If you pay attention at your local retailer and bars, you may have recently noticed beer showing up from one of Oregon’s most well-respected and quickly-growing breweries. Fort George Brewery started distributing their beer to Washington through Odom earlier this month, and they will have their core lineup available in 16oz cans and on draft in Seattle and up and down the coast. I spoke with Brian Bovenizer, Fort George’s marketing guru, and the brewery is excited to be moving some product up north to us finally.

While Seattle is obviously a very competitive market for breweries and you have many options for where to put your hard-earned money, I’d wager that you won’t be disappointed with what you try from Fort George. Their Vortex IPA is one of the best in the NW, but they have a very well-rounded lineup of beers that  impresses across the board. In addition to the Vortex, we’ll also regularly be seeing the 1811 Lager, Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, and Cavatica Stout in 16oz cans and on draft. They will also be sending up special beers occasionally, including their Roses on Roses 5th Anniversary beer, which is a Belgian-style IPA aged in Four Roses bourbon barrels and conditioned with rose hips. This should be getting up to Seattle sometime this week, so keep your eyes out for it.

They’ll be partaking in periodic special events, including during the upcoming Seattle Beer Week. Fort George knows their way around a stout and brews a wide range of them that they serve up at their pub in Astoria during Stout Month in February, so they are a natural fit for the Back in Black Stout Fest at Brouwer’s Cafe on Friday, May 11. They will also be doing an event for SBW at the Barking Dog Alehouse, and they’ll be sure to bring some special beers to share.

I definitely encourage you to seek out the beers from Fort George, and I think that most specialty retailers should already have their cans; I saw comments from Full Throttle, 99 Bottles, and Bottleworks that they all do. Brian also said that PCC Natural Markets should have them as well. I saw the Vortex IPA on tap at Collins Pub this morning when I was walking by and peeked through the window at the tap list. Funny enough, Collins Pub is where I first sampled the Vortex years ago when a keg made a special trip up here. I may have to make a return visit to grab a pint this week.

If you are ever looking for a weekend trip for a short getaway, I’d also highly suggest visiting Astoria. Here is a writeup I did a couple of years ago that includes some info on their brewpub and other spots in town. On a recent trip earlier this year, some friends and I visited again, this time checking out the new, larger brewery they put in to enable them to do some high volume canning and expand their distribution.