Frootwood
Founders Brewing Company

 

 

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle dated 11-10-21 into a snifter.

Look- Deep amber with some red tint, creamy off white head with some light pink tint, mildly hazy, above average head retention and lacing, no visible particulate.

Smell- Bourbon, cherry, oak, maple syrup, vanilla, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Cherry, bourbon, vanilla, maple syrup, highly sweet, mildly sour, high strength of flavor.

Feel- Between thin and medium body, average carbonation, highly sweet, mildly sour, silky, mildly mouth warming, mildly creamy.

Overall- This beer provided a very interesting and enjoyable drinking experience. The cherry, bourbon and maple syrup worked in harmony delivering a complex and pleasant bouquet and flavor profile.

Poured into two snifters from an undated 12-oz bottle purchased about a month ago at the brewery.

Appearance: Reddish amber with very little head but leaving some nice lacing.

Nose: Fragrance of maraschino cherries, but not overpowering.

Mouthfeel: Heavy, actually; leaving a nice coating on the tongue.

Attack: Very sweet, just short of cloying, then giving way to the alcohol and a bit of the maple barrel.

Finish: Not much; the attack just sort of disappears.

Overall: I wanted to like this more than I’m actually liking it. It wouldn’t be too bad a dessert beer. I have a couple more from the four-pack; I’ll think I’ll coat the top of one pour with a bit of almond oil, then shave some good dark chocolate on it, making what The Library Sports Grille and Brewery in Laramie, WY calls a “Queen Anne.”

Additional note: Just found an 11/9/21 bottling date on this — maybe it’s showing it’s age a bit but, again, we bought it cold at the brewery a month ago, and have kept it cold since.

 

 

My current favorite. I like cherry ales. I like sweet induced beers, aka milkshake IPAS. I like bourbon barrel aged beers, aka stouts. So, for me it's a perfecta; what's not to like.

Bottle BLEW A FUCKING GASKET when I cracked the cap. Holy shit. Half of it is on the kitchen floor. Yep. Present tense. I'm reviewing this sucker before I clean it up. It's called commitment, folks.

Body is kind of a dark honeyed orange. There appears to be very little in the way of carbonation (there's a few scant bubbles lazily wafting upward) which makes the mess this created something of a head scratcher. Very little in the way of head. Whatevs. I'm getting maple syrup bourbon barrels on the nose and that is just about it. Maybe a little vanilla pipe tobacco as well. It actually smells pretty nice, even if the base beer is completely obscured. I do get some cherry juice on the tongue. It's way less bourbon-forward than the nose implies. More vanilla pipe tobacco. Maple too, but again, not as much as I figured on. This is undeniably tasty. Maybe a little on the sweet side, but it drinks thin and that beats the shit outta the syrupy mess it could have been in less capable hands. Very low grade carbonation, as well, and that suits this beer just fine. Damn. This is good. I kinda wanted to hate it (because reasons), but Founders is really, really good at this sort of thing.

APPEARANCE: Red-amber clean and unmuddled. Light khaki head and little to no head.

NOSE: Cherry and vanilla, bourbon and tobacco. Exquisite!

TASTE: Big! Cherries wrapped in a warm blanket of velvety bourbon vanilla. Wonderful collision of compatible flavors coming together to power a unique brew. Wow. Impressive.

 

 

Real tasty easy sipper. A wonderful blend of tart cherries, sweet maple syrup with a well-behaved bourbon barrel flavoring in the background. Poured from a stubby 12 oz bottle into a tulip glass, this beer features a somewhat dense amber/orange color with a medium sized fizzy/carbonated white head. Head retention is remarkably good for a fizzy headed beer. There is also some spotty lacing on the glass. The aroma and taste start out with tart cherry with some sweeter maple syrup following. The tart fruit and sweet follow up remind me of fruity Belgian beers with candi sugar. The bourbon barrel flavoring kicks in at the end. It is somewhat subtle and that is a good thing. So many bourbon barrel beers are overwhelmed with bourbon flavoring to the detriment of other aspect of the beer. This bourbon flavoring enhances the beer rather than buries it!!! Mouthfeel is rich and alternating tart and sweet. It is very nicely carbonated and the alcohol presence is light. Not a beer for dinner, but a nice slow slipper with a great flavor profile!!!

 

 

 

 

Poured reddish brown and had, for a barrel aged beer, an amazing head of dense off white foam.
The aroma was mild for me, but cherries and bourbon did make it through.
The taste was less cherries than expected, usually they overwhelm the base beer but here they play nice. The bourbon and maple syrup are both evident, it’s really quite tasty.
The feel has a viscous touch to it, which is perfectly appropriate for a BA beer.
This seems like it wants to be a hot weather beer, and maybe it is, as long as you are not looking to quench your thirst quickly. It’s a sipper.

 

L - Amber with slightly more reddish hues with an offwhite head that dissipates somewhat quickly leaving behind minimal lacing
S - faint hints of cherry and maple syrup. Some vanilla and sweet bourbon
T - Cherry up front and throughout intermixed nicely with sweet and rich maple syrup and sweet bourbon. Notes of earth and oak as well as vanilla.
F - Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation - very smooth but a little syrupy
O - This is a pretty nice, well balanced, surprising beer