A Trip to Buoy Beer Co. (2016)

July 10, 2022

A Trip to Buoy Beer Co. (2016)

I meant to write this post years ago, but I just haven't been fast enough in getting through my tap profiles. Occasionally I get the opportunity to obtain taps directly from breweries that are local to me. When I do this, I like to reflect on the visit to the brewery and the experiences that happen when doing so. I've done this for breweries such as Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and River Mile 38. The timing of this Buoy Beer Co. post is poignant, given that the brewery building recently collapsed. My visit harkens back to a time before the building collapse and before COVID with its forced business shutdowns made a follow up visit to Buoy Beer a less memorable experience. So let me take you back to a better time in Buoy's history...

Buoy sign at the entrance of the brewery

Back in 2015 I helped my parents buy a home in Long Beach, Washington, about 115 miles and a bit over 2 hours west of Portland, Oregon. Long Beach is on the southwest coast of Washington, and since I had loved visiting the small beach town as a kid, and then many more times over the years, helping them buy a house there was a slam dunk for me. There are two routes a person can take to get from Portland to Long Beach: either following the Columbia River on the Washington side through a twisting, meandering route; or by following the river up the Oregon side and crossing from Astoria, Oregon into Washington by crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge. The Astoria route is about 15 minutes (or more) faster, with the added bonus of getting to visit Astoria itself. The place where Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, Short Circuit, and Free Willy were all filmed is a charming fishing town with antique stores, Victorian houses, farmer's market, and a riverwalk complete with a streetcar that's been running for 100 years.

River traffic in Astoria

On one particular trip to visit my parents in March of 2016, I was headed back to Portland and looking for a place to eat. I decided to see what Google Maps would turn up in Astoria. I was intrigued by a new brewery right on the waterfront, named Buoy Beer Co., which I had heard about but not yet visited. A glance at their online menu revealed fresh seafood, and with 17 beer offerings, stopping there was an easy choice. A short time later I was pulling into a public parking lot a couple of blocks away, and then walking across the pier to the brewery's front entrance. It was a huge yellow building, very industrial-looking, siting on the waterfront.

View of the Buoy Beer Co. building, facing northwest

Although you immediately step into the bar area once through the doors, your eyes are drawn further ahead to the partially visible restaurant area, thanks to the big picture windows that offer a stunning view of the Columbia River and the boats plying up and down it. The Columbia River system is the third largest wheat export gateway in the world, and the Port of Portland is the fifth largest auto import gateway in the country as well as the largest mineral bulk port on the west coast, so there is a lot of ship traffic to observe.

Restaurant dining area

Since the site was a former seafood processing plant, a fish ladder had been left intact in the restaurant to reflect the building's history. There was also a viewing port in the floor where I was able to briefly observe sea lions at play on the piers under the brewery. Unfortunately, the restaurant was at capacity and I could only briefly walk through to take photos. Even all the tables in the bar area were taken. Luckily for my growling stomach, there was one seat at the bar, which I decided to take.

A fish ladder from the building's former cannery days

Looking at the beer menu, I immediately zeroed in on the River Barrel Bock because it was a whiskey barrel-aged stout, but with a 9% ABV kick and a long drive home, I wanted something a little less potent. So instead I settled for the Cherry Chocolate Stout. To this day, that Buoy Cherry Chocolate Stout on tap is one of the best beers I've ever tasted.

Cherry Chocolate Stout

While I was waiting I picked up the tap (which I profiled in the previous post). I noticed the taps behind the counter were a rust color, rather than the red one they were selling me. When I asked about the rust-colored taps, the server told me that those were reserved for the restaurant and weren't sold to the public.

The tap area behind the bar with rust-colored taps

About 20 minutes after getting my beer, my food was delivered: fresh panko-breaded razor clams and a side salad. It was delicious! All too soon the food and the beer were gone and it was time for me to hit the road and head home. But it was such a great experience that I vowed I would return at a later date. So I returned to my car with a growler of Cherry Chocolate Stout in one hand and my tap in the other, and left Astoria in the rear-view mirror. It was a great experience.