Astoria, Oregon’s beloved Fort George Brewery is celebrating their 17th anniversary with a series of Vortex IPA’s. You may have seen them posting great throwback photos to their social feeds looking back on the early days and before times of Fort George, but did you know their original flagship Vortex IPA has been around that entire time? This April 2024 they are celebrating with Vortex Month, a great time to revisit or try an all new version of the now classic Oregon IPA.

Last year Fort George packaged their first ever Double Dry Hopped Vortex - like Vortex but even more vortexy. DDH Vortex is back this year alongside Cryotex - which is the original Vortex recipe made with Cryo and CGX Hops from Yakima Chief and Crosby Hop Farms.

Also releasing in April is a long-awaited, loving tribute to two of the PNW’s most beloved IPAs: Fort George’s Vortex IPA and Block 15’s Sticky Hands IPA. Vortex Hands is a collaboration with their friends at Block 15 Brewing. Like Vortex - with the spirit of Block 15’s strong, smooth and piney Sticky Hands, or Sticky Hands with the spirit of a bright and balanced Vortex. 

In April, you can sample all three of the new Vortices at the Fort George pub in Astoria, Oregon. All three canned releases will also be available around the Pacific Northwest wherever you get good beer. 

VORTEX: 

Dappled sun beams on a forest floor. The yellow flash of a summer tanager. The taste of crisp, cool melon. Particles of forest pollen in the mist and the roar of an oncoming hop storm. Heaps of pale malt, flaked wheat & 2-Row shore up a blazing whorl of familiar hop additions that make up this Northwest original. Fort George has been brewing Vortex IPA for seventeen years. Is it possible to make the perfect IPA? We don’t know. But we keep trying. See for yourself. 

Vortex is a curiously flavorful IPA hand crafted in Astoria, Oregon. 

Releasing 4/1 - DDH VORTEX: 

Our first brewhouse was almost scattered to the winds by a tornado as we drove it from Virginia to the coast of Oregon in 2006. We’ve been harnessing the power of the elements ever since. April is Vortex Month - a celebration of firsts and bests and the wildness of the natural forces that could have crushed us before we even began. This month, we Doubled the Dry Hop to produce a fiercer, bolder, wilder version of this Northwest favorite.

Releasing 4/1 - CRYOTEX: 

April is Vortex Month - Fort George has been brewing (and drinking) Vortex for 17 years. At this point, we know what we like. But we’re never going to stop experimenting. 

This month, we’ve switched up our beloved Vortex recipe to produce a wild, fruity, futuristic version of our year-round favorite pint with Cryo hops, hop hash and thiolized yeast for extra flavor conversion.

Releasing 4/15 - VORTEX HANDS: 

A collaboration with Block 15. Imagine if the legendary Sticky Hands IPA and your year-round, all season’s go-to Vortex IPA met at a sports bar half way between Astoria and Corvallis. Hot, clear summer day, a cool breeze off the water and the barest hint of a summer storm gathering on the horizon. They hit it off, obviously, and a few short months later - Vortex Hands is born. A bright, aromatic, perfectly balanced IPA. You’ve got Vortex Hands - but you’ve got your father’s lusciously sticky hop aroma. 

VORTEX IPA EVENTS:

Vortex Month begins with a Doom at Loyal Legion SE Portland 4/1/2024

VorTax Day at John’s Marketplace in Beaverton 4/15/2024

Vortex Takeover at The Falls Taphouse in Klamath Falls 4/25/2024

And more to come. Keep an eye on Fort George & Block 15 for Sticky Hands release details.