Ditch the Bottles and get Canned with Fort George

By Brad Bourque July 16, 2014

Fort George The Optimist IPA — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s nothing wrong with beer bottles — except that they’re heavy, break easily, and are even known to skunk your beer given a little bit of light (regardless of the bottle color). The next time you go out on a river float trip, or need a few beers to crack at the top of your hike, don’t assume cheap domestics are the only beer you can get in cans.

Fort George, a small obrewery based out of Astoria, Ore., brews beers in exciting Northwest styles. Not only is the beer terrific, but the brewery packages its beer in 16-ounce tallboy cans, so they’re perfect for your upcoming outdoor activities. “We’re all about giving people options,” co-owner Jack Harris says, “and cans. Cans are great for beer.” This summer, in addition to its Three-Way collaboration IPA that’s been flying off the shelves, Fort George has begun packing their classic Quick Wit and new Optimist IPA into conveniently sized 12-ounce six packs.

Ft George Astoria quick wit — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Quick Wit is a subtle, floral ale seasoned with elderflower, coriander, and lemongrass as a reflection of the bright citrus flavors of traditional Belgian ales. It’s a tasty brew that’s designed for drinking straight from the can, one refreshing and light enough for the end of your afternoon bike ride. Fort George’s new beer, The Optimist, is all about simplicity. Centennial, Simcoe, and Calypso hops bring together floral, citrus, and crisp fruit on top of a light, organic, 2-row base. The Optimist pours a bright golden color, with an aroma of pine and fresh produce, if you decide you want to drink it from a glass. Still, it’s great right out of the can, too.

Fort George is exclusively a Pacific Northwest brewery, distributing to Oregon, Washington — and as of this summer — Idaho. Check out the Fort George website for more information, or to use the convenient beer finder.

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Liquor, Beer, and Wine

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Brad Bourque is a beer and sneaker writer, retired fantasy football commissioner, and devout Portland Timbers. On the…

Food & Drink

5 Iconic Craft Beers That Have Moved to Aluminum Cans

beer head mug glass

Canned beers have become so commonplace that it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t always this way. For years, many of the most iconic beers stuck with glass or highly anticipated keg release and growler fill days. Presently more than ever you can find some of the most idolized American craft beers clad in aluminum.
Some of our favorite beers have been wearing the can for a while now, from Bear Republic’s delicious Racer 5 IPA to the incredibly refreshing and game-changing Dale’s Pale Ale from Oskar Blues Brewery. Some breweries, like Sam Adams, debated for years about whether to can some of its work (it ultimately did in 2013). Below is a shortlist of noteworthy canned craft developments that have taken place over the last few years.

Pliny the Elder

Food & Drink

This Road in Washington is Where All Your Favorite Beers Get Their Start

Hop farms.

On a map, it doesn’t look like much more than a straight north-south line just southwest of Wapato, Washington. Yet, the road known as Lateral A in the Yakima Valley is one of the most famous hop-growing stretches on earth. Here, one of beer’s critical ingredients grows up along tall trellises as far as the eye can see, harvested annually and sent off to brewers near and far.
It’s a reminder of the many people and places that go into your favorite brews. Rural areas like this provide the space, climate, and human beings for such sprawling agricultural tracts. Those who’ve been to the Yakima Valley know of the openness of this arid country, with mountains beyond and glimpses of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams to the west. If it wasn’t for the dramatic topography in the distance, you’d think you were in the desert, or some farm-heavy stretch of the Midwest, mid-drought.

Here, the sun shines more than 200 days per year. It’s an energized environment, one that’s responsible for three of every four hops produced in the entire country. What started as an experimental planting in 1868 is now an impressive patchwork of hop-farms. It’s said that a hotel room in the area is hard to come by in August and September, when bottom cutters meander through rows, harvesting the annual crop and brewer’s celebrate with farm-fresh creations.
The valley is quickly approaching 150 hop varieties, which emerge, cone-like, from hop bines (yes, bines, not vines) that can surpass the height of a three-story building. It’s home to many family-run operations which have been hauling in hops for generations. Places like Perrault Farms, in Toppenish a bit south along Lateral A. The Perrault Family arrived here in 1902, when Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House. In addition to growing eleven hop varieties, the family raises bison and grows blueberries.
The hops end up in everything from specialty one-off seasonal beers by Bale Breaker Brewing Company (just north and on the other side of the Yakima River) to Budweiser. Business is booming and the area has its requisite commissions, grower-owned coops, and the like. It’s not uncommon to see reps from the big boys like AB InBev-owned labels sniffing around for a good deal on some choice hops.

Food & Drink

Getting to Know the Lithuanian Beer Scene

lithuanian beer lithbeer

The fact that beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage isn’t that remarkable. What’s more impressive is how exceptionally vibrant beer culture has remained across different eras, with locals giving it documented props and shout-outs as far back as the 11th century. Lithuania is the eastern European nation most famous for amber Baltic shores, Charles Bronson, and its own scent. Beer, however, should probably join that list.
Instead of copying the numerous varieties developed by neighboring countries — Czech Pilsners, German Lagers, Belgian Krieks, etc. — Lithuanians source ingredients locally and produce their own unique genre. Earthy and yeast-driven, the most distinctive beer, dubbed kaimiskas, is most comparable to a farmhouse ale.
The country presently houses about 80 breweries, roughly half of which are micro in nature. Lagers remain popular there, as in most parts of the world, but Lithuanians seem to know they’re sitting on something indigenous and special with their kaimiskas. Born long before industrialization, they are living relics of an old agrarian way of life, and very much taste like it (in a good way). As Draft eloquently stated, these beers are “flux capacitors in liquid form.”
Much of the brewing activity takes place in the northern reaches of the country. The beers are made from distinctive strains of yeast, alongside a smattering of hops and often unboiled wort -- something of a rarity. The result is beer that’s decidedly rustic and beaming with Lithuanian terroir.
This is the kind of Old World beer brewed for and by farmers, at least initially. It survived wars, revolutions, ebbs and flows in the economy, and nationhood. It has remained mostly on the back burner but, at least within Lithuania, is a great source of pride and something that’s passed down from generation to generation. Villages always had, and still do to some extent have, brewers. And the good beer was treated like any great feat from a true craftsman, with respect and adulation. To drink one of these beers is to pay tribute to something much bigger and engrained than you might originally think. And, who knows, perhaps with a little nudge, Lithuanian Kaimiskas can at least be the next White IPA.
Lately, the Lithuanian craft beer scene has struggled against alcohol advertising bans and beer curfews. It’s a strange reality in a country that has been more or less supportive of the stuff for a thousand years. The capital city of Vilnius, especially, is known for going against the grain, producing micro-focused bottle shops and maintaining a general reverence toward the more creative local brews.
There are some options for getting the stuff here in the states and, earlier this year, one of the country’s famed yeast strains landed stateside. It never hurts to pester your favorite bottle shop, urging them to bring some of these wildly unique beer options to your neighborhood. Neighbors like Poland get more of the tourist limelight but next time you’re considering eastern Europe — in actuality or by the power of the internet or your most diverse bottle shop — consider Lithuania and its signature beer.
Want to try a Lithuanian beer? Here are three to seek out:

Rinkuškiai Zhiguly Grande 9.5