Fort George Brewery Releases Matryoshka Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout

This past weekend Fort George Brewery released Matryoshka Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout, its first beer in its new Sweet Virginia Series bottling project. Named after a Russian nesting doll set, Matryoshka is a very limited run that is packaged in 500mL wax dipped bottles and is currently on sale at the brewery’s Lovell Taproom. For those in Portland, a small amount of Matryoshka is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.

Matryoshka Bourbon Barrel Aged Russian Imperial Stout has sat for over one year in Four Roses Bourbon barrels. The beer is described as offering up layers of elegant complexity from this barrel aging process. This Imperial Stout builds with a graceful and delicate intensity, strong enough for the Siberian Winter at 12% ABV.

“The name ‘Matryoshka’ is based on the idea of Russian nesting dolls,” explained brewer Dave Coyne in a release. Dave not only manages the barrel program at Fort George, he also drew the illustrations for the labels of Matryoshka.

Then when Fort George Stout Month hits in February, the brewery will release a few limited variations of Matryoshka, one with cocoa nibs and another with cocoa nibs and raspberries. The regular version will be on tap at Festival of Dark Arts on February 18. 2017.

The Sweet Virginia Series is a new bottling project from Fort George that is named after the 8.5-barrel pub system. The series is a brewer-developed project focusing on small batch releases with a goal of releasing a new beer about once a month. “I’m looking forward to trying different styles, perhaps blending with different kinds of barrels,” stated Coyne in a release.  “Making the best barrel aged beers we can and having a way to share those with more people, that’s what is exciting to me.”