Founders Brewing Frootwood

It’s no secret that the beer scene goes through trends. While many are passing fancies, the “big bold beer” has stuck around. When you see a descriptor like Frootwood’s 13-syllable “cherry ale aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels” scrolling length-wise across the bottle label, recent scene history suggests this one will pack as many flavors as syllables into a bottle. The 8.0% ABV says so too, though when you stop and think about it, that’s pretty low for a barrel-aged beer.

And that’s where Frootwood, the launch beer of Founders’ new Barrel Aged Series, kicks in. The barrels have previously held both bourbon, then maple syrup, which explains the lower ABV and the smooth blend of flavors instead of an overpowering booziness.

On first impression, this beer reminds me of the Manhattan cocktail. It’s bourbon, it’s cherry, and a little sweet. The barrel-aging also tempers the mouthfeel and it’s got a bit of that tongue-coating cocktail feel to it. Frootwood is similar to the classic Manhattan cocktail, but it’s still a cherry ale at its base, and the extra ingredients never override the flavor profile.
Pouring light red with a copper-ish hue, Frootwood’s bouquet is bourbon and cherry. The spirit dominates the nose and first impression on tasting, but quickly fades. It’s an interesting beer, though, because the bourbon is all up front while many barrel-aged beers leave a lingering and stringent flavor.