View from Rogue Ales Public House.
Astoria Beer Adventure

Yep, this last post is seriously late. But I got a new job, had to pay some bills, and that's what happens. As soon as you start sending me big checks, I can do this full time and be at your service. Until then, you'll have to accept my apologies for running a bit behind. Just so you're not too worried about me, I have been keeping up with my drinking, just not my writing...

Well, sometimes there's good luck and sometimes there's bad luck. Other times, a situation presents itself as a wash: Even-Steven, as they say. With more alcohol than blood in my body, I'm not sure how to evaluate either.

My last stop for the day is Rogue Ales Public House. Right now, I'm simply concentrating: "right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot." I see a seagull and get distracted and forget which foot I'm on. Oh well, I am moving forward-ish, I'll just let momentum take over from here. As I aim for the front door to the building, I get my first piece of bad news: the foot I've been calling my right is actually my left.

I set my bag and notebook down on the bar and let the head waitress know that I'm here for my meeting. She gives me a confused look and I assume that it's because my eyes are pointing in two different directions. She disappears into the back and the bartender offers me a beer. Before I can make the inevitable decision to have yet another beer, the waitress appears and let's me know that there has been a mixup. Some crossed wires prevailed and my meeting was not to be. My body let out a sigh of relief as I realized that maybe this was a bit of luck--maybe I didn't actually need more beer. Maybe.

Astoria Beer Adventure
Inside Rogue Ales Public House.
Instead, the waitress offered me a tour of the building and said she'd be happy to answer any questions for me. My first questions was "Can I have a glass of water?"

Looking around, I get the feeling that I've been here before. Well, if you've been to other Rogue Ales Public Houses, you know what to expect: walls scattered with Rogue wear, cases of beer stacked up around the restaurant, and other reminders to spend a little extra on your way out the door.

When I moved out to Oregon, Rogue Ales was responsible for shattering my expectations about beer. I did as much beer experimentation as possible in South Carolina, but the possibilities there were extremely limited. I can still remember sitting down at Rogue Ales Public House in Portland for the first time and being dumbstruck by the 16 different Rogue beers on tap. A few samplers later and I knew that my world had changed in a very dramatic way. That was a long time ago, but things haven't changed at Rogue: they are still offering a phenomenal amount of draft beer styles with a few seasonals on the board as well.

Astoria Beer Adventure
Inside the Captain's Suite.
Rogue has been around for 21 years in Oregon. Along with their massive draft lineup, they've built up a small empire of Public Houses: ten in Oregon and one in San Fransisco. Rogue also has very wide distribution for kegs and bottled beers. I'm not sure about the reach, but I used to be able to find it in SC--not quite the beer mecca of the US.

Having seen a Rogue Ales Public house before, we don't spend much time in the bar or restaurant. The waitress mentions that there are some cool rooms to stay in at the back of the pier. We head out of the restaurant into the 130+ year old Hanthorne Cannery space, and then up into a back building that houses a few rooms called the Fisherman's Suites. Our first stop is the Captain's Suite. Wow. Rain or shine, the views from this room are outstanding with walls of floor to ceiling windows facing both North and West. The fully remodeled interior has a complete kitchen and is fully stocked with comfortable furniture, while maintaining an open floor plan. The first thing I think about is hosting a party. At $475 a night, it's a little out of my price range for a romantic getaway, but I'll definitely try and figure out a way to stay here over night. There are also two other rooms that aren't quite as big (or expensive), but they're newly remodeled and have great views as well. For more information, check out pier39-astoria.com.

Astoria Beer Adventure
Astoria's waterfront walkway.
And that is the end of my trip. Four articles stretching over months, just to cover one day in Astoria--and almost completely revolving around beer! Is it worth the trip? Definitely. Astoria is prepared for you: museums, restaurants, hotels and bed and breakfasts, the waterfront walkway (or trolley ride), and plenty of other things to do in town. I recommend an overnight stay as there is plenty of beer to discover and it's a four hour round trip--if you don't stop along the way. And, while there's plenty of beer to entertain you now, rumors of a third brewery are floating around the city! But go now, before that happens, so that you can say "I was in Astoria back in the day when there were only two breweries..."


Check out the rest of the photos here.