Buoy Beer Company

This brewery is right on a dock above the water, and they have a glass section in the floor, and you can watch the Sea Lions or Seals while you wait. We were there on a Sunday afternoon, and they were quite busy. The service and selection were good considering the crowd. This is a very nice place, though we were there before the collapse. I believe we were there in the Fall 4 or 5 years ago.

Visited for a late lunch on a Thursday. From the front, it looks like a store front. Very large open seating area with the bar a short walk up the stairs. Selection was ok, no dark or BA beers. The seafood chowder was solid. No complaints but nothing stood out.

Nautical/buoy themed look with a large open space. No bad beers on tap with a pretty big variety of styles. The staff was eager to assist and answer questions.

Huge open space, from the outside look like a long store front, inside big open space post and beam with massive support beam(maybe 12x24... biggest I've ever seen) very cool. Walk thru dining room, up short flight of stairs to service bar with some balcony seating overlooking the dining room which has about 14 communal table and window counter seating. There is seating on the sidewalk as well, and some more out back. 8 beers on tap and more available in cans. Well staffed. I ve heard good things about the fish % chips, but did not try the food.

Jon maintains that the way you take in the Festival of Dark Arts is to go for a few hours & then bounce mid-afternoon for fewd & then come back when 2/3 of the people are gone and 2/3 of the beer is still left. So, we did the dinner walk over to Buoy in the pouring fucking Astoria rain as (a group of) 7 does. Of course, the goddamn river walk was blocked off a block away so we had to loop up to Astor the long way around in my wet wet shoes, which was a treat, and hey, what’s making that racket? Sea lions, right…

Front room for a beer while you sort out seating to the rear. Worn plank floors, rafter ceilings with duct work running this way and that, wood beam pillar uprights & phat cross beams at the joint, and horizontal plank walls, & a garage door rollup to the forward outside seating pen.

Curved wood bar, panel base, & foot box to the rear; seating for 8 on wood & steel chairs. The plank barback wall holds a large ‘BUOY’ logo & some brewing tanks off to one side. 14 Buoy logo handles on a copper panel fronting the corner cold box, the bottom of which is pasted with brewery stickers. A ‘futures board – pay it forward’ above. I want to talk about that board a bit. Sure, a lot of recipients are names of friends someone’s bought beer for, but amongst its entries are “Any furloughed government employee”, “Any Alzheimer Caregiver”, “Any 82nd Airborne”, “Any Social Worker”, “Any Afghan/Iraq Vet”, “Any active or retired FBI agent”, “Any Deputy Sheriff”, “Any Breast Cancer Survivor”, “Any Navy Seal past or present”, “Any Planned Parenthood Employee”’, “Anyone with a Purple Heart”, “Any Foster Parent”, “Any USCG Active”, “Any Teacher”, Any FDNY member”, and the list goes on and on. Well done, Buoy. You are a class act. Respect.

Flatscreen mounted & a corner unit for glassware. 3 holiday lighting lined boards on the far wall; one listing merch, & the other 2 with black magnetty strips listing tap selections (beer, style, ABV, IBU) over slight bar counter space. Side deck doors further along, & some old Astoria prints. Drop mesh cylinder lamps over the bar, strung egg bulbs across the room, and drop pan lamps over the seating. A single loooooong table shared for a dozen, and 9 more hightop & low.

Moving to the rear room & waiting on the sill with the brewery to our backs. Pole uprights & giant beams, white rafter ceilings, pebbled concrete floors with a plexi piece over in one spot to look down at the bellowing Sea Lions below. It’s badass. That one there (me, pointing) is the ringleader, I’m telling you. Sets of glass door walls opening to the deck over the mouth of the Columbia & dark blue painted walls otherwise with a few prints.

A hidden kitchen on the far end with boards listing tap selections & food specials fronting. And another curved bar at the other end of the room; wood topped, panel base, & a large foot box. Seating for 10 on swivel chairs with a slight lower spur for an accessible 2 or 3. Standalone circular walkaround 14 tap tower behind the bar. Booze shelved over glassware & more booze in the corner. Crimper in between countered atop a small cooler there.

18ish mix & match tables about the room; most of them on shared benchings penned across the floor, but also a few hightops off the bar and a pair of raised tables in a forward area there. Dangle pan lamps, white holiday lighting lining the windows, & drop mesh cylinder single bulb lamps over the bar. There’s a fish scale, and old pieces of I don’t know what the fuck but it says I can’t climb on it. Was there a cannery here? Does that thing move kegs? Wait. It’s called a fish ladder.

16 beers up, split between ‘Year round’ (Helles, 5.3%; Czech Pilsner, 6.2%; Cream Ale, 5.7%; Pale Ale, 5.2%; NW Red Ale, 6.7%; IPA, 7.5%; Oatmeal Stout, 6%; Dunkel, 5.5%), and ‘small batch pilots’ (No Complaint, Pale Ale, 6.5%; Younger Dryas, Dry Hopped Sour Saison, 5.8%; Baltic Porter, 7.8%; Love, Lost at Sea, BA Barleywine, 12%; Eureka, Single Hop IPA, 6.7%; A Storied History, Doppelbock, 8.7%; Strong Gale, Winter Ale, 7.7%; Astoria IPA, 6.5%). Dunkel was solid, as was the Helles. I sooooo needed a break from 50 BA Impy Stouts up the block.

And fewd. The group went fish & chips heavy, but I started with a bowl of clam chowder (twice as good as a cup), and then the pork verde as I’m just not feeling baked salmon tonight. Both were very good, but it’s a seafood place on the coast, and I don’t know what was I thinking going pork verde.

Outside wraparound back deck on the river with views of the bridge and Washington. The side side holds a fire pit under as awning. I would very much like to dry my feet there now, please, and thank you. The sea lions below are howling non stop!! What do they want?!?! Is it Lager?!?! Will they stop barking for Lager?!?! Seriously!

This was the perfect break from the FoDA. Chill house with excellent views, and good beer & eats.

Lovely views -

This place is crazy cool on a sunny day, especially the weekend. This place gets super busy with the outside beertender, there are sea lions galore below this brewery and after a couple beers and baking in the sun you might wan to jump in and go swimming with them!

 

 

Located on the waterfront in Astoria. Glass plates in floor to look at Sea Lions relaxing down below. Great selection of fresh seafood and pub grub. Family friendly vibe and great beer!

 

The best view we've ever had from a brewery, bar none. Sitting on a wharf over the beautiful Columbia River, with mountains and hills in the background. Huge ocean - going freighters gliding by a few hundred yards away. Of course, the section of glass floor where you can see seals and sea lions lounging below. Large, busy restaurant, but never felt crowded or rushed. Bar staff have deep knowledge of their selections. Food is very,very good. Seafood is fresh, never frozen and well prepared. All their year round beers are there, plus a rotating set of specials.

Great location with an awesome view of the Columbia River. Food was excellent and service was good given the place was packed on a Saturday evening.

 

 

 

 

Glass floor to see sea lions that's cool

Everything was solid. The view was great and watching the Sea Lions through the floor was cool!

 

Stopped in on the advice of some locals, traveling the coast down to Seattle. The brew selection was quite nice and the food was INCREDIBLE. Great location and killer cool place, definitely hit the bar in the back, overlooking the water. We had a blast there. This little town's got a lot going for it. Cheers!

I visited Buoy Beer Company on my way through Astoria yesterday for lunch and a beer, and I found I rather like the place. One of the two bars is situated in front of huge windows overlooking the Columbia, and the whole place is built on an old fish processing pier over the water.

I had the cream ale and the saison, both of which were well-made and refreshing. They had about 8 or so beers available, including a couple of guest taps, and had another 4 or 5 beers on the board that were listed as either out or coming soon. I'm looking forward to visiting again so I can try some more of their offerings.

 

 

Awesome location and building, delicious food and well brewed beers.
Fairly typical price range for pub food. The service was fairly impersonal, but still prompt. Kid friendly. I would love to visit again.

we went for lunch but ended up not eating because the wait was too long. had a sampler which was decent and waited for a bit over an hour before giving up on eating there...beers were decent, food looked good :) the hostess was rude and there were always empty tables while a lot of people were waiting to be seated which was frustrating but i will be going back another time when it is less crowded...very cool location and building.

 

Walking up to the Brewery located in a former cannery we were greeted by a the barks of sealions hanging out under the dock. Well this was different experience for us. We walked in and were impressed by the photography on the walls which documented buildings life as both a cannery, and now the brewery. My wife ordered a glass of the Helles – 5.3% – 19 IBU, and I opted for a 20 oz glass of the Coffee Brown Ale – 5.7% – 21 IBUthe and an order of the Deep Fried Cheese Curds. The beer was good, and the cheese curds were great. I had the Bouy Berger and Deb she had the Natural Beef Cheese Burger and fries. The food was good and the service was great. I also left with a Growler of the Cream Ale – 5.7% – 19 IBU.
I look forward to my next trip back to Astoria and Bouy Beer Company!

Great location and nice atmosphere. On the docks. Lots of sea lions nearby. It was busy, but the staff was friendly and helpful. Food was above average. They seem to focus on German/European styles, but there was an IPA and a DIPA. The IPA was just ok. The Pilsener was great.

 

 

Probably the best view I've ever had the pleasure of taking in from any bar. It feels as if you're drinking in the middle of the river, with the undeveloped WA coast in the background.

Our bartender was efficient, yet genuinely friendly.

All of the beer I had was enjoyable, and it's great to see a good bit of attention paid to making great lagers!

With such a strong sea theme, you know they have to bring it when it comes to seafood. If my fish and chips are a good indicator of the rest of the fish on the menu, well, they've done just that. My fish was cooked beautifully, not greasy, and lightly breaded. Delicious fries, portioned generously. My girlfriend deemed her burger "really good". Also, the best fried cheese curds I've had outside of the best examples in Wisconsin.

Overall, this is a must stop when in Astoria. Between Fort George and Buoy ... the fine citizens of lovely Astoria have got it good!

 

 

Great river views. Many traditional lager style biers and some fine ales.