Fort George brings back 3-Way IPA, expands collaboration tradition for 2026

Fort George Brewery brought back 3-Way IPA for 2026, keeping one of the Pacific Northwest’s most durable collaboration beers alive by pairing the Astoria brewer with Shred Beer Co. of Rocklin, California, and Uprise Brewing Co. of Spokane, Washington.

The series has grown well past novelty. Fort George says 3-Way has become a yearly signal for the start of summer, with the brewery inviting two IPA-focused partners each year to swap knowledge, build friendships, and make a beer drinkers look forward to. The lineup changes every year, and Fort George says no two collaborations are the same. The original 3-Way came out in 2013 with Gigantic Brewing and Lompoc Brewing, which means the project was already old enough to have a history before many seasonal IPA releases even had a following.

That durability matters in a market crowded with hop-forward one-offs. Fort George’s own framing shows how the series has evolved from a clever collaboration into a branded summer fixture, one that now supports its own festival footprint. Lupulin Ecstasy Festival 2026 is scheduled for Saturday, June 13, at Flavel House Museum in Astoria, with ticket sales opening Monday, April 20, at 4:20 p.m. The festival grounds open at noon and close at 6 p.m., giving the release day its own destination beyond the taproom.

The 2026 partner breweries fit the series’ identity. Fort George vice president Bradley DePuyt praised Shred Beer founders Zack Frasher and Amy Heller for making highly regarded IPA for years, and said Shred won Brewery and Brewer of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in 2023 in the 0 to 250 barrel category. DePuyt also pointed to Uprise as a brewery Fort George met at Hop Selection and Grainmaker Fest in Eastern Washington, where it quickly stood out as a process-driven, hop-forward partner. Uprise says it was founded in Spokane in 2022 by Jonathan Sweatt and brothers Ryan and Brandon Hare, with head brewer Riley Elmer leading the beer program.

Fort George also leaned into the release as an event. A 3-Way IPA Trolley Tour was set to debut the beer in Astoria, with the Friday session selling out quickly while Saturday tickets remained available. The Saturday tour runs from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., starts at the Fort George Waterfront Brewery, stops at Hanthorn’s on Pier 39 and Portway, and costs $43.19 with beer at each stop and access to the brewers. It is the same instinct that showed up in 2013, when Fort George marked the original Seattle release with a three-way tap takeover and tricycle races at The Pine Box. In a crowded IPA field, the series still works because it keeps changing without losing its shape.