Astoria brewery Buoy Beer Company announces hiring Paul Anderson, the 2021 "Love, Lost At Sea", & Barrel-aged Black Is Beautiful.
With their latest iteration of Love, Lost at Sea, an American-style Barleywine, released at the brewery, Buoy Beer is taking a moment to announce some upcoming changes. For starters, the brewery is expanding, but it’s not what you think.
image courtesy Buoy Beer Company
As its original head brewer, Kevin Shaw remains an anchor during the tumultuous storm many have been experiencing because of a global pandemic. But in the early years, long before the words social distancing and reduced capacity were enforced, Kevin helped Buoy Beer Company into its berth along the Columbia River. Under his leadership, the brewery has not only received regional praise, but has remained a brewery looking toward growth instead of retraction. Owing to his imaginative recipes, his leadership inside the brewery, and his overall presence, Kevin Shaw has since been promoted to Direct of Brewery Operations.
Unfortunately, with his responsibilities increased, the work of a head brewer has remained a strained effort, shared by the many brewers including those in research and development. Enter Paul Anderson.
Like so many professional brewers, Paul started his sojourn first with a homebrew kit, before taking a detour as a college student in Environment and Natural Resources and later a Master’s in Biology. Along the way, he would brew and experiment, growing his enthusiasm for brewing. With encouragement from his peers, Paul departed the Master’s program and developed his passion as a professional brewer and scientist at companies like Wyeast Labs, Deschutes Brewery, and Ordnance Brewery.
Besides his day-to-day experience, Paul lends his palate as a judge at regional and national sensory competitions. Besides judging, he is also a member of the MBAA DNW Technical Committee. For Buoy’s Kevin Shaw, Paul was the right choice for the head brewer role.
"I've known Paul for a number of years," says Shaw. "His experience in running a brewery combined with his comprehensive education of science and love of beer makes him a perfect fit for the team."
A recent member of the Buoy Beer family, Paul shares his thoughts on this year’s Love, Lost at Sea, in between sip and with his dog, Rye, at his side.
"In any beer I drink, I look for nuances of malt character and depth of flavor," says Anderson. "This year's Love Lost at Sea is a special Barleywine. The base beer features balanced toffee, toasted homemade bread crust, a touch of chocolate, and dried fruit. Held in whiskey casks from our friends at OOLA Distillery for a year, it picked up a pleasant oak tannin, and complementary whiskey characters. It's one of those beers best savored with a friend, on a winter's evening by the fire."
image courtesy Buoy Beer Company
For the uninitiated; Love, Lost at Sea, has a unique malt profile achieved by a “dense grist” of malts British pale, British Crystal, Chocolate, and select special roast malts. The result is a beer that is smooth on the palate, with sweet and toasted notes, while warming during these Winter nights. Lifted into the daylight, a campfire, or in front of the television, a reddish-brown almost mahogany color reminds you to look but do not take your eyes off this beer. At 12% ABV, this beer gets an assist from a 10-month-old nap inside previous use, OOLA bourbon barrels.
But the contents aren’t the only thing that’s inspiring about Love, Lost at Sea.
Hailing from Portland, Marena McAnney, expressed what Love, Lost at Sea, means to her. Like her tattoos, the label inspires thoughts of the kinetic and mysterious.
"I feel that the most genuine and sweetest love comes from our animals; I guess you could say I'm a little dog-crazy," says McAnney. "Remember to love one another, remember to be present."
When she’s not producing unique works of hand-drawn art, Marena is found hiking or strolling around Mt. Tabor, always with her pup.
Recognizing the unique imagination of the region’s tattoo artists, Buoy Beer Company will feature different artwork with each annual release.
With another announcement up their sleeve, Buoy Beer Company is pleased to announce the release of their Weathered Soul Brewing collaboration, Black Is Beautiful Barrel-aged Imperial Coffee Stout.
image courtesy Buoy Beer Company
Originally produced in 2020, as part of drawing awareness to racial-injustice, Weathered Souls Brewing of San Antonio Texas shared their recipe for Black Is Beautiful. Benefitting the Black Resilience Fund, brewers both domestic and international, sought to support their cause among them Buoy Beer Company. As part of raising funds for this campaign, Buoy put a portion of this beer into Adrift Distillery and Pilot House Distilling whiskey barrels. Shortly after, the newly ‘spirited’ Imperial Stout is bottled and further conditioned with roasted coffee beans from nearby Columbia River Coffee Roasters. With his thoughts on this unique release is, newly minted head brewer, Paul Anderson.
“This Black Is Beautiful brew features the craftsmanship of local brewers, distilleries, and a coffee maker in support of an important cause," says Anderson. "I feel like the beer has a bit of each of us and shows what a community can do to make change together. This creamy stout features roasted coffee and the pastry flavors of chocolate, coconut and vanilla, with just a touch of dried fruit.”
At 11.7% ABV, look for 16-ounce bottles at Buoy Beer Company’s taproom.
Finally, the brewery has this to share with those who support Buoy Beer Company both locally and from afar.
This month also marks the beginning of construction on the brewery expansion into the Astor Street building. Demolition crews are literally taking off the roof to accommodate a 50bbl brewhouse and 200bbl fermentation tanks. The future brew system will span 2 buildings, one dedicated to fermentation and the original building housing the bright tanks and the packaging lines.
"Buoy Beer Company is excited to start this year with a look to the future and healing growth," says Shaw. "Our plans include expanding barrel projects, continuing community-oriented collaborations, creating job growth where we can, and brewing high-quality consistent beer."
For more information on Buoy Beer Company, visit http://www.buoybeer.com or visit them at 2 - 7th Street in historic Astoria, Oregon.
About Buoy Beer Company
Astoria, OR overlooks the meeting of one of the West's most relentless rivers and the wilderness of an entire ocean - and it's here that Buoy Beer Company brews its beer. With balance always a priority, we focus on traditional lagers and NW ales to savor after a hard day's work and to share with friends.
