Cheers to 18 Years of Fort George

At The Fort, Beer, Community, Astoria & The North Coast

Things may look a little different than they did when we first opened in 2007, but one thing remains the same: we’re still making beer, and you’re still drinking it. Thank you.

Cheers to 18 years of beer.

The Fort George building was built in 1924 by Sherman Watson Lovell to house the operations of his auto repair shop and showroom, Lovell Auto Co.
By 2005, the former auto shop was abandoned and in disrepair. The owner of the building envisioned a brewery and a bakery inhabiting the space and leased the space to co-founders Jack & Chris.
An 8.5 Bbl Brewhouse, Sweet Virginia, arrives at the Fort George Building after a cross-country drive from the East Coast to Astoria in 2006.
Digging the lines for the new brewery in the back of the future pub. Friends and family, local artists and craftsmen all pitched in to help build out the brewery.
Much of the building was renovated using salvaged and repurposed materials. The original pub benches and bartop were constructed from salvaged cedar.
Break room.
Co-Founder, Chris Nemlowill on the newly constructed brew deck of Sweet Virginia.
Fort George’s tap wall – March 2009.
A Stout Month Taster Tray – early days.
In 2009, Jack and Chris purchased the adjacent Lovell Building to house the rapidly expanding brew operations and took on another massive renovation project. This building now houses the Fort’s Research & Development brewery – Little Miss Texas as well as the Lovell Showroom, Taproom and Store.
New tanks arrive on the block. Custom built, short, wide UFO shaped tanks allow the Fort to squeeze as much brewing capacity as possible out of the new Lovell space. The shape of the tank allows more surface area to be exposed to the buoyant hop matter during the brew process, increasing and intensifying hop flavor in the Fort’s signature IPAs.
A spiral staircase, salvaged from a recent renovation of the Astoria Column, goes in between the floors of the historic Fort George Building. The cut-out from the floor is saved, preserved, sealed and repurposed as a huge dining table in the new Pizzeria upstairs.
Sunday Night Music moves to the newly completed Pizzeria. A purpose-built stage and sound system elevate the music experience in the large space, drawing a nice crowd of locals every week.
Chris & Jack enjoy a shifty in the partially-completed Lovell Taproom space.
Co-Founder Jack, Head Brewer Michal and Science Officer Packy enjoy a Lime-a-Rita after Fort George announces their intention to acquire AB InBev, April 1st, 2015.
In 2018 Fort George completed an addition to the 1924 building, expanding both floors of the restaurant and opening up an outdoor space for guests upstairs. The garage doors, steel beams and salvaged wood railings honor the character of the original building and maintain its iconic silhouette.
Christy, Ben, Andrew & Mike at the first ever Lupulin Ecstasy Festival in 2019.
Chris leads a group of employees out onto the future Beer Pier. A new production brewery in the building of former can manufacturer, Astoria Warehousing, is already under construction.
Staff gather in the new warehouse and brewery space on the Astoria Waterfront, winter 2019.
The original Elmore Cannery, Astoria’s oldest cannery, and associated buildings were lost to fire in 1993 but the buildings of the can manufacturer which supported Elmore and other local canneries remained, eventually becoming Astoria Warehousing. In 2018, Astoria Warehousing consolidated operations and Fort George moved into the space, which abuts Astoria’s scenic riverwalk, once again expanding brewing operations to meet demand.
In 2024 Fort George completed installation of the largest private single-building solar array in Oregon State. The panels currently generate 70% of the brewery’s electricity needs. A lot has changed in Astoria since we opened our doors in 2007, but a lot has stayed the same. We’re still proud to be pouring you a pint of the best beer you’ve had today. Cheers to 18 years of beer.

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