Fruit-Full Fort
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Poured from a bottle into a chalice glass
Appearance – The beer pours a slightly murky, deep mahogany red color with a small head of fizzy reddish foam. The head fades very fast, leaving a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is huge red wine smell mixed with berry aromas, containing blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, and boysenberry. Along with the berry comes other dark fruits of cherry and plum as well as a little bit of a musty and hay like smell.
Taste – The taste begins with a very drier malty and red wine like flavor that is matched by some of the berry fruits that were in the nose. The strawberry and raspberry are the strongest of the berry, mixing in with some lighter boysenberry. As the taste advances the wine gets stronger and is joined by some cherry and a rather sizable showing of prune and raisin. Toward the end the alcohol makes itself known, adding a little bit of a heat to the brew and with a touch of hay and oak, one is left with a warming and oak aged red berry red wine like taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is medium as well. Overall, for the mix of fruit, booze, and lighter sweetness the feel is great and makes for a nice slow sipper.
Overall – At first sip I was not a big fan, but as I drank, with each subsequent sip I became more and more a fan. By the end, I was thoroughly enjoying the taste (maybe the alcohol had something to do with it haha...) But regardless, it is an interesting brew and one I hope to see dogfish head brew again in the future.

Bottle: Poured a murky brown color ale with a medium off-white foamy head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of caramelized malt notes with some residual sugar notes and some jammy notes of blackberry. Taste is a mix of heavy caramelized malt notes with some residual sugar notes with some jammy notes of blackberry. Body is quite full with good carbonation with some warming alcohol notes perceptible. Unique brew with a good mix of flavors.

Served from the bottle in a Lagunitas mason jar.

Pours a brackish pomegranate juice (maybe with a touch of spiced apple cider thrown in there) topped by a bit of dirty off-khaki foam. The nose comprises raspberry, blackberry, and some mild booze. The taste brings in more of the same, the vague booze being replaced by a rich brandy, and some musty wheat getting itself tossed in for good measure. The body is a hefty medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a smooth-ish feel. This didn't hit me as well as regular Fort, but it is still an interesting libation to take down, at least once.

One twelve ounce brown bottle poured into a clear glass Imperial pint mug should be enough. What is seen is a dark mahogany colored brew, dark brown with reddish tints. It's opaque and somewhat dull in appearance. There's virtually no head, but the bubbles atop seem to be some sort of violet. It smells like something fruity that has been cask aged. The taste is rich and sweet, in a barleywine way. The swallow is warming, as with a brandy. Yet, it is richly malted and nicely smooth, like a good imperial stout. Of course it's sweet, with an abundance of berry inclusion and an obvious malt presence. But it's not cloying, likely due to the malt and very high ABV. Far from being a session beer, there are times, say after a nice meal, this may make a nice slow drinking conclusion. Pounding a six pack is not recommended.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle that's labeled as being bottled in 2018.

L- Medium brown color; hazy. Almost no head, just a small amount of light tan bubbles on the surface, and a few that rise up through the beer.

S - Lovely, rich berry aromas hide any from malt. A whiff of sweet alcohol in the background.

T - Berry fruit flavors are sharper than the aromas imply, turning tart toward the finish. The fruit tastes fresh and clean, but it doesn't have as much depth of flavor as I hoped. Malt is not very evident. Alcohol seems to lend a sweet note in the finish, but it is not boozy to me.

F - Medium body with moderate to high carbonation. Moderate hops bitterness. Strong alcohol burn, as you might expect for the 18% ABV, but I wouldn't call it boozy and it doesn't seem as high-alcohol as the number states.

O - I enjoyed this beer, but not as much as the original Fort. Although the fruit is very nice in this one, I perceive less malt "roundness" than I remember in the original, despite the description talking about the addition of Munich malt. The alcohol seems less prominent than I remember in the original, which is a good thing.

 

 

 

12oz bottled 07/18/18 (over three years ago) poured into a DFH branded teku glass at 61° Fahrenheit no ABV listed on label. The beer pours opaque medium brown in color with minimal light brown head. The head recedes to a thin ring and leaves no lacing. The aroma is mild with brown malt, nondescript berry, and ethanol. The taste is hot, berry-centric, and boozy. Minimal bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a dry finish. Overall, not great. This old stock just hit our local stores and it tastes like it sat for 3 years in blazing heat and direct sunlight. I'd try it again fresh or if I knew it were aged properly.

 

 

 

 

A: Pours like mud. Looks like mud, with little head.

S: Smell is overwhelmingly jammy. raspberry, blackberry, and a couple other berries I can't even think of. It's a berry bomb.

T: Strong alcohol, with tons of berries, and a wine like finish.

M: Slightly thick in mouthfeel, but there is some decent carbonation to carry it through. Alcohol bite int he finish.

O: Overall a really interesting and unique beer. I'm also cooking with it today, so we'll see how that goes. A really interesting beer. it doesn't look appetizing, but the flavor is pretty great.

Bottled ?/?/2018

I remember getting this bottle about 2 years ago and had wanted to set it aside for a special ocassion. Well, today I got a job in my field, starting before I even graduate, so I'm beyond thrilled and it's a good a time as any to crack this beast open

Pours a murky purplish brown with a finger of off white head that quickly fades to nothing and leaves no lacing. A ton of particulate floating around

The aroma is similar to the base beer Fort, but extra jammy and complex. I'm picking up on aromas of brown sugar, boysenberry, tart raspberry, fusel alcohol, molasses, toasted bread, and red wine. It basically just smells like a heavily fruited English barleywine, and I love it

While I wouldn't quite give the same comparison to the taste of this, it is just as good. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting tart raspberry, cherry, light alcohol, and rich blackberry wine. The swallow brings notes of juicy blackberry, blueberry, molasses, ripe strawberry, and light brown sugar to close it out

A medium full body pairs with mild tingling carbonation, resulting in a luxuriously silky beer. Finishes mostly dry with a fruity sweetness offset by the tingly alcohol

An awesome beer to end an awesome day, more than the sum of its parts. I'm glad I finally found a reason to pull this out, but more glad that I'm finally starting my career! Cheers BA

 

Drain-pour!

 

 

 

A really good big beer. I have had this 12 oz bottle lying around forever. Still packs a flavorful punch and some alcohol burn if you sip it too fast!!!! Poured into a Chimay goblet an opaque maroon color with a purplish cast. Surprising off-white head - fades fast but still impressive for a big beer. Aroma and taste are a strong mix of berries and cherries and bready malt. Mouthfeel is a bit harsh (even after 2 plus years) but not too rough until you take a big swig!!!! Very rich, not too sweet. A very pleasant slow sipper.

A boozy fruit mess. Color is a morning after bathroom visit.

poured from the growler filled at the tasting room in Deleware into a snifter chilled.
The color is dark red with purple hues with pink head and fine bead
Smell has a jam like smell of fruit with alcohol in the nose and light floral accent
The feel has slightly sweet texture with moderately high alcohol influence with moderate carbonation yet slightly tangy acidic quality
The taste reminds me of berries soaked in alcohol with mostly dry flavor after the fruit taste subsides with a strong fruity floral juicy element yet the alcohol is pretty intense after the initial fresh fruit flavors are somewhat short lived in the overall flavor
The effect in overall enjoyment is reduced by the amount of alcohol which is not masked very well by the fruit it would probably be a better fruit beer if the beer was the focus and strength was the afterthought however with a name like Forte and buyer beware as a guide it fits the intention set forth and achieves the fortified fruit beer concept

 

 

 

The beer pours very little head but what head does come out is a white and bubbly. The beer itself is a clear reddish brown that looks a lot like a red wine or liquid jam.

The smell is decent. It has a good jammy mix of different berries that each make their appearance with the boysenberry coming out in front with a slight raspberry tartness through the whole thing. There is also a smooth alcohol note too that takes away from the smell a little bit.

The taste is good. It has the same notes as the smell but the different berries come out more. The boysenberry is still the strongest note but the raspberry tartness also comes out to give a nice tart contrast to the all the sweetness. The black berry and blue berry come out in the finish with the alcohol note making a quick and brief appearance.

The feel is good. It has a heavy but drinkable body. It has a light burn and no carbonation.

Overall, it was an interesting beer and I'm glad I tried but I'm kind of underwhelmed because of the alcohol note that really brings it done a bit.

 

 

12oz bottle, no clear date, poured into a tulip
A: Brown glass color, hazy with a thin head
S: Mixed fruits and grain
T: Raspberry/blackberry, light wheat
M: Full bodied but not boozy, slightly sweet
O: This is a big beer but overall enjoyable fresh fruit, not too complex but tasty

 

Dark brown, murky, and pours like a quad. It is very boozy at 18% and a big tang from all the berry juice. This beer is executed similar to the World Wide Stout family. I love this one.

@firesidewithphil

Bottle Date: 6/15/18
Palate Contaminants: other beer

"Ages well." Okay.

Looks like raspberry juice. Slightly cloudy. Not a lot of head or lacing. So, at least the color is cool.

Smell is like spiked breakfast syrup. Blueberry first, then raspberry. A little cloves. Points for uniqueness.

The taste is about what I expected (i.e., in line with the scent), but it's not so sweet. I hesitate to call it medicinal because that has such a bad connotation, but it does evoke that. There's some fruit bitterness in the back. And some burn.

Fruit is barely there in the aftertaste. There's probably more alcohol. Not much carbonation. There's some sneaky astringency, too. It's a sipper, for sure. I don't know if anybody really needs a full 12 ounces of this. I'd be fine with a 4-ounce serving after dinner.

Appearance : vert dark red, slight tinge of red/purple
no foam
extremely opaque - slightly translucent/lighter when held up to light
little specks throughout

Smell: boozy, with a hint of nutty along with the massive fruit

Taste: very sweet (but not too much), although the high abv hits you first. the pure sweetness overpowers any tart or sour notes. the aftertaste is slightly more floral, refreshing and light, with nothing being too overpowering.

Mouthfeel: very thick but not too much for such a strong beer. light carbonation.

Overall: although it's very intense due to the high ABV, it feels as drinkable as a much weaker beer. the balance of the fruits makes it very palatable both when sipping and in aftertaste. altogether couldn't imagine a more refreshing beer for the ABV, much prefer this to the 120 minute IPA

 

It tastes like blackberry brandy with the carbonation and consistency of beer. Pass.

 

 

Fruit Full Fort pours a reddish brownish color, with not much head. Big barrel aroma, hints of earth. Flavor has a lot of barrel, lots of fruit, sweet, but not too much, with dry berries mixing in too. Good body and feel. Overall, lots of flavors, barrel, berries. Very sneaky, big beer, and you wouldn't know about it.