Breweries Fort George and Grains of Wrath take their award-winning collaboration on the road, with Fanzine IPA.
image sourced from Fort George Brewery
Recognizing that the brewing industry has evolved from the classic West Coast IPA of the 80s and 90s, brewers from two of the region’s perennial beer halls - Fort George Brewery and Grains of Wrath - show that the Pacific Northwest can evolve with the rest of the nation. As the world shifts its attention towards ‘Instrammable’ beers, like the New England-style Hazy IPA, the brewers in Astoria (Oregon) and Camas (Washington) joined forces to create a beer that is crisp and clear, during a time when all people want is something hazy.
Dubbed Fanzine IPA, the beer pays respect to beers roots with an India Pale Ale that is piney, with bucket loads of grapefruit and other citrus fruits. The result is a beer that is crisp, dry, and was inspiring enough to win Gold at this year’s 2020 Oregon Beer Awards in the category of Best American IPA. Reflecting on this, Michal Frankowicz, head brewer of Fort George Brewery reflects on how this whole thing started.
Mike Hunsaker from G.O.W. and I met years ago at a hop conference when he was working for Fat Heads Brewery,
We really enjoyed each others beers and had a blast hanging out. We ran into each other year after year and always talked about making a West Coast IPA together since it is our favorite style. When he started Grains of Wrath a couple years ago we really dug into trying to get a collaboration together.
image sourced from Grains of Wrath’s Twitter account
The name? Well that’s in part thanks to Fort George’s Marketing Director Brian Bovenizer, who believe strongly in the independent spirit that inspires every employee at both Fort George Brewery and Grains of Wrath.
Fanzines are deeply rooted in the DIY ethos - fiercely independent, small run, self-published, xeroxed and stapled testaments to the object of a true fan’s reverence. Fort George’s first labeled Seasonal, Fanzine IPA, was intentionally designed to look like a paper zine comic and features the art of independent folk legend Michael Hurley, who’s art just so happens to be the subject of its’ own Fanzine.
Michael Hurley, now a local to the Astoria area, is an American Folk Singer, Cartoonist and Painter. A favorite of the Fort George team, Hurley is a regular performer on the Fort George block and had previously voiced interest in designing a can for the brewery. An inspiration behind the Fanzine series, Hurley’s art can be found on this year’s can.
As for Grains of Wrath head brewer, Mike Hunsaker, this marks not the end of this cooperation with Fort George but probably the beginning.
I'm super happy to have finally made some beer with my buddy, Michal, and Fort George Brewery. I've been a fan of theirs and respect the beer that's been coming out of there for years. I look forward to getting them out here to our place to brew something else soon.
For now, one should stop into one of the following locations to recover a chance to enjoy what award-winning collaboration tastes like.
Wednesday, February 26th
5 pm - 8 pm Grains of Wrath Brewery, 230 NE 5th Ave, Camas, WA 98607
Friday, February 28th
5 pm - 8 pm Tap Union Freehouse 1300 Washington St #200, Vancouver, WA 98660
Saturday, February 29th
5 pm - 8 pm Roscoes 8105 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215
Saturday, February 29th
11 am - 12 am Fort George Brewery 1483 Duane St, Astoria, OR 97103
Should you miss a chance to try this on draft, you will need to wait till late December or early 2021, when Fort George Brewery selects another brewery, another artist, and a new recipe which pays homage to the independent, DIY spirit, imbued in every can of Fanzine IPA.
About Fort George Brewery
Founded in March 1811 by Captain Jonathan Thorn, Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company’s primary trading post in the Pacific Northwest. Astoria was renamed Fort George after King George III while under temporary British Authority during the war of 1812. At over 200 years, Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies.
Since its inception, Astoria has been battered with a series of fires and industry collapses. In 2007 Fort George Brewery + Public house was established. Even though Sweet Virginia (our small batch brewery) was just a wee lady, she helped bring some of the thrum of hard work back to this pocket of the city.
...
In 1924 the Fort George Building was erected on the original settlement site of Fort Astoria, operating as an automotive repair shop through the early 1990’s. Briefly abandoned and sadly neglected, the Fort George Building has been revitalized and is now home to the Blue Scorcher Bakery and Fort George Brewery + Public House.
About Grains of Wrath Brewing
Grains of Wrath Brewery is located Downtown Camas in an old 30’s era auto shop. This brewpub started off as an idea for partners Michael Hunsaker, Brendan Greenen, Shawn Parker and Brendan Ford. We spent a lot of time really dialing in the space and converting it into our brewery & restaurant to be what we envisioned as a cool spot to hang out with great options for tasty beers, drinks and food.
Our team is what makes us who we are. We have Mike Hunsaker, head brewer and partner, and Owen Lamb in the brewery having fun and kicking out a huge variety of beers. To add to the beers we have Chef Erin LeDoux and Chef Joel Schmid cooking up mouth-watering dishes. Of course, none of this would be possible without our awesome service and bar staff lead by General Manager Brendan Greenen.
