Etymology
Fort George Brewery + Public House

Lighter brown body with a khaki head, dots of lacing. Caramel, pine, molasses, bourbon, orange, and barley for the aroma bouquet. Taste adds faint dry earth and slight resin on the finish. Feel is light and slightly boozy, with barley and pine hop dotting the palate

Fobab 2025. The 2022 edition.

 

blended barrel aged barleywine, 2024 vintage, cool project of blending these beers, would love to try the separate editions, but the blend here is very cohesive its hard to imagine taking it apart, god i love fort george! nice deep chestnut color on this, pushing brown, more carbonation and head than expected for something this strong and barrel aged, but it has some life, lots of body but not gross and overly viscous, i think exceedingly well refined at this size overall, a rad blend to be sure, tons of barrel character, heaps of malt layers, a cool way to approach the style. aromatically i get bourbon and vanilla, toasted oak and dark bread, raisin and whole leaf tobacco fruitiness, dark leather, cedar, strong fusel alcohol, intensely boozy but in a way thats flattering, a lot of high end english malt, not just maris otter, its much richer than that, molasses and maple and brown sugar and toffee decadence, pecan and walnut, a little rye spiciness too coming through, black and white peppercorn, bready yeast, very exotic. the flavor is all of this, layers and layers and it just keeps going, dates and figs, heavy molasses and even birch syrup or mugolio or something, wet tannic oak, some new some charred, bran and like protein bar, sticky body, warm alcohol, kisses of smoke, dry cocoa, and pool table felt. musky and fermenty, mature without oxidation, sugary but amazing, long long long on the palate, lights an internal fire in the belly too, body temperature up. smooth for its strength still, english mostly on the malt side, more american with the whiskey treatments, really cool blend, maxed out on complexity, thankful to have been able to drink on this. a very memorable barleywine, reminds me of the best fremont batch whatever beers, enormously complex and slow sippers. this is top notch, sure to age well too. these guys can do no wrong!

edit: sick to get to try the 2025 vintage shortly after trying the 2024, still fairly fresh in my mind, this one is awesome, and different enough that i wonder if these should have their own listings by year. insane bourbon maturity to this, all the oak in the world, rich as can be, sweet but not overly so, liquid bread pudding, caramel sauce and all, and its so smooth and developed, obviously would cellar well, but like, why? its so good now, its not needing mellowing to me at all, its magic as it is. dark bread, bran, toffee, sticky date, heavy toast, lots of oak, vanilla and honey with the whiskey, deeply english to me on the grain side, lightly spicy too as it sits, strong and warm but cozy and not harsh at all, tobacco, licorice, and even cedar wood and toasted coconut all flash in too. as good as the 2024 anyway, leaving scores as they are, but this is absolutely gold standard barleywine, perhaps a slight nod to this newer vintage, more wood to me, more time in barrel, way more whiskey character, and seemingly malt weight too, late vanilla sexiness here too, just sensational stuff!

 

2024 bottling, 13% abv. This comes across as a very American version of an English Barleywine if that makes sense. Lots of fruity sweetness throughout, raisins, plums, quince, and just a little tart cherry and carb apple. There is brown liquor here aplenty but it is wonderfully well incorporated. The finish drys out a bit with addition of light tobacco and earthy, charred toffee. This is a gem, so glad to have tried this. Thanks Ryan!

Drinks as a full-on English Barleywine. Raisins, vanilla, plums. Fully lacking in any hoppiness that would be more in character with an American barleywine. Delicious at about 50 degrees from a standard type goblet. I consumed it on 2 different days, and it held up fine overnight.

 

 

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a nice murky/dark brown with a tiny layer of head. The nose is delightful. Tons of toffee, bourbon, and rye on the nose. Intense. Aromatic. I feel like the rye is dominating here. Spice, leather, menthol, dark bread, chocolate, plywood, and vanilla. To be honest, the nose gives the impression that the ABV is super high (over 16%), but it sits at 13%

The taste is fantastic. Definitely boozy, but nicely integrated. Toffee. Tons of rye spice, banana, salt, peaches, apricot, pepper, wood. The taste is so smooth. The flavors just mingle so nicely. Nothing is sharp, nothing is dominant. Love this beer.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied, creamy, oily, and comes with a nice boozy caramel aftertaste. Highly recommended.

Pours a murky brown tone, brown and cloudy in the glass; decent head although a bit thin, khaki colored; sticky rings of foam inside the glass. Rich, chocolaty nose; deep malt sweetness; dry barrel wood. Exquisite flavor; rich milk chocolate and toffee cut with a nice whiskey edge; hint of rye spiciness. Heavy, sticky mouthfeel; round and smooth on the palate.

Gawd, what a pleasure to drink on a cold, snowy Saturday late morning. The appearance may be somewhat mundane and the smell a tad muted due to the cold pouring temperature, but everything comes together nicely with the taste and mouthfeel. This is an outstanding beer overall.

ABV: 13%; pouring temperature: 36.1 ℉; bottling info: 2024
Source: local purchase (Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits)

2025 edition just released and it’s another winner! On tap, no head to speak of, heavy sediment nearly black, chewy, smooth. The alcohol is very well hidden.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. 2023 vintage, properly cellared. Pours a dark red-orange with a fine one finger light khaki head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, figs, fresh plums, raisins, whisky and toffee. Flavor is caramel malt, toffee, figs, raisins, dried plums, whisky and vanilla; fairly sweet. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess; nice mouth feel. Label says this is a blend of American and English style barleywines, but the Brits won this flavor profile; lots of dark dried fruit and caramel. There are wisps of lighter fruit in the finish, but covered by the deep English fruit character. Excellent fruit and caramel notes. A bit on the sweet side, but not cloying. Enough complexity to invite repeated sips. Very nicely done and blended to my taste, which leans to English style. Another great Fort George brew. I'd like to see this again.

 

2022 Vintage checks in at 13.0% ABV

Pours an effervescent chestnut/cola color with one finger of tan head. Stays effervescent throughout, some head retention & lacing

S: Tons of dark fruit, whiskey notes; vanilla & brown sugar once warmed up

T: Smooth Whiskey barrel notes, brown sugar & hints of creme' Brule' figs, leafy hops up front. Sour mash presence as this beer warms up, hints of vanilla & brown sugar, barrel dryness, rum & cola notes & a little bit of fig as this beer warms up. Finishes with warming Whiskey notes, brown sugar, figs, candied cherries, faint leafy hop & tobacco presence & cola notes

MF: Medium body, smooth carbonation, very warming

Much to love here, one you want to take your time & savor this gem

 

Pours a slightly murky dark brown color with a dense, creamy tan head that leaves a ring around the body of the beer. The nose leans really heavily on toffee and caramel notes, with a hint of vanilla and stone fruit and a bit of booze from the barrel.

The taste has the caramel and toffee notes, and there’s some vanilla, but it really shines with a full coconut flavor that’s accentuated by a slightly tart plum flavor and some residual boozy warming as the beer settles at the back of the palate. Really good stuff here.

The mouthfeel is slightly creamy, but maybe a bit ….. watery. It still works, as does this beer in general. I’d love t let this age a bit and see how it develops.

Pours a ruby dark brown with a billowing, dense head that surprisingly dissipates slowly given the abv.

Aroma is caramel, rich toffee, brown bread, grapefruit hop, some molasses, some maple, raisin, bourbon spirit, pine hop presence, charred oak, some vanillin.

Taste brings rich caramel, toffee, bread pudding with raisin, fig, some molasses, bourbon spirit, some grapefruit, bitter piney hops, some vanillin, charred oak tannin.

High medium body. Creamy, slick, oily, sticky.

This is an interesting one. I'd prefer this to be all English style but the American version of this brings balance in the form of hop character and bitterness. Nice barrel. I dig it.

2024-03-03
500ml capped/white waxed bottle served in a little snifterish glass. Don't see a date.

Pours dark brown, kind of translucent, big super-dense beige head, settles slowly. Smell is wood, old damp cellar, slight toffee, caramel, vanilla.

Taste is much more than the aroma suggested. Date and toffee sweetness, toasted nuts and slightly burnt dark bread toast bitterness, figs, lots of vanilla. Wood tannins (I think) cut the sweetness really well.

Mouthfeel is more fluffy than thick -- fills the mouth, but doesn't feel thick or heavy or sticky. Overall, interesting and very tasty.