THIRSTYGROWLER
Summer brews to sample
Collaborations, berry roasts make new seasonal favorites
By WILLIaM dEaN
Brews & News
Hail summer, glorious season of possibil-
ities. It’s a time for beachcombing and bar-
becue, sailing and sun-worshipping. And, of
course, enjoying a cold, crisp beer.
Fortunately for those of us in the Colum-
bia-Pacific region, craft breweries have been
working diligently to produce some of the
best summer brews around. These gems run
the gamut from simple and golden to amber
and complex, but each is refreshing.
Here are six beers to try before they, and
summer, are gone.
Cold Currents, Astoria Brewing Co.
and North Jetty Brewing
Two local breweries have collaborated on
a cold IPA, which, unless you’re a total beer
geek, you’ve likely never heard of. It’s essen-
tially an IPA brewed at colder temperatures that
uses lager yeast to bring a special crispness to
the beer without sacrificing the hop flavor.
Brewed by Andrew Brown of Astoria
Brewing Co. and Titus Bentley of North Jetty
Brewing, this beer is potent yet crisp, with
a golden hue. It’s built with traditional malt
and a heavy dose of flaked rice, but the spicy
flavor from Chinook, Centennial and Strata
hops is unmistakable.
Vienna Lager, Buoy Beer Co.
Yes, Buoy Beer Co. is still brewing after
the partial collapse of its waterfront facility
– brewing a lot, actually. Vienna Lager is the
second installment of the brewery’s highly
anticipated special lager series, following the
spring release of its Maibock.
The new lager is copper in color with a
frothy head made with Vienna and Pils malts,
and Magnum and Saphir hops. The result is a
smooth, balanced taste.
Beach Eagle, Fort George Brewery
This refreshing Mexican-style lager is
pale, light and goes down easy. It’s a perfect
pick for a beach cooler on a hot summer day.
Try it with a wedge of lime.
Wild Gooseberry Chase, Fort George
Brewery
This special sour was fermented in French
oak barrels with lots of tart Oregon goose-
berries, then conditioned in the bottle for a
unique flavor and is described as “funky” by
its brewers. Translation? Awesome.
Fort george Brewery’s Beer Pier made its de-
but on the Fourth of July, drawing a festive
crowd and offering live music. The astoria
riverwalk pier is long, well lit and dotted
with family-friendly benches. The brewery
hopes to host more events in the future.
No opening date has been set for astoria’s
sixth craft brewery, Obelisk Beer Co., but
there’s good news: The 10-barrel brewing sys-
tem is in place on the taproom off Bond street
is nearing completion. The upcoming brewery
is a joint venture of Fort george Brewery
alums dave Coyne and Nathan Lampson.
Kyle Fosbinder, a brewer at Reach Break Brewing, draws a sample of Gyotaku, a Japanese-style lager.
The Circus is Coming to Town!
Come see Circus Nonsense, an ensemble
show by a rag-tag group celebrating
traditional and contemporary circus
arts. They’ve performed with Cirque
du Soleil and Clowns Without Borders,
and they’re sure to
Circus Nonsense
make you laugh,
2 pm, Aug 6, 2022
gasp, wiggle and
6 pm, Aug 6, 2022
2 pm, Aug 7, 2022
giggle. Three shows!
Titus Bentley, left, and Andrew Brown
celebrate the release of their collaborative
cold IPA, posing with wooden keg hammers.
Gyotaku, Reach Break Brewing
Gyotaku is a Japanese art that began more
than a century ago as a way for fishermen to
keep a record of the fish they caught. They
would apply ink to one side of a fish, then cover
it with rice paper and rub to create an image.
Reach Break’s namesake is a straw-col-
ored, Japanese-style lager made with malt
and flaked rice, and infused with a subtle
hop flavor. The resulting brew is “clean and
crisp,” brewer Kyle Fosbinder said.
Kolsch, Buoy Beer Co.
This German-style lager is perfect for the
season. It’s crisp, golden and light, with notes
of freshly baked bread. The beer is built on a
combination of Heidelberg, Pils, Vienna and
white wheat malt. Opal and Saphir hops add
floral and bitter notes.
William Dean is an author with a pas-
sion for craft beer. His suspense novels, “The
Ghosts We Know” and “Dangerous Free-
dom” are available in bookstores. Contact
him at williamdeanbooks@gmail.com.
More Shows Coming this Summer…
Hell’s Belles
Pamyua
Mexico Lindo
August 12, 2022
Pitch-perfect AC/DC,
delivered by a ferocious
and highly charged
all-female rock band.
August 20, 2022
Showcasing Inuit
culture through
costume, music
song and dance.
September 16, 2022
A glorious journey
celebrating the culture of
Mexico via song, dance,
sound, color and costume.
Buy your tickets today! Online or at the Box Office.
www.libertyastoria.org
Downtown Astoria’s historic Liberty Theatre was made for music, dance,
theatre, readings, film, comedy, children’s programs – and you!
1203 Commercial Street | Astoria, OR 97103 | 503.325.5922 | www.libertyastoria.org
Thursday, augusT 4, 2022 // 7