First Annual Cans Fest Review

We thought we were going to be late for our volunteer shift at the first annual Cans Fest from unintentionally staying too long at The Mississippi Street Fair, but our lightning fast 3 and 5 speed bikes combined with fuel from The Whole Bowl and a pint of beer got us there with time to spare.  We arrived to be greeted by Jim Austin, the Cans Fest volunteer coordinator.  Jim took us inside the Guild Public House and gave us the 411.  Our task sounded easy enough and as it turned out it was.  We had to check for wrist bands and crack open cans. I will have to say, my right index finger is frickin’ huge now.  It received a great workout and now my other digits envy its size.  Opening cans can be dangerous work too as my lovely Eyeluvbeer assistant found out.  She received a minor cut from the mouth hole of 21^st Amendment’s, Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer. Maybe this guy was to blame?

The biggest feat that I personally accomplished while volunteering at the Cans Fest, was being able to refrain from drinking the beers that sit open in front of me.  Man was that hard.   The most enjoyable aspect of volunteering; the conversation with fellow beer fanatics.

My sexy beer wench serving it up!

Angelo from Brewbuplic enjoying Maui Brewing's, Flyin' HI.P.Hay

After our shift ended, we were rewarded with a tasting mug, (10) tickets and a Public Guild House can koozie.  Not bad I thought for pouring beers for a few hours.  As we headed out to taste, we crossed paths with the Natian Brew crew:  Ian, Natalia and their good friend Pete.  Ian and Natalia always make an appearance wherever their beer is flowing; whether at a festival or at a local pub.  I thought Natian made the Cans Fest even more entertaining by being the only brewery that offered a challenge. They had their lovely La Luz Summer Ale in both cans and in a keg.  For two dollars you got to partake in the taste-off challenge; a challenge that I failed.  I was not successful in determining the keg beer from the can beer.  However, as Ian said, as long as both beers went in my mouth, I was a winner.  Agreed!  My hot pants, supervisor passed the test with no problem…damn her!

The Fab 4: Pete, Wendy and Natian Brewers, Natalia and Ian

We also had the pleasure of meeting Spencer Gotter who is the head brewer at Fort George in Astoria (See our write up on Fort George here).  His dog Sasha actually introduced us.  Sasha is so darn cute.  I think we liked the dog better than Spencer!  Just kidding folks!  Spencer was awesome and we hope to see him and Sasha at future beer events.

Spencer, head brewer from Fort George and his
beautiful companion, Sasha

I was going to present you with a list of beers that I sampled, but that is pretty darn boring, plus I am beginning to realize that no beer is undrinkable (please do not mark my words).  Yes, some beers are better than others, but it all comes down to what one enjoys.

Overall, I think Jesse Cornett and the rest of the gang at the Guild Public House did an excellent job at hosting the Cans Festival.  I expected to see more people in attendance, but Portland’s summer weekends are always bustling with plenty of events. If you were not at the Cans Festival last Saturday, I highly recommend you stop by for what I am sure will be a regular July, Craft Beer Month event.

What to look for if cruising on Burnside.

Can display by:
The Cascade Breweriana Association
Beer Collectibles Club, Est. 1978

As I have said before, drummers rule! I think these guys
were The Eventuals

My view well relieving my bladder.

Astoria Part I: Fort George Brewing

We left for Astoria Friday morning.   I have lived in Oregon for 15 years and this would be my first time visiting the city.  I have driven through it several times, but had never stopped.  My lovely traveling companion was pretty much in the same boat.  However, she had never even driven through it.  What is wrong with us?  I could certainly insert a lengthy list here for myself.

Our first experience in Astoria turned out to be remarkable, despite the fact that it rained the entire time on Friday.  The city is quite the charmer.  It has extensive maritime history, beautiful historic homes, is site to several Hollywood movies and has a downtown that is quaint, but thriving with many restaurants, coffee shops and most notable for this particular piece, Fort George Brewing.

The beautiful facade

Fort George was our first libation stop.  The building was named after the grounds to which it stands on.  It was originally the site of Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) which was an active fur trading post in its heyday.  The site was added to the list of Historic places on November 5^th, 1961 and marked by the building.  Thanks Wikipedia!  You rock!  You can read more if you are interested in history of Fort Astoria by clicking the link below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Astoria#cite_note-nhlsum-1

We stepped inside the brew pub, which was airy and rather large.  To our surprise it was fairly quiet for 4pm on a Friday. This was okay though.  It just meant that we would not have to wait long to try their extensive beer list. We were having trouble making a decision on what to order, so we opted for a taster try.  A great choice by the way at any brewing establishment that you are unfamiliar with.  Unfortunately, I typically do not heed my own advice.  You can see the list of beers that we consumed in the following photo.  Our favs were the 1811 Lager (the year Fort Asotria was founded), Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, Nut Red Ale and Vortex IPA. On the dark side, The Coffee Girl Stout was a stand out for us.  It was somewhat humbling to see and taste the amazing beer selection that Fort George has to offer.  You can find their 1811 and Vortex IPA in 16oz cans, but they turnout so much more.  A great reason to visit the brewery! 



The beer menu with the amazing unicorn chalk drawing

Little beers rule!

Stool sample!

After consuming our tasters, our server offered us a visit of their production facility, which was just beyond the sticker plastered door and few steps away in another building. He said that we looked like we appreciated good beer.  I am not sure how you can tell that about a person, but we took it as a kind compliment, and of course took him up on his offer.

I ordered a pint of Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale before we took the brief walk over to see where this fine beer was birthed.  The entrance door was not marked well, but our server had pointed to the door that was slightly ajar and said, “just go in there”. We walked though the door to be greeted by a blue room full of kegs and then saw another door about 30 feet in front of us with a hand made sign that read “YES!  THIS IS TAP ROOM ENTRANCE”.  Wow, a tap room!  I don’t think our server mentioned this to us.  If he did, I missed it while being thoroughly immersed in our beer flight.  The tap room was fairly new, but was warm and inviting; a good place to talk about beer.  The tap list included some additional beers that were not served in the pub.  A fine gentleman named John who was in charge of the taps gave us some good information on the beers, the canning facility and the popularity of the game Corn Hole in Astoria.  From the tap room you can see everything that takes place in the brewing area, but you are allowed to go inside the production area as well, which contains a foosball table (one of my favorite table games) and a full size shuffle board court.

The famed tap room entrance

Tap Room = Heaven

Sexy foosball table and a hot game of Corn Hole taking place

Happy camper  

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Fort George as we had to head back to walk our dogs and seek out dinner.  I wanted to visit the public house later that evening, but unfortunately we never made it. Astoria was determined to show us more of what she had to offer.  Stay tuned for, Astoria Part II: ‘Title to Be Determined’.