Buoy Beer Company releases Buoy Kölsch in 500ml Refillable Bottles

Buoy Kölsch hits shelves this month; experimental drafts & collabs on deck at the brewery

ASTORIA, OR  – Buoy Beer Company will release Buoy Kölsch in 500ml refillable bottles as the third style in their seasonal line. Kölsch will be in stores late September-October and will be followed by Strong Gale in October-December.

Crisp, soft, and thirst-quenching, Buoy Kölsch weaves the strict Reinheitsgebot rules with touches of the Pacific Northwest. Heidelberg Pils, Vienna, and White Wheat malts build a light bready body while Opal and Saphir hops blend spicy, floral aromas with a sturdy bitterness. Top it off with high carbonation for that satisfying “fsssssssstttt.”

“It’s been fun to see more of our beers in the package,” says Kevin Shaw, Director of Brewery Operations. “It’s not always convenient to get out to the coast to try our seasonals and one-offs at the brewery, we’re happy to have a chance to share more of the beers our team comes up with.”

With the original plan for Kölsch to hit summer festivals all over the region, the team had to make a few pivots with the continued COVID-19 crisis. Most of the batch has been packaged in Oregon Bottledrop Refillable bottles, making it available at most bottle shops for at-home enjoyment on these last hot days of summer.

Buoy Kölsch will be available in draft & refillable 500ml bottles distributed in Oregon and Washington. Portland should see the bottles hitting shelves now and the rest of the Oregon and Washington area next week.

Provisions in Place at Restaurant & Beer Hall

Buoy has been working hard to create a safe space for people to enjoy the beer, food, and atmosphere at their Astoria location. Right now the restaurant is open Thursday-Sunday for take-out and first-come seating (no indoor seating). The 8^th Street dock gives visitors access to an outdoor ordering window as well as picnic tables, railing seating, and a firepit.

The temporary Buoy Beer Hall is located across the parking lot where people can enjoy beer on draft and Pilot House Distilling cocktails with additional picnic table and barrel seating; patrons can order restaurant food or bring in their own.

Seasonal Drafts & Collaborations

Buoy brewers have created an IPA with an experimental hop blend from Hopsteiner called Trident IPA; they have also been working on a collaboration with Goschie Farm to benefit the Oregon Brewers Guild and a collaboration with Old Town Brewing.

TRIDENT IPA Brewed with Mecca Grade Pils, Vienna, red wheat and oats to create the perfect foundation to showcase a brand new hop blend, Trident hops. Trident hops featured at the end of boil and fermentation “unleash a tidal wave of flavor.” Find fruity hop flavors of citrus, tropical and passion fruits splashed in this bodacious West Coast IPA. 6.5% ABV  41 IBU

GOSCHIE ESTATE FARMHOUSE ALE This collaboration includes a blend of salmon-safe Wint Barley grown at Goschie Farm in Silverton and White Wheat, both malted by Skagit Valley Malting as well as a hop profile of Pekko and Centennial also grown at Goschie. Fermented with a distinctive farmhouse yeast from Lithuania known for complex esters of citrus and pepper, this farmhouse ale brings together the flavors of one of our favorite family-owned farm estates. 6.7% ABV  29 IBU

COASTAL REIGN A classic NW Pilsner meets the Southern hemisphere hop treatment of Topaz, Wai-iti, and Nelson Sauvin. With notes of lychee, pineapple, guava, and citrus, it’s the liquid incarnate of the Palm trees meeting the Pines! Brewed with our friends at Old Town Brewing, this collaboration will be available at the Buoy restaurant on draft and in cans. 5.2% ABV 32 IBU

BUOY BEER COMPANY

Astoria, OR overlooks the meeting of one of the West’s most relentless rivers and the wilderness of an entire ocean – and it’s here that Buoy Beer Company brews its beer. With balance always a priority, we focus on traditional lagers and NW ales to savor after a hard day’s work and to share with friends.