Velvet Fog
Fort George Brewery + Public House

so weird and good, they nailed this one. lavender can be tough, but its integrated so well here, it respects the base beer but adds something special, and this hits like a london fog meets an elite stout, and i was surprised by its drinkability overall. there is vanilla and earl grey tea in it too, and its really well proportioned. dark dark brown but not black, not viscous, and with a short lighter brown head but still quite a bit of carbonation. the lavender lightens the nose but its roasty too, coffee and tea notes kind of hit together, with the vanilla natural and well restrained and some minerality coming through, this is earthy and simple at its core, dry really, and the vanilla doesnt ruin that, roasty but not overly bitter, smooth and almost creamy in the feel too. the tea part is awesome and it obviously hits with the lavender, both come on early and dont linger too long, its easy to taste what they were going for here, but its also not forced, im sure that was tough to achieve, bold flavors in tasteful dosage always are. its weird for a flavored beer to be this clean but it is, and the vanilla oddly assists with that to me, uncommon but cool. its the subtle things that set fort george apart, this is unsung and golden. brilliant fusion of flavors and textures.