Magnanimous IPA
Fort George Brewery + Public House

Red orange and slightly hazy. Smell is of that distinctive Fort George hop. Slightly juicy, slightly soapy. The conifer flavor is a little hard to pick out. Still a decent IPA. Slightly syrupy texture.

Pours clear, orange gold; white head, clumps into a nice cap with some lace; cap has really nice staying power; sips yield sticky dots of lace each time.

Nose is nice, old school; malt sweetness, light graininess; sticky orange rind, earthy, tingly pine felt in the sinuses.

Taste is a pine lovers delight, I’ve died and gone to heaven; great malt presence, then all pine needle and sap, little bit of dank earth quality hint of spruce laden berry and grapefruit skin; but that is all secondary to pine; the aftertaste is distinctly subtle spruce tip; especially retroactively in the nose.

Medium body, super clean drinking beer; sticky tongue coating hop and pine resin, high bitterness with a bite; highest of drinkability given its abv.

Had this beer at the Portland Holiday Brew Fest. Rated 12-8-2024. Pours a nice golden amber color with a small head. Aroma is sweetness with pine and grapefruit. Taste is similar to aroma, not usually a fan of pine tip beer but this one is fir tips and gives a different flavor profile. I like this one better.

From a can after a recommendation by a guy in New Seasons, Portland. I was expecting the fir taste, but the sweet clementines were a surprise. The bitter, hoppy backbone adds another layer.

16oz can

Pours a finger of white head into my Willi. Retention is above average and almost half a finger of head remains after a few minutes. Lacing is pretty solid. Body is golden orange, somewhat cloudy with a good amount of sediment, and a modest amount of bubbles.

Nose has some clear pine that fades and gives way to a wet and refreshing body, consisting of clementines and a touch of sweetness. One dimensional, but very inviting.

Pine comes in big time on the flavor though.

Carbonation is medium-high. Body is relatively light, which works well. Just a touch of sweetness to add some support and a smooth feel, but definitely not a sweet beer. Bitterness hits pretty significantly in the finish and lingers for a bit. Overall a solid mouthfeel that adds some much needed depth to the beer.

Drinkability is pretty good, but the bitterness does slow me down a little bit.

Overall this is nice. The flavor never really developed past the pine assault, but the supporting cast makes for an enjoyable-enough beer.

 

On-draught @ Horse Brass Pub:

High C+ / ABOVE AVERAGE

 

Look: Clear burnt orange with a huge billowing white head that holds well, slowly receding and leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Orange, fir needles, mint/menthol, strawberries, and some sweet bready malt
Taste: A hint of orange proceeds a huge hit of fir needles and mint that come on strong before slightly relenting the stage to some berry notes and bready malt. Spicy fir and cold menthol come back on top and lead to a hoppy finish with a light bite
Mouthfeel: Full, a little slick and oily, medium-high carbonation, and some dryness on the finish
Overall: This is freaking awesome. It’s an outstanding and tasty use of fir that compliments the hop notes in this all while staying balanced. Also, I’ve had this before in years past but hadn’t gotten or remembered the mint/menthol note that leaves no doubt in the conifer additive. One of my favorites each year. Delicious and highly recommended, especially if you enjoy the taste of chewing on fresh fir needle tips

12 oz can from a sixer purchased from Safeway in West Salem
$9.99
canned 11/10/20
Pours a clear darker golden colour with a lovely thick/creamy white head.
Aromas of spruce tips, mint , dank and a bit of floral hop also.
Taste pretty much as the aroma..maybe a nice bit of caramel malt showing in the underside. Great bitter /piney finish .
Mouth feel is medium with medium carbonation. Pretty light and drinkable despite the "Christmas tree" flavors.
A great winter IPA

 

A couple of older pint cans picked up at Seattle's 'Beer Authority'.
Canned on 11/04/19. Served in a nonic pint glass.

Look- Clear golden amber color, decent rocky off-white head that slowly recedes to a ring of foam, moderate lacing. Moderate carbonation streaming as it sits.

Smell- Huge evergreen tree aromas, pithy citrus (grapefruit and orange/tangerine), caramel malt, mixed tropical fruit, some peach and melon, dank, grassy and spicy/herbal elements.

Taste- Citrus and tropical fruit step up compared to the aroma and the pine/fir plays second.

Feel- Medium bodied, sweet at first with a light lingering bitter finish. Ample carbonation on the tongue. Very well balanced.

O- Definitely an interesting take on a PacNW IPA. I wish I would have had this fresher. Pretty solid overall.

 

 

 

 

A November 2019 can.

Bright clear gold. Nice head, retention, and lacing.

Smells great. Apricot stands out. Some berry/passion fruit, orange, and a little bit of vegetable.

Flavor is a lot of the same, but chased with a piney finish with a nice amount of bitterness and resin. A little light in body for an imperial if the listing is correct, which I would say not because it’s only 7%. That’s ipa wheelhouse.

Clean, crisp, well balanced. Great beer.

an ipa done with fir tips, i love pine beers, and although this is quite subtle, this element really makes the beer distinctive and good, without it, im not sure this would stand out much. its a little deeper than blonde, but still light in the glass from the tap, holding short white head pretty well and smelling fresh as can be, wintery, and clean. the pine is bright and fresh, christmasy but without the usual herbal green bitterness that it comes with, more delicate than that to me, and nicely paired with the hops, northwestern and piney on their own, with a little bit of a citrus rind component and even a hint of passion fruit to me. light honey and even toasted character to the grain, but still seeming simple in the mix here, nothing on the fermentation side that i can appreciate, which is probably a good thing in a beer like this, very tidy. the pine comes really late in the flavor, but its a nice wrinkle that really extends the beer, maybe less intense than i wanted it to be, but absolutely delicious, and with some bitterness from the hops hanging on later, its quite dynamic even after the swallow. the hops and fir tips work great together, a light almost cascade spiciness here, as well as some classically centennial type woodiness, although im not sure which hops they actually use here. its a nice mix of flavors in a drinkable package with the moderate malt character and the dry finish and lighter body. nice beer, these guys crush it with the hoppy stuff. a neat wintery ipa with high drinkability!

 

At the Crosscut Taproom in Castle Rock, WA, then re-rated 1 year later. Nice looking pour, golden amber, light head. You get a good whiff of pine and cedar, both from the hops and the fir tips. A nicely balanced IPA, likely one of their main-line offerings. Worth seeking out