Fort George Brewery is located on the Oregon coast in the charming town of Astoria. The brewery and pub are housed in a former auto shop, a historic building that they renovated beautifully. Fort George brings in visitors year-round, but in February there’s a special draw: their Festival of the Dark Arts. This one-day beer festival is a celebration of stouts and features rare beers from many breweries. It originated as a local art festival in 2000, with one of Fort George’s owners helping to organize. Now in it’s fifth year, the festival has moved to Fort George’s campus and become more beer-focused.
In past years, the festival used handmade, letterpress printed tickets, but they’ve outgrown paper tickets and this year switched to a digital tracking system. Fort George’s graphic designer Nathan Lampson told us that with the custom Scout Books they designed for the festival, they hoped to fill the void of the tickets. The guides they designed are definitely a keepsake – they feature black and gold ink on the cover, and the custom pages serve as a map, program and place for notes. The branding was designed by Sally Lackaff. Lampson says that every year, Sally improves the festival aesthetic by adding new elements like burlap wayfinding signs and festival maps. “Who knows what is next” he says.
What was Nathan’s favorite stout from the sold-out festival? “I love Fort George Tuesday’s Lunch. A smooth, well-balanced stout made with all the fixins for your PB & J sammy. Brewed with roasted peanut butter and blackberries.”