The Cranfather
Founders Brewing Company

A - Pours out with a minimal off white head, slight pink tint, and a deep brown-red body, dark but transparent if enough light is available to pierce it, with almost no lacing.

S - An oak and alcohol blast, with some tart fruit, cranberry and cherry, of course, but also notes like black currants, plums, and a bit of apple, beneath, vanilla bright and forward, but not sharp or harsh.

T - Open is tart juiciness, cranberry foremost with cherry highlights, and a big boozy note that backs this, eclipsing the fruit with vanilla and wood, alcohol notes fade, though, and the fruit returns with a lingering vanilla and cherry note in the finish.

M - Moderate weight, definite alcohol warmth and subtle carbonation combine in a strong scrubbing that leaves in a prickly close.

O - Definitely not your typical BBA brew, this one uses its aging to good effect. The fruit and bourbon mingle nicely, producing a boozy pie filling aspect that I enjoyed. This is not one I'd reach for often, even if it were more regularly available, but as a one-off, I am quite glad I tried it.

Wow. Burnt Mahogany colored beer with a thick and off-white head. Clingy and thick tufts of lace. The aroma is thick with alcohol, malt, and fruit...cherry is notable, followed by cranberry. The malt and booze are also intense, reminiscent of a barleywine. Lots of complexity, continuing from the smell on to the taste, which is malty, sweet, and a bit tart. Full in body and really interesting. This is a deep, multifaceted beer.

 

Beautiful antique mahogany color. Smell is sharp bourbon and muddled cranberries. Barrel is on the front end and then gives way to fresh cranberries Thanksgiving style. Quite an interesting dichotomy between earthy wood/bourbon and bright, acidic fruit. Really tasty.

The Cranfather has a murky, rust-red appearance, with a frothy, beige head and moderate lacing. The aroma is of cranberry, with fruit pits, in the background. The flavor is of cranberry, with a bourbon barrel under-taste. The Cranfather has a high-medium body and a mostly-dry finish.

RJT

 

Beer was consumed a little over one year from being brewed. The pour is reddish-amber with a very slightly pink hue in the head. Bourbon and cranberry are clearly communicated in the nose. The flavor captures the sweet side of cranberry more than the tart, but the bourbon barrel bite makes for a beer that straddles that sweet sour fence. There's also a touch of citrus and candied dry fruit in the mix giving the beer additional depth. What a great choice to accompany Thanksgiving dinner!

2023 Bottle poured into a Founders Brewing Co snifter

A: Pours slightly hazy reddish copper with a frothy tan head that settles to a light layer and laces nicely.

S: Dark and dried fruit, pleasant mild tartness, a touch of citrus, toasty bready malt, bourbon, vanilla, and brown sugar, with just a touch of alcohol poking through at the end.

T: Mild tartness, fruit comes right out up front, cranberry and cherry with the orange coming through a bit later, and a little extra dark fruit, date and yellow fig, rich bourbon, brown sugar, vanilla, and slightly toasty biscuity bready malt.

M: On the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation, alcohol is very well hidden.

O: Didn't get around to drinking this one last year, but made a point to pull it from the cellar and have it front and center this year. It aged well, really nice counter to the rich Thanksgiving fare. Very cool beer.

 

The cranfather pours a dark murky red color with a very tiny head. The aroma is filled with fresh cranberry. The flavor is rich cranberry, sweet hints of cherries. Tart and sweet. Good feel. Overall big fruit flavors.

 

 

L - A nice maroon hue with bright red highlights with a light tan head that dissipates somewhat quickly leaving behind minimal lacing
S - Cranberry, cherry, orange, spices, rich bourbon
T - Follows the nose - cranberry, cherry, and orange intermixed well throughout with rich bourbon, oak, and spices mixed in - finishes bright with cranberry and orange. Hints of caramel on the backend as well.
F - full bodied with light carbonation. Smooth
O - A solid, festive, take on the old fashioned

12 oz bottle filled 9/18/23 poured vigorously into a tulip glass. I also rolled the bottle gently to release the fine sediment.
L: SRM 16 Pours clouded burnished brown with a subtle dark berry hue, a thin creamy light tan head that recedes to a thick skin, fine steady carbo, medium-light antique lacing with light sheeting.
S: Fruity boozy barrel notes, berries esp cran, caramelized malts emerge with warming, light alcohol burn with warming.
T: Lightly tart & sour berries, bourbon notes, a touch of vanilla, light citrus zest, it is gently sweet on the outside and is sour in the middle. Flavors drop off fairly quickly. Linger has yeast and a malted bread note, wheat & grains. There is a very distant hint of cocoa.
F: Smooth, silky medium-heavy bodied feel with a medium-fast finish that is fairly drying and wine-like.
O: Overall smooth and tasty. It is lightly full-flavored and is sweet n' sour up front but finished quickly and dry leaving a lovely palate of fruity malty barrel notes. An approachable barrel aged beer that is excellent in its style.

A very unique beverage. Pours a deep roan with a pinkish head. The cranberry flavor is very prominent through every stage of the flavor. The sweetness takes primacy but the tart is certainly well represented to balance it. Secondary notes are a touch of citrus and some bourbonesque richness. Overall a fantastic beer with a unique flavor profile.

 

Pours a rich cherrywood color, with a little cream-colored foam, which dissipates pretty fast. Smell is a bright cherry/berry fruit with a bit of orange liquor, maybe triple sec. Taste starts out with a tremendous burst of sweet fruit, which turns tart as the mouthful lingers on the palette. The tart fruits, with notes that seem more like brandy than bourbon, last quite a long time, which is good because this is a strong beer that needs to be sipped. The alcohol is strong in the feel, along with a body that's heavy for the translucence of its appearance, but the feel is nonetheless very smooth with a little fine carbonation lasting to the bottom of the glass. Overall, this is a very well crafted beer, smooth and very flavorful to balance the high alcohol. It's not a beer for everyone, but if you like strong, fruity ales, as I do, this is one of the best.

OK, not great. I had this as a stand-alone sipping beer while enjoying my outdoor fire pit. Poured from a stubby 12 ounce bottle into my Stone Imperial Russian Stout tulip glass, this beer featured a cream colored, smooth foamy white head that started out medium sized and faded to a covering of the glass.Impressive enough for an 11.1% abv beer. There was some filmy lacing on the glass. Nice fairly clear mahogany/reddish color, turning to all reddish when held to the light. Aroma and taste featured cranberry and cherry, strong enough to mask any malty aspects of the beer. The taste was a bit overly sweet, kind of like the fruit syrup that would be used for a soda, but without the carbonation. Mouthfeel was moderately rich with the alcohol very well hidden. Didn't even notice much warming effect!!! Pleasant enough but a bit too sweet for me!!!

Poured from bottle into pint glass a very nice rose red/amber color with little head. Sweet nose, already getting the tangy notes of cranberry, but taste is where the cran/cherry comes through. Founders does a great job at hiding the high AC and this is no different. Barrel aging, cherries, and cranberries are the stars, very well balanced with slight tang and none of those stars overwhelming any others. Orange peel may be there to complement the cranberry but is not super evident. Goes down super nice for an 11% ABV making it an easier drinker, but that AC will come back to get you for sure. This is totally getting your 5-A-Day from a fantastic beverage.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark red with orange notes and a thin, persistent white head with nice lacing. Aroma of neutral malt, cherry, cranberry and mild orange zest. Flavor is mild pale malt, cranberry, light bourbon, cherry and orange; semi-tart cherry and cranberry finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Founders used to have the Bottle Ship series, which were all cocktail inspired ales and this one would fit precisely with that series tasting like a cranberry Manhattan (which I didn't even know was a thing until now). At least it reminded me of a Manhattan with cranberry juice. Almost didn't try this one as I'm not a fan of tart ales, but it was fine; the tartness level was less than cranberry juice and suited my taste. The bourbon, cherry and orange are distinct notes, but cranberry is the dominant character. I doubt if I'll ever have another of any of these, but all were well balanced, reminiscent of their inspiration cocktails and were easy to drink. The ABV here was even well covered. Novel and drinkable.