Founders Brewing Co. The Cranfather

The Cranfather

 

Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸

  Strong Ale Rotating
Score
7.02
ABV: 11.1% IBU: - Ticks: 8
Ale aged in Bourbon barrels with Cranberry, Cherry, and Orange Peel

If you love cocktail-inspired beers, wait until you try this barrel-aged sipper. The Cranfather highlights a festive cranberry twist inspired by an Old-Fashioned. Expect complex aromatics of vanilla, dried fruit, caramel and spice with pleasant hints of cranberry and bitter orange peel. This unique release finished smooth with no shortage of depth of flavor.
 

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5.8
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 5.5 | Flavor - 4.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 5

Picked up last year in ABQ. Brown with a creamy, off-white head that lingers. Aroma promises cranberries—or cranberry jam—and whiskey barrel, with it’s usual oak& vanilla mix. Taste is tart to sour over a sweet, syrupy sweetness. And this is where it falls down. Too sweet, too artificial tart, too gimmicky. Nothing here to entice or discover. Body to the full side of medium, mild carbonation, lingering cranberries and whiskey barrel warmth. Drinkable.

Tried from Bottle on 07 Feb 2025 at 17:47


7.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

(Thanks, Jim! Ozzy70) Bottle. A- Bourbon, oak, malt, caramel. A- Brown color, clear liquid, minimal beige head. T- Cranberry, bourbon, orange peel, caramel, malt. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, slightly boozy finish. O- Loads of cranberry on the palate and booze on the nose. Think of your drunk aunt at the family Christmas. That's the vibe this beer gives off. Solid cocktail inspired brew; lots of malt backbone.

Tried from Bottle on 04 Oct 2024 at 19:32


5.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5

12 oz. bottle, pours a hazy dark red / mahogany with a small beige head. Aroma has plenty of tart cranberry, cherry and orange peel upfront, with a tiny touch of bourbon barrels. Flavour is on the sweet side, with lots of sweet orange peel, cranberry juice, cherry juice, and a touch of bourbon. It's not that syrupy or sweet, but I still feel it's too much for my tastes; has a sort of cherry cough syrupiness on the finish. This doesn't work for me.

Tried from Bottle on 14 Jul 2024 at 03:02


7.5

Tried from Bottle from Livonia Liquor & Fine Wine on 21 Jan 2024 at 04:56


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bourbon, cherry, cranberry, orange, caramel malt, grass, and orange peel aroma. Reddish brown with minimal head. Moderately sweet cherry, cranberry, orange, caramel malt, and mildly bitter orange peel and grass flavor. Good body - light bourbon finish. Smooth - hides its strength well.

Tried from Bottle on 24 Dec 2023 at 04:08


Beer tick image

6.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Aromas are, in order, cherries, cranberries, dark malt and the slightest hint of bourbon. Flavors are similar to nose, tart up front with a mildly sweet finish. Decent body and carbonation. Not bad, not great.

Tried from Bottle at Bodega Brew Pub, Inc. on 06 Dec 2023 at 19:29


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle from Total Wine in Vacaville, CA. Pours dark mahogany with a huge pinkish tan foamy head. Aroma has cranberry and zest. Med body or so. Flavor is not dry. Quite a mix. cranberry and old wood; bourbon notes; orange zest. Not sweet, not really bitter. Kind of a compromise. A little cherry is discernable.

Tried from Bottle on 06 Dec 2023 at 03:01


8.6

Tried on 21 Oct 2023 at 09:50