(Editor’s note: This column was filed prior to Battery 245’s opening on Nov. 9).
BY WILLIAM DEAN
While delays in construction are common, it’s unusual to have three highly anticipated craft beverage projects lagging simultaneously.
That’s the situation currently in Clatsop County for two breweries and a soda company. But there’s reason for optimism: The projects are all still moving forward – slowly.
Battery 245 Brewing, which aims to be Warrenton’s first brewery, had hoped to roll up its doors in time for Labor Day weekend. A series of delays, most recently involving kitchen ventilation problems, scuttled those plans.
In downtown Astoria, Sisu Brewing’s efforts to open a new main brewhouse have inched along over the past year, but foundational work appears to be finally nearing completion.
The conversion of the Sunflower Dairy building on Duane Street into a craft soda fountain is also reduced to a crawl as the owner pivots to install carbonation tanks in a barn outside the city. A hoped-for December debut is now unlikely.
The reasons behind the delays are unique to each project, but the collective frustration is palpable. And costly.
Battery 245, located off the Warrenton Marina, lost its entire tourist-rich summer season, the most profitable quarter of the year by far.
Jonathan Elliott, one of the owners, remains confident. He expects to open without fanfare this month, with a grand opening in December when a bigger selection of house-made beers will be on tap.
The kitchen headaches blindsided Elliott and company, coming as they were poised to make opening weekend plans. Due to venting issues involving the commercial-grade cooking equipment, custom components had to be ordered. Some pieces didn’t fit as planned. Weeks of delays resulted.
“We’re limping to the finish line,” Elliott said.
Seaside-based Sisu, meanwhile, aims to turn Astoria’s old Food Hub building into its central brewery, where it has room to grow and operate a canning line for the first time.
After acquiring the property a year ago, Sisu quickly opened a brewpub on the premises and began prepping the rear basement area for fermentation tanks.
While the brewery hasn’t divulged a timeline, there were hopes of making beer on the premises by the end of this year.
That no longer seems possible, but spokesperson Nicole Morrill said the project is slowly advancing: The tanks should be in place soon. A wastewater treatment system has been acquired.
“We’re trucking along,” she said. “We’ve made some big strides.”
The small-scale soda company, Mad Science, had to regroup after the city required extensive wastewater controls and testing.
The switch to a rural Clatsop County location solved that problem, but also caused delays. To house the soda tanks and other equipment, a concrete floor had to be poured and electrical lines added.
Soda maker and co-owner Dan Salenski said he will soon turn his attention to building out the old-timey soda bar and game room that he hopes will become a family-friendly attraction.
Understandably, he’s not offering an opening date.
“Coming along, but slowly,” he said.
BREWS & NEWS
- Pelican Brewing has opened a new brewpub in Rockaway Beach. Winter hours are Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 to 9. The brewery currently operates popular pubs in Cannon Beach, Pacific City and Siletz Bay.
- Fort George Brewery is hosting an all-ages winter festival with plenty of beer, live music and food. Admission is free. Beer Tree Fest will be held Saturday, Dec. 6 from noon to 6 p.m. at the Fort’s downtown location, 1483 Duane St. More than a half-dozen other Oregon breweries will be participating. (Note: Santa will be posing for pictures, and Christmas trees will be for sale).
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WILLIAM DEAN is an author who also writes about craft beer and the people who make it. His blog is Astoria Beer Zone. “The Have-Nots,” his latest novel, is available now.
