Astoria, Oregon, is uniquely placed at the northwestern tip of the state adjacent the Pacific and the mouth of the Columbia River. It’s a town rooted in rich history, boasting stunning Victorian-era buildings and a community of businesses that are cheering for each other’s success. Fortune & Glory Cider Company is one of those businesses — a cidery that held on through the tumultuous years of the Covid-19 pandemic and came out the other side with a new name, rebranding and an even greater connection to the customers and business owners that make up Astoria’s community.
Jeremy Towsey-French originally opened Reveille Ciderworks in 2017 — a name inspired by the loose French translation of awakening. He started making cider more than 15 years earlier as a hobby while working in the tech industry.
“I had ordered a whole grain beer brewing kit, and when it arrived on my doorstep my wife said, ‘Can’t you get a hobby that I like?’”
Towsey-French reflected on camping trips to the Tillamook Forest when he and his wife were first dating. The couple would grab a six-pack of cider on their way and always enjoyed the beverage as a couple. With that revelation, he never opened the brewing kit. He sent it all back and began to learn about cider.
Years later, Towsey-French’s youngest daughter experienced a medical emergency in 2015 that sent her to the children’s hospital for a month. “When we got her back home, I remember waking up and feeling more mortal than I had ever felt,” he says. “I literally had an awakening.” He realized if he was going to do something else, the time was now. “I gave my resignation and started my way to becoming a cidermaker.”
Towsey-French spent two years researching where he was going to open a cidery. Having grown up in a small town, and living in Portland and San Francisco, he decided it was time for a change. He and his family had always enjoyed visiting Astoria and decided the dynamic town was the perfect place. “I spent 2017 going out to Astoria a lot. I tapped Fort George and Buoy Beer for knowledge. They met with me and told me what it was like to do business in Astoria.” Those connections proved invaluable for Towsey-French early on, along with meeting Larry Cary who founded Pilot House Distilling. That connection helped him to find a 750-square-foot space to establish a cidery and small tasting room, and Reveille Ciderworks opened in August 2017.
The cidery was on a trajectory of growth, and business was going well. Then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, changing the way most businesses operate. “In March 2020, I locked the doors on the cidery and didn’t go back in for two weeks,” says Towsey-French. He had been self-distributing ciders in Portland at the time and had just signed a distribution plan with Fort George, though the majority of his business came from taproom sales.
Without the ability to have guests in the taproom, pivoting was required. All of the cider was pulled out of kegs and bottled. Their website was redone for a direct-to-consumer approach. Towsey-French would make the cider, while his wife and two teenage daughters helped with bottling, and the cidery began delivering cider along a 40-mile stretch of the Pacific Coast from Cannon Beach, Oregon, to Long Beach, Washington.
By summer 2021, the cidery was able to open up to the public on its patio space, leaving the small indoor taproom set up as production space. “There was a lot of pent up demand, and it was a resounding success,” says Towsey-French. “But once the weather changed and we closed the patio in October, we were faced with the decision again of what to do. Either we grow or say goodbye, and we made the decision to grow.”
Following the closure, Towsey-French was offered the opportunity to move to a new space at 1450 Exchange Street, thanks to the long relationship he had with Fort George Brewery. The location is directly next to Fort George Gardens, a historic auto shop that offered more space for production, as well as an indoor taproom and patio. “It took 12 months to build out and make the move,” says Towsey-French. “We essentially didn’t exist during that time.” But that move allowed for a time of reflection as Towsey-French took advantage of the opportunity to look at the cidery’s name and brand, and reflecting on what he learned from his customers.
Positioning the cidery as a product of the place where they do business, Towsey-French made the decision to re-establish as Fortune & Glory Cider Company, paired with a rebranding that brought an energetic vibe to cider. “This place was founded by people who were seeking fortune and glory,” he says.
The new taproom opened in November 2022, with the ability to see the production space on every visit while sipping on glass or flight of English pub style and Belgian farmhouse ciders. Guests visiting Fortune & Glory can now find a variety of ciders on tap to pair with small bites. Or, they can pick up cans to-go.
Ciders such as Back to Black, a semi-sweet fruited English pub cider made with locally sourced blackberries, and Razzberet, a semi-dry farmhouse cider with local raspberries, blackberry leaves, rose hips and hibiscus, are on tap. Towsey-French also says that the semi-dry lightly hopped farmhouse cider Mr. Miyagi is a crowd favorite, made with Honeycrisp, Fuji and Gala apples and Citra hops, which introduces beer lovers to cider in a seamless way. “This is a destination for beer drinkers, and there’s phenomenal beer here,” he says. “I love to take customers on a journey.”
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