Fort - Dogfish Head Brewery

marcpal

New Jersey

2.48/5  rDev -32.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Poured into snifter from the tap at Dogfish Head brewpub in Rehoboth.

A: Amber color with a pinkish hazy hue to it. Bubbly carbonation, champagne like at first and minimal amounts of lacing on the pour.

S: Raspberry and fruit sweetness and then a bit more sweetmess and raspberries. This does not smell like a beer at all, and alcohol really not evident yet..

T: Here comes more of the raspberries, and the sweetness- and the alcohol does make its presence felt. Did not enjoy this one too much, far prefer the other DFH big beers but this is more of a hard mixer, not pleasurable to me.

M: Champagne like fizz matching the taset. There is a cloying sweetness and it is matched by the alcohol remaining in the back of the palate.

D: Not very drinkable based on the sweetness overbearingness and the high levels of alchohol. Would strongly prefer DFH other high price, high alcohol offerings by far (WW, 120, and others)

This is one of those beers that leaves you wondering afterward if it really is a beer? Not such a good thing to me but interesting. I could see it being a good drink with a dessert or as a sipper. It really takes something special foodwise to cut through the sweetness of this thing.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2007 20:27:02 | More by marcpal

tgbljb

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on-tap at the Dogfish Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach.
Served in a snifter as an apricot colored beer with scant head.
Smell is very fruity with very strong berry notes.
Taste is of berries without being too sweet. It really is a great taste and the alcohol only slowly arises as the beer warms.
Leaves a nice berry taste in the mouth without the sweetness that you would expect.
As drinkable, almost too drinkable, as you can get for an 18% beer. I was surely aware of it the next morning.
My wife an I toured the brewery the next day and picked up a bottle for New Years Eve. I will see how that compares to the on-tap version.

Serving type: on-tap

12-08-2007 23:56:17 | More by tgbljb

slvrmon82

Delaware

4.47/5  rDev +22.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - It's a thick creamy gold color. Thick can't see through it at all. Very heavy appearance.
S - Pure raspberries. No doubt about it. It hits you as soon as its in front of you. I was excited just by the smell of this beer.
T - Amazing. Delicious. I was blown away that it could be that high in alcohol and taste so good. There is so much fresh raspberry taste that it is hard to call it beer.
M - Pretty nice. Very nice sipping beer in the winter. Not much of a summer beer. Heavy on the palate and the tongue.
D - Average, I couldn't have more than one or two of these beers. It is heavy and stays on the palate for a while. Can't wait to have some more but couldn't see drinking much of it in the summer.

Dogfish always blows me away with their beers.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2007 01:35:54 | More by slvrmon82

jasonjlewis

Texas

4.1/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer has a decent head and retention for a beer that is so high in alcohol. It's nose is strongly of rasberries with some subtle malts coming through.

This beer is very sweet. I didn't find it overly boozy for 18% alcohol. It was just a beer on steroids. A fault of it is that it is very sweet. A fuckload of sugar had to have been added to make this 18 %

Still a decent brew. I enjoyed it.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2007 23:16:07 | More by jasonjlewis

sacfly

Maryland

3.35/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Happy new year. Had paired with raspberry crème Brule at the DFH New Years Eve dinner.

Served an impressive deep red color with a hint of purple, well, like raspberries. No head, minimal carbonation. Smell is of raspberry (imagine that) a hint of cherry(?) and a bit of vodka.

Taste is solvent like alcohol and raspberries. The alcohol burn is distracting and takes away from the full enjoyment of the beer. Aftertaste is more of the same. I got used to the alcohol burn towards the end. Went well with the desert!

Fresh from the tap? I recommend skipping that and buying a bottle to age for a year or two (or more…). If it settles down with time, this could be great. As is right now, it was still OK.

Hard to rate, because of contrasting likes and dislikes in the catagories. For example, the taste of raspberry was awesome, 4.5, but the solvent alcohol was a 2 at most.

Note that his is a draft review. I have herd that the bottles are good right now… they don’t have nearly the solvent quality that the draft version has. I will update my review after cracking a bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

01-02-2006 01:15:40 | More by sacfly

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

The family stopped by the Dogfish Ale House for a Christmas Eve lunch. The Fort was served on tap, in a snifter and chilled.

I first had Fort last summer at the DFH pub in Rehobeth. All I recall is high alcohol and bewilderment over what fruit was in this beer. This time around, the brewers took the time to get everything right and it shows.

Appearance: The ale comes in a snifter with a small to neglible head. It is coppery-red, with an emphasis on the red from the raspberries.

Smell: Thiere is a definite raspberry smell here. It is a pleasant aroma, similar to Lindemans, but not as sweet and overbearing. The alcohol (18%) also makes itself known.

Taste: A great tasting fruit beer! The raspberry is present, but not too strong. It mixes well with the ale and provides a great lift in the taste. The alcohol is very well masked, making this a potent brew.

Mouthfeel: Unlike the first batch which lacked Raspberry content, the fruit is quite evident now. It is a mild sweetness that mixes well with the alcohol and malt. There is no overpowering hops feeling to scour the palate.

Drinkability: I've got to give this a '3' as it weighs in at 18%, which seriously limits the drinkability. Despite the ABV, I will try another one, next time I find it on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

12-24-2005 19:51:15 | More by akorsak

chOAKbarrell

Maryland

4.1/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

$9 per snifter, on tap now at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Maryland.

Vibrant reddish hue with no head.

This is the best way I can describe this beer: It starts off tasting/feeling like a raspberry lambic, then halfway through (as you start to swallow) the taste/feel changes to more of a raspberry-flavored wheat beer, and then on the finish, it takes on the syrupy sweet strong-alcohol characteristics of Dogfish's World wide stout, or 120 min IPA. Nice and complex, this beer definitely works in stages.

At 18% alcohol, this beer goes down suprisingly smooth. I suppose most people couldnt have more than 1 glass, but this is a great dessert beer for sipping after your meal, which is what I did.

Serving type: on-tap

12-24-2005 03:54:10 | More by chOAKbarrell

blitheringidiot

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Quite psyched to try this forte at the brewpub last week with a couple BA buds.

Pours a clear mellow twinge cherry red with absolutely no head cap to speak of.

Aroma is light dry vinous in effect, with a suggestion of the cherry aspects.

First swigs: Impressive dry delicate (again) vinous dry chardonay like that amazingly hides the awl-kee-hawl aspect. 18%???!!! Knock me over with a feather! This "ah-hem!" BEER (so to speak) is a beguling mixture of hooch, beer and wine.

Forte has a thin escaping light body that seemingly escapes from the glass to my gullet. Oh, wait... I poured it out like that.

Last swigs: Is FORTE sooo good because it's only available at the brewpub? No. I'm not going to give the old "I had some and you didn't so it's great" act, but it is impressive enough to say WOW! and Sam Calgione is amazing at his craft. Seriously!!!

Beer is good, except at DH...GREAT!!!

Serving type: on-tap

07-03-2005 13:33:47 | More by blitheringidiot

PopeDX

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

This really shocked the hell out of me. Considering that there's not much of anything to balance the 18% alcohol, it's really quite drinkable. Any other beer near that percentage that I have had is balanced by a large malt presence or has a really thick body. This is really more like mead than beer, and any meads with that much alcohol that I've had all drink really hot.

Pours a nice color, like a more translucent cherry juice. No head. Smells exactly like cherry Twizzlers. Slight alcohol taste up front, shifts into a fruit mead taste on the tongue, finishes a bit hot, but not in an offputting sort of way. No fusel alcohols detectable, which is really a testament to the great yeast handling done by the brewer. I could sip this all night. The amazing drinkability of this and of all the microdistilled products made at the brewpub are a true testament to the skills of the brewer/distiller there (and I'm such an ass for forgetting his name...I believe his first name is Mike).

Can't even imagine how awesome this would be with a couple of years under it's belt.

Pleasepleaseplease bottle it soon!

Serving type: on-tap

06-27-2005 14:41:55 | More by PopeDX

luvND

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On tap at Rehoboth in a tulip. Color seemed light pink to me, though the bar was dark. Little to no head to speak of.

Nose was very nice. Definite alcohol. I guessed cherry as the fruit, but my wife said raspberry, after reading more here, looks like she was right. Still, seemed like marachinos in alcohol to me.

Taste up front was sweet, no hops to speak of and brother, let me tell you, big alcohol in the end. I think I could have done the flamethrower act after this one. After the alcohol dissipates, it does remain somewhat sweet however.

Overall, another great experiment from DFH. I would never drink more than one of these and I don't know what this would be like in a bottle, but an interesting concoction and one I'm glad I tried none the less.

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2005 02:05:49 | More by luvND

francisweizen

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

This is the new 18%abv brewpub/fest-only brew from the fine folks at DFH. This is an interesting brew to say the least, but i'm not sure if it was worth the trip down to Rehoboth for. This is a dark ruby red/pink champagne colour with a small head of off-white foam that quickly fades to just a small rim of lace. The aroma is pretty good. I pciekd up some HOT booze, fresh raspberries, and some funky, spicy undertones. The taste was good, fruity, but a bit too hot for my tastes. It also seemed one-dimensional with just the booze stealing the show. The mouthfeel was medium bodied, and not too thick for an 18%abv brew, but the drinkability was below average for me because of the overwhlmingly hot liquor flavor this brew has. Still it's an interesting experiment in brewing, and with a little twaking or two years of age this could be a fruit/strong ale contender (ala kuhnhenns rasperry eisbock)

Serving type: on-tap

02-14-2005 21:24:05 | More by francisweizen

Strix

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2009 vintage

Approximately peach colored, slightly hazy, some head that lingers as a ring.

Sugar, alcohol, slight berry note.

Sugar and booze (reminiscent of Samichlaus) definite rasperry finish. Quite floral.

Mouthfeel slick, coats the mouth.

I was quite impressed by this, really. High ABV melds with the fruit, very Samichlausesque.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 04:26:51 | More by Strix

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.96/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

2011 vintage.

Pours a super-hazy rosy dark-orange. Head formed easily in the tulip and has remained a near three-finger constant. Laces, too.

Raspberry skins, floral perfume, floral hops, tart cherry, and pomegranate berry. Nice, after two years.

Raspberries and flora, and I don't mean sour critter flora. Flowery and still somewhat hoppy. Boozy burn in the finish with some lingering white wine-like sweetness, but not 18% booziness. More of that tart cherry/pomegranate and red currant fruitiness in here. Touch of strawberry leaf. Malts have notes of toasted pecan and treacle syrup. Interesting.

Dangerously drinkable. Medium-to-sticky body and feel with a lot of leftover trapped effervescence. You just have to fight the lip-smacking.

Excellent stuff. I miss the hoppier fresh version I've had on-tap, but this was fantastic, too. I feel like this is, at least, close to the sweet spot for this brew.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 05:20:46 | More by thecheapies

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.48/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours an amber color but with a shade towards red/pink - definitely showing some raspberry color. Head is decent at pour, lingers, and laces for a bit along with the beer but then disappates. Smell from this 1 yr old brew is somewhat boozy but with a berry sweet note present. Taste is heavy sweet upfront with candy showing, alcohol burn on the back of the throat through the middle (but expected at 18%), and then raspberry and candy to finish. A treat to be enjoyed every once in a while!

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 01:51:49 | More by Oakenator

Kadonny

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 750 bottle into a snifter glass. This was a one year old bottle.

A: A clear reddish maroon color with a tiny off white head. No lacing at all.

S: Wow, lots of raspberry on the nose coupled with some sugar sweetness and loads of alcohol.

T: The raspberry flavors are massive. They mix with a huge sugar and candy sweetness that stays through. Towards the finish the massive alcohol comes in to take over on the finish. It's not totally off-putting, but it makes a massive showing. Sweetness finishes it out.

M: Full, coating, syrupy sweet and very little carbonation.

O: I give DFH props for really making this a huge raspberry bomb. Where I question it is who wants 750ml of this huge alcohol sweet bomb? Why not just make them 12 ounce bottles and then one might be able to enjoy one at a sitting. There were two of us and we couldn't finish the bottle. Again, I give them props for their forward thinking on beer, but this one misses the mark on drinkability.

Good, but far from great.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 13:32:37 | More by Kadonny

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I love Dogfish Head, but I'm been a bit nervous to pop this one open for more than two years, but tonight is the night...

Bottled 9/14/2011

A - A finger's worth of audibly fizzy light khaki colored slightly creamy head with an abundance of big chunky bubbles mix in... Minimal retention gives way to a full thick creamy lacing that looks quite appealing... Large carbonation bubbles cling to the sides of the glass as some random quick paced carbonation bubbles rise sporadically within... The color is a slightly pale and slightly murky orange... So far so good...

S - The pureed raspberries hit the nose first in a very satisfying manner... Ground mustard??? Slightly medicinal qualities... A very subtle Belgian yeast component... Not too shabby...

T - The immediate flavors are rather pleasant... Golden raisins... Raspberries... A light Belgian yeast flavor... This is quickly replaced by the booze and heat which take an a thick syrupy cough medicine quality (which dissipates a bit as it warms)... The heat lingers for a good bit...

M - Medium to bull bodied... Uber dense... Syrupy... Thick... Chewy... Light carbonation...

D - Sip slowly... Would have made an interesting and somewhat compelling 12 oz, but the 25.4 oz format is quite daunting and even puzzling given the ABV... Not as bad as many reviews make it out to be (perhaps to the two years I let it sit), but not something that I would recommend nor drink with any regularity... This is what DFH does and you either love or hate their attempts at pushing boundaries and I for one love it because otherwise there would be no World Wide Stout...

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 01:48:43 | More by philbe311

colts9016

Idaho

4.1/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This has a been a beer that I have wanted to try for a while, I really do not remember the reason as to why. Poured into a Schlitz goblet at 45 degrees.

Appearance: A two finger head that is ivory in color, creamy and fluffy. The head has really good retention, considering it is a high alcohol brew. The color of the beer is a medium reddish orange color with mahogany tint. The clarity of the beer is clear with a touch of cloudiness. Small carbonation bubble slowly drift from the bottom of the glass. A smart looking beer with a coy smile.

Nose: Surprisingly I smell malts lots of malts, caramel, toast, and biscuit notes. The raspberries come through next offering a fruitiness and sweetness. The alcohol is a supporting actor with an eye on the Oscars. Other aromas in the beer is a slight floral note, yeast, and citrus.

Taste: A big beer with tons of raspberries seeping through the malt and alcohol. The malt is rich complex, toasty, caramel, and biscuit flavor. The raspberries are slightly sweet and fruity. The alcohol stepped up and made the performance of it is life and everybody knows its role. Other flavors is floral, yeast, grass, sour, and citrus.

Mouth feel of the beer is chewy, warm, slight astringent, and carbonated.

Overall: The body of the beer is medium and the finish is medium full. This big body beer is fantastic, but not perfect. The Belgium profile gives the beer a unique style, then mix in the raspberries makes it unforgettable. The alcohol is prevalent, but fairly balanced with the other flavor. I am glad that the raspberries did not get lost in this brew. Wish I had one more to age for a few years, would love to make comparison notes.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 05:29:44 | More by colts9016

jtierney89

New Jersey

2.3/5  rDev -37%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pretty clear golden hue with a touch of pinkness from what I can tell, its pretty dark with the power off. Craggy white head. Little flakes float throughout, close to a year of age. Smells of delicious fresh raspberries touch of wheat and grain. Dove into this forgetting that's it 18% took too big of a SIP.

This is a big sweet booze bomb though. Tart raspberries throughout. Champagne like effervescence. Massive syrup like mouthfeel, somehow though carbonation comes through. Lots of alcohol heat and overall booziness. Mouth coating for sure. This beer is just kind of a one trick pony though, tastes like raspberry liquor. Does a good job of showcasing the raspberries but that's about it. Some funky Belgian saison like properties underneath it all but they're barely there.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 01:19:26 | More by jtierney89

ArrogantB

Colorado

1.3/5  rDev -64.4%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

750ml bottle 2008 vintage. I knew this would be a tough beer but I was still completely unprepared for this shit. Sort of a light orange with a pinkish hue. Aroma is acetone and nail polish remover, disgusting. Flavor is very sweet, hint of raspberries and overwhelming alcohol. It was what I imagine industrial cleaning supplies to taste like. I think this was the worst beer I have ever tasted in my life .

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 17:06:06 | More by ArrogantB

uawildcat

Arizona

3.83/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22 oz bomber in an English pub glass and pilsner glass. It has a decent head that last with some lacing, but who cares that much about appearance.

It smells amazing. Very sweet with tons of raspberry in it, just what I was expecting.

The taste though is lacking in my opinion. There is just too much of a brown sugar sweetness to it. The raspberry also tastes a little off in my opinion, but it might be due to the sweetness. To me it tastes almost like one of those blue or dark red tootsie roll lollipops. I wish there was more acidity to it like a real raspberry.

The mouthfeel is the worst thing about this beer. It is very hot due to the amount of alcohol and super sticky too from all the malt. It is a chore to get through more than maybe half of a 12 oz glass.

Overall, this beer does serve well as a dessert beer. Just make sure that you split it with somebody since its hard to get through.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 19:38:39 | More by uawildcat

Pahn

New York

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Split 3 ways into snifters. Drank 9/4/12 (last night), and reviewed from notes (all my reviews are from notes, normally with the beer still being drank).

Appearance: Free pour yields a half inch offwhite head that dissipates quickly. Pours a brownish orange and leaves small bits of lacing.

Smell: Sherry-like, raisiny malt flavors. Good but a little faint.

Taste: Sugary barleywine with tons of raspberry. It's a bit "two note," raspberry punch in the face, really strong caramely malt.

There really isn't anything else to say about this beer, except that it gets a 4 for how delicious the deep, sugary barleywine malt flavor is, how well it blends with the raspberry, and how well it handles the alcohol heat.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Very hot. Moderate carbonation. Bit sugary.

Overall: I like it. Impressive balance for so much alcohol and such a ridiculously prominent fruit addition. Fruit itself doesn't taste like fresh fruit, but it doesn't taste like artificial syrup either.

Would be interested in aging the beer, as the malt depth is nice and the fruit and heat could stand to calm down.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2012 21:37:19 | More by Pahn

120minuteman

4.78/5  rDev +31%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2007 vintage:

Appearance: A dark rosy red, much like a cider
Smell: A basket of rasberries, salmonberries and a hint of pear
Taste: Covered a wide range of flavors, starting from sweet and ending in sour. This bottle is less fruity than a younger bottle that I've had, and has become far more complex over time.
Mouthfeel: Not much retention, but felt like a young scotch at times
Overal: I would highly recommend this beer, great as an after dinner drink with some friends. If you see if, pick up 2 bottles: one for now, the other for later (5-years later)

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2012 14:09:15 | More by 120minuteman

DonDirkA

Arizona

4.15/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Smells like raspberries... and booze. There's a little wheatiness in there too. Tastes strongly of fruit, raspberries and dates with a strong alcohol burn that will definitely benefit from some age. It is delicious, not quite as good as the one I had on tap at 1702. If I can get my hands on another I'll put it away for a couple years and see what happens.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 23:47:59 | More by DonDirkA

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

4.55/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

2008 vintage.
Appearance: hazy yellowish read. Not much of an off white head. No surprise for an 18% monster.
Smell: Sweet, rich raspberries. Exotic and inviting.
Taste: more of the same. Braced for an alcohol punch that never came. Sweet but not overly so. The richness and depth offset the sweetness like a fine port.
Overall: Awesome. A work of art from Sam and team. How in the hell do they make an 18%er this easy to drink?

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2012 21:45:14 | More by cindyjeffsmith

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.93/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a wellington beer glass.

Appearance: This a cloudy somewhat dark amber, head is minimal coming to an off-white color rising to maybe 1/10" if that off the body.

Smell: Holy yeast, strong....just putting the glass down before sip you can feel what's coming to you. Dark fruits and yeast condescending in the nostrils.

Taste: This beer off the first sip you feel it sweet like a deep red wine.

Mouth: Little sweet but somewhat flat, this is not a bad thing. I can't lie to the public this after taste is stuck to my cheeks.

Overall: This is a unique beer, definitely above average because there is nothing else like it I have ever tasted. It will remind you of some Belgian beers with a twist, Salud!

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2012 03:55:51 | More by BlurryVisi0n