3-Way IPA - 2025 West Coast Tropical IPA
Fort George Brewery + Public House

This one is true to the name, with a vibrant tropical fruit forward nose and sip. There’s a soft and pillowy finish that lingers for a while. I caught just a slight bitterness on the end.

 

Poured from a 16 ounce can dated 7-9-25 into an IPA glass at 51 degrees.

Look- Straw, frothy white head, plentiful tiny visible particulate, mildly hazy, above average head retention and lacing.

Smell- Clementine, pine resin, pineapple, pith, slight mango, slightly dank, between medium and high strength of scent.

Taste- Pine resin, clementine, mango, pineapple, slight pith, between medium and high strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, moderately bitter, no astringency, moderately mouth warming, mildly creamy, mildly dry finish.

Overall- This beer was a bit of a WCIPA/NEIPA hybrid. It had mostly WC properties with some flavors more commonly found in NE’s. The appearance was superb. The aroma and flavor profile were pleasant, but could have used a touch more pine. The feel was really nice and considerably above average. Ultimately, this was my least favorite variant of 3-Way this year, but it was still a really good beer.

 

Look: Clear and bright yellow with a booming white head that swells and slowly settles to lid, leaving great lacing behind

Aroma: I could smell it when I popped the can. Fruity Cannabis, cantaloupe, raspberries, pink grapefruit, Cara cara orange, pine, dank, strawberries, passionfruit, and mango

Taste: Opens up with some resinous pine and dank that lingers for a moment before the fruit salad begins. Sweet and pithy/sharp citrus and tropical fruit come on quick with many distinct notes I got in the nose coming through, along with a few more and these go back and forth in dominance as berries and fruity Cannabis pop in and out throughout, closing with a nice bite

Mouthfeel: Full, lightly slick, clean, medium-high carbonation, and clean on the finish with a touch of dryness

Overall: This is some good stuff. The final iteration of this year’s 3-Way and dang, it’s not only good but has me wondering if I prefer this one or the first WCIPA version better as it’s really tasty. A good blend of citrus, tropical fruit, berries, pine, and some weed that really come together nicely. Check it out before it’s gone

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of pale and lightly caramel malt, dank, citrus and mixed fruit hops, mixed ripe tropical fruit, catty dankness, orange and a little grapefruit. Flavor is pale malt, dank, citrus and light tropical fruit hops, grapefruit, catty dankness, lemon and mild mixed tropical fruit; pleasant citrus rind bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Because of the name, I was kinda expecting the original '25 3-Way to be even more fruit than that brew (which I thought was too Southern Hemisphere for my taste). Interestingly this had fairly mild non-citrus fruit notes; mostly citrus and dankness. The hop bill does look more classic West Coast and the beer reflects that. This is my favorite of the three with a satisfying bitterness and good mix of flavors. Refreshing.

Clear pour, just a bit of unfiltered haze. Frothy head, good lacing. On opening, get down close and enjoy an aroma blast of tropical fruit and herbal mix. First sip is loaded with fruit, backed up with an attention grabbing hoppy bitterness that pulls you in. Good carbonation with the fruit + bitterness holding together with each sip. No off notes in a very long enjoyable finish. Plenty to like in this one.

 

This is the third 3-Way variant of the year, and the second WCIPA for 2025. 16-ounce can purchased at Belmont Station. Date stamp reads "DOB 07/15/25 DON'T FORGET TO HYDRATE"

The body is an attractive pale yellow-gold with canary yellow highlights. The head of paper white foam doesn't last long before reducing to a persistent skin and heavy ring that leaves scattered chunks of lacing. The nose is semi-sweet malt, mango, strawberries, green grapes, pine resin, and a whiff of...spicy mustard? (Take this with a grain of salt. This isn't my first beer of the day, but there is some kind of spicy, almost savory note that translates as "mustard" in my brain right now.) Flavor is quite frooty, but mostly dry. Mango, of course, along with a cocktail of Twizzlers, peaches, ripe pears, and a drying mineral character. Good bitterness in the finish, and that teasing mustard note on the breath. Body is medium-light. Carbonation is champagne-like, lively and frothy.

It is no insult to call this the 3rd-best 3-Way variant of the year. It's still quite good, but the first WCIPA was better, and the hazy (surprisingly enough) better still. That's an impressive result for my favorite Fort George seasonal, which is always worth trying and sometimes ranks among the best beers of the year (looking back at you, Fort George 3-Way IPA 2014).