Let me start today by telling you a quick story, but first, Happy Festivus!
It all started back in January 2016 on a trip to Halftime Beverage in Mamaroneck, New York. That day, a friend of mine and I travelled 4 hours in search of some new beers that we've not had before. We arrived at Halftime only to be greeted by 10+ aisles of beers from all over the globe, including internationally. Some cold. Some warm. Some that could be aged. Some that needed to be drank fresh. Beer in cans, bottles, bombers, and a growler fill station could all be found here at this little slice of heaven.
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| Just add some food and draft choices...I could have stayed for a week! |
You can read up on that trip back in time here, but for today it's time to grab something from the beer cellar, where I keep stuff to age if it lasts that long.
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| As you can see, stuff doesn't last too long around here. Mostly higher ABV DFH and some older bottles of KBS. |
The last thing I pulled from that stash was actually in that review link above and it wasn't too pleasant. However, I'm excited to chill today's midday selection from Dogfish Head in Delaware. I've blogged about their stuff before and how this company actually got me into the craft beer scene with their 60 and 90 minute IPAs along with some of their other selections. If you care to, you can check out their 2018 release calendar from their own blog. It appears they didn't brew what we're about to enjoy today in 2017, but in 2018 it appears there is a variant or at least an updated version of the beer.
Their ale, Fort (bottled on 10/23/2015) is a whallop of a beer at approximately 18% alcohol and is brewed with over a ton (literally) of pureed raspberries. From the folks I follow via various social media outlets, when they enjoyed this back when it was released it was either hit or miss. For those who said it was a miss, they did recommend letting this choice sit for a while to allow the alcohol bite and burn mellow significantly. I was significantly disappointed with their Higher Math anniversary beer in my review in 2016, so I'm hoping that doesn't happen again. That was also aged for a year to let things mellow out. Unfortunately, that didn't help for my palate.
We're using his and hers glasses today because my wife has been dying to try it for the last year or so now. A hazy caramel brown with just a hint of a raspberry color poured from the bottle and an absolutely minimal ring of head clung to the sides of the glass. The beer was very syrupy in the glass as well. The aroma was exactly what you'd expect. A very sweet and malty raspberry booziness. That's all, and that's OK. Now for the real test. The flavor. I'm expecting a sweet and very malty beer with a huge burst of raspberry and (hopefully) just a hint of alcohol bite and burn.
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| ...and it's pretty close to expectations |
The alcohol doesn't bite in the flavor, but it does give you that alcohol warmth down the entire throat to the stomach. Not overly burning, but just on the cusp of too much. As I enjoyed more of it, however, the warming wasn't as noticeable. There is a sweet malt presence as expected along with sweet and slightly boozy raspberry flavors.
My wife's take: She believes the alcohol taste is too strong. The taste is OK, but too strong alcohol-wise for her liking.
My take: I'm glad I waited 2 years to enjoy this. I have a feeling that the alcohol would have been too overpowering when it was first bottled. However, now that it's sat for a while and had a chance the raspberries work well in this style. I'm also glad it wasn't a repeat of Higher Math.
I guess it's time to go finish my wife's glass too! 4.25 out of 5 today!
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