Feed the Beast (Reuben's Brews collab)
Fort George Brewery + Public House

My handful of encounters with Fort George to date have run the gamut, so I’m hoping this gamut is fast. 12 oz. can.

Black & takes altitude to raise any darkish head. The nose is dark roast.

Feed the Beast is a pretty routine barrel aged stout. There’s bourbon & a touch of rye draped over a lot of malty sweetness, with a finish of roast & wood. There’s booze, too, but it’s spread throughout the experience.

Decent enough, but indistinguishable from most barrel aged stouts crowding my fridge.

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque in the glass with a one finger chocolate head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, whiskey, chocolate and a little rye. Flavor is dark toasted malt, whiskey, rye bread, licorice and cocoa; a bit boozy. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess. A great, full bodied barrel aged stout. The barrel influence is quite forward with rye and straight whiskey dominating, but a solid, rich chocolate malt body lies underneath everything and support it well. The most interesting flavor here is a very clear rye grain note, more noticeable than I've seen in a rye barrel influence added to a strong spicy licorice-like note that for a brief instant tastes remarkably like classic caraway rye bread. Nice silky mouth feel an looks good too. This is a class act. Both these breweries have done good stouts, but this collaboration shines.

 

12oz can at share. Near black pour, small brown head settles out. Aroma focuses on the roast, barrel notes accent the base. taste is relatively simple in this era of adjunct stouts; chocolate, roasty, fruity, whiskey. Very ful and fulfilling.

 

still always feel weird about huge barrel aged imperial stout in cans, but it seems like this is where the style has gone. a shame, because you dont really cellar these, but heres a beer that could benefit from a little slumber. oh well, fun to drink now too. my friends raved about this, i liked it, but i wouldnt class it among the all time examples of the style, cool as the can art is, and neat as it is that they teamed up with reubens for it. cool barrel treatment on it, the rye adds a lot, i prefer this to bourbon often times in a style that tends a little sweet anyway, and this definitely drinks a little drier, although the heavy body and palate coating intensity of the flavor keeps it drinking pretty slow regardless, not to mention all the alcohol coming through, wow. this is black in the glass, shiny, and with a short brown head, more carbonated than a lot of these, and looks real well cleaned up, no sediment or anything, not sugary enough to be intimidatingly leggy. the nose is all roast up front with subtle coffee nuances to it, a generic malt richness in the middle, dark cocoa, but its cool there are no trendy adjuncts in this. the rye character is evident too, and the alcohol is strong, seems pretty long aged as well, although i certainly wouldnt call this mellow. the malt flavor is intense on this, and its a lot more than just roast, definite chocolate malt all through it, some heavier stuff in the middle, oats likely, maybe a midnight wheat thing too, its got layers and i like the intensity, but combined with the alcohol, its a bit much, and it ends up being kind of a permanent decision for my palate good thing we ripped it as a night cap! the rye hits hard, subtle vanilla in the mix, definite licorice spice to me, tobacco, and root beer or cola or something too. on the palate forever, thick and slick feeling at the same time, tarry and oily both, some barrel char apparent, peppery rye spice through the swallow, long and maybe slightly vinous and astringent on my teeth after a bit. a little can split two ways still felt like a lot of this, cool effort, an absolute beast as the name suggests. highly refined, winter all the way, a shame we dont get to see how this ages over extended time due to the can format...