Fort George 3-way (2019)

Yeah, still a lot of Idaho 7 on shelves. 3-Way doesn't seem to have the hype it used to.

 

When I was in PDX a few weeks ago Citra and Idaho-7 were everywhere - even Fred Meyer. All the variants seem to be moving in Seattle though.

 

i thought the cashmere one was nice. tasted v cloudburst

 

I thought this year’s 3 Way was solid. I’ve tried all 3 hop variants and found each version was slightly worse than the last. Still very drinkable though. Glad they went away from full on hazy. This seemed much closer to a west coast ipa than a NE ipa.

Found a can of Citra hiding in my fridge last night. Still tasted great. Idaho 7 seemed to be everywhere for a while and now have been seeing cashmere the last week or two. Can’t say I’m too familiar with cashmere. Doesn’t seem to have any distinct character. Might grab a few more cans though while they last. One more variant would be nice.

 

You'll have to keep an eye out for the Strata version then, seen it on tap at a few places around town.

 

With the early arrival of fresh hop season, I'm thinking 3-Way is at a bit of a disadvantage.

I just spotted some Cashmere 3-Way at Winco last week, and the price was agreeable, but I was already thinking about the Occidental Fresh Hop Pilsner in my fridge.

 

I agree. I am making room in beer fridge (with limited success) for the anticipated fresh hop beers and have passed on many I would have otherwise purchased including 3-Way Strata.

 

Wait a minute. I've been avoiding 3-way because I didn't like last year's haze-bomb. Now I finally open this thread and see it's NOT hazy?! Looks like I need to give it a shot.

 

It IS hazy, but to me it's more of a NW hazy, with a little bit of malt in there and just enough bitter on the back end to provide balance. Better for my palate - I didn't like last year's but enjoyed this year's.

 

There's a little bit of haze but it seemed to settle in some of the cans I bought as looked like a straight WC IPA when I poured them.

 

Agree that it really settles. If I don't give the can a good shake, the beginning of my pour looks straight WC, and the last quarter pour from the can is a murky mess.

 

Definitely a departure from last year. The haze is pretty minimal. Drank and felt much more like a west coast to me, especially the Citra version.

 

Missed out on the earlier releases this year, but snagged a 4-pak of Strata ... quite nice compared to other mildly hazy IPAs I've tried of late. Enough bitterness and malt to keep me interested, and not so juicy sweet that I need to sit in an a/c room to finish a pint

 

Kind of interesting the Idaho 7 version had such a long run while Citra and Cashmere seemed to come and go so quick. Must have procured a bigger batch of those hops. I’m guessing they’re winding down if not done completely with this year’s now.

Moving forward, I’m wondering how long they’ll continue to keep this going. Obviously, there’s no shortage of breweries to team up with, but they’ve already hit most of the best ones in the region. Maybe they’d venture into northern CA. Of course there’s nothing that says they can’t partner with a previous collaborator again.

 

Given Fort George's seemingly rock solid commitment to being northwest only at this point (you never say never and that could always change), I'd be surprised to see them pick a NorCal brewery. Then again, IF they were to starting venturing outside the NW that wouldn't be a bad way to start.

 

None of the cans I had were hazy at all. I had three of the variants and all were crystal clear west coast IPAs. It's very strange how different some of the reports are with regards to how this one looks in the glass. There is some serious batch variation going on.

FWIW with some time now to reflect I'd rank this at or near the bottom of the the 3-Way collabs over the years, which is a bummer because I adore all three breweries and really appreciate that they seemingly wanted to do something different. For my palette it just didn't work.

 

They already have ventured out of the PNW. I guess you forgot about 3-Way 2016. That was Melvin from Wyoming and Barley Brown's.

 

de Garde has done a few IPA collabs, that'd be a fun partner. Make it a coastal version and bring Reach Break or Buoy in too.

 

Good point, but I think he meant distribution of their beer being proudly advertised as only in the NW. I don’t think Melvin had opened the Bellingham pub yet, but that may have played a part in their selection in the slot normally reserved for a WA brewery.

 

Yeah, what @sharpski said - but I had forgotten about that one. I think maybe Melvin worked itself in via the fact they had the Washington pub presence (before the harassment)?