Fort George Brewery
Biography
Established: 2007
Owners: Homebrewer Chris Nemlowill apprenticed under brewer Jack Harris at Bill’s Tavern in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Together, they took a beat up empty building on the east side of Astoria, Oregon, installed a brew system and a kitchen, and then opened the doors of the Fort George Brewery + Public House in March 2007.
Brewers: Chris Nemlowill and Jack Harris
Location: 1483 Duane St, Astoria, Oregon 97103
Specialty: Fort George Brewery brews the best craft beer they can while being as organically conscious and sustainably responsible as they can with one foot strongly planted in the community.
Five Notable Beers: Vortex IPA, Cavatica Stout, 1811 Lager, Big Guns Session IPA and The Optimist IPA
Status:
Still gloriously and thunderously operational, with a full city block in Astoria under its malt-slicked thumb. Multiple brewhouses, a wood-fired pizza temple, a lovingly chaotic upstairs taproom, a waterfront vibe that winks at pirates, poets, and stoutheads alike—and its own high holiday: Stout Month. Home of the annual Festival of the Dark Arts, which makes Burning Man look like a knitting circle.
The Story:
Astoria, Oregon—land of sea shanties, haunted Victorian homes, and the eternal glow of The Goonies—also hosts Fort George Brewery, founded in 2007 by Chris Nemlowill and Jack Harris, two beer-drenched dreamers who may or may not have made a pact with Poseidon.
The birth of Fort George wasn’t your average ribbon-cutting. No, it began with a cross-country road trip from Virginia Beach, hauling an 8.5-barrel Saaz system (“Sweet Virginia”) on a flatbed truck, straight through tornado country. Somewhere near Nebraska, a twister nearly yeeted the brewhouse into a cornfield—and in that moment, Vortex IPA was born. Earlier, in Rabun County, Georgia, their U-Haul broke down and a local tow driver advised them to skeedaddle, noting ominously, “This here’s Deliverance country.” They replied: “We’re from Astoria, where The Goonies was filmed.” Cosmic foreshadowing? Obviously.
By 2010, the duo had acquired the historic Lovell Building, built in 1921 to house a booming auto empire. During the great Astoria fire of 1922, the Lovell Building was saved thanks to an owner with 100 fire extinguishers—and a shotgun to keep “helpful” vigilantes from burning it down. The building has since been everything from an arcade to a theater, and now it houses Fort George’s production facility, taproom, and stage for live music and occasional sideshow oddities.
Today, Fort George owns the entire block, including pubs, restaurants, and a vertically integrated dreamscape of brew tanks, barrels, and chaos. And yes, Sweet Virginia still brews small-batch oddities while the big system handles the flagships.
Awards & Accolades:
They’ve got more awards than you’ve had questionable barleywines. Highlights include:
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2016 World Beer Cup: Silver, Hellcat Belgian Tripel
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2015 Oregon Beer Awards:
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Bronze, Cavatica Stout
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Bronze, 3-Way IPA
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Silver, Suicide Squeeze IPA
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2020 Oregon Beer Awards:
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Gold, Fanzine IPA
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Best Beer Festival: Festival of the Dark Arts
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2019: Best Beer Festival – Festival of the Dark Arts
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2018: Gold, Funeral Pyre + Best Beer Festival
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2017: Best Beer Festival
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2016: Silver, Quick Wit + Best Beer Festival
Fun Facts & Beautiful Madness:
🍺 Vortex IPA was named after the tornado that nearly blew Fort George into Oz.
🚒 The Lovell Building survived a city-wide inferno thanks to brute force, 100 fire extinguishers, and one man with a shotgun.
🎭 Festival of the Dark Arts is Fort George’s Mardi Gras of Stout—a fire-juggling, glass-blowing, contortionist-laced bacchanal of over 70 rare dark beers from 50+ breweries. It anchors Fort George’s month-long tribute to the dark, the roasty, and the ridiculous: Stout Month.
🍕 You can drink award-winning beer while eating wood-fired pizza and watching live music in a taproom that once sold Studebakers.
Tasting Notes:
Expect bold and weird. From the chewy, dark-as-regret Cavatica Stout to the hop-blasted 3-Way IPA collabs, and the saison-scented, fruit-laced barrel sours tucked away like forbidden relics—every beer tastes like it’s got a story, and probably a body count. Fort George isn’t just a brewery. It’s a spectacle.
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