Some of Founders Brewing Co.’s oldest fans may find the newest addition to the brewery’s Mothership Series very familiar.
The beer in question is Mothership Series #15: Frootwood, an 8 percent ABV cherry ale aged for a “lengthy stint” in oak barrels that previously held both bourbon and maple syrup. Frootwood debuted in 2017 as part of Founders’ Barrel-Aged Series and is based on the brewery’s’ Cerise (6.5 percent ABV) cherry ale.
Frootwood will be the fifteenth addition in Founders’ Mothership Series, which consists of releases that have been “brought out of retirement” or “experimental new styles” and will be available for carryout exclusively at the brewery’s taprooms in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles:
- Mothership Series #1: Red Rye IPA (6.6 percent ABV) — February 2018 — IPA brewed with imported Belgian caramel malts and dry-hopped with Amarillo hops
- Mothership Series #2: Sleeper Cell (10.8 percent ABV) — April 2018 — Double IPA brewed with “an intense dose” of five different hop varieties
- Mothership Series #3: MF Donkey Stout (6.4 percent ABV) — September 2018 — Stout brewed with Mackinac Fudge coffee sourced from Ferris Coffee & Nut
- Mothership Series #4: Panther Cub — December 2018 — Porter aged in a combination of BLIS maple syrup bourbon barrels and regular bourbon barrels for “over two years” with whole vanilla beans
- Mothership Series #5: Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout — January 2019 — Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels
- Mothership Series #6: Cerise — April 2019 — sour ale brewed with Michigan cherries
- Mothership Series #7: Mucho Lupu — June 2019 — IPA brewed with Amarillo, Azacca, Mosaic and Simcoe hops
- Mothership Series #8: Pale Joe — August 2019 — Pale ale with Ethiopian coffee
- Mothership Series #9: Oktoberfest — September 2019 — Oktoberfest-style ale brewed with imported German malts and hops as well as lager yeast
- Mothership Series #10: French Toast Bastard — December 2019 — scotch ale aged in bourbon barrels with and conditioned on maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla
- Mothership Series #11: Devil Dancer — February 2020 — IPA
- Mothership Series #12: Detroit Double IPA — July 2020 — Double IPA double IPA brewed with Crystal, Magnum, Mosaic and Simcoe hops
- Mothership Series #13: Blushing Padre — July 2020 — Belgian-style raspberry ale aged in tequila barrels
- Mothership Series #14: Passion Fruit Gose — August 2020 — Gose-style ale brewed with passion fruit and sea salt
- Mothership Series #15: Frootwood — November 2020 — Cherry ale aged in oak barrels that previously held both bourbon and maple syrup
According to a post on Founders’ website, Mothership Series #15: Frootwood will be packaged in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles ($20) that are scheduled to be released exclusively at both of the brewery’s taprooms in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Mich. on Nov. 20.
