivalry, said Christina LaRue of
the Oregon Brewers Guild.
“Everybody’s vying for tap handles, but
it’s not cutthroat,” she says. “It’s a family.”
Editor’s note: We hope you enjoy this
new column exploring the region’s bur-
geoning craft beer scene, with monthly
dispatches on special brews and events
and behind-the-scenes looks at the art of
beer-making.
William Dean is an author with a pas-
sion for craft beer. His suspense novel
‘Dangerous Freedom’ is available at Ama-
zon and in bookstores. Column ideas?
Contact him at williamdeanbooks@gmail.
com.