Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: 2024 Matryoshka Variants

It began in the 1700s when English brewers were favored by the Russian court. Catherine the Great wanted English beers and so the English brewed beers for her court, which at that time was in St. Petersburg. The beers had to survive the long shipping up through the North Sea, through the Baltic, up to St. Petersburg, so the English would make big, highly alcoholic versions of their beers. They called them imperial, particularly imperial stout, because they were meant for the Empress of Russia.

Following the earlier trend, the Russian imperial stout style was inspired by British brewers in the 1800s to win over the Russian Czar. High alcohol content, plenty of malt, low carbonation, and lots of roasted and chocolate flavors characterize these beers. They can have none to some to a ton of hops, such as Fort George Brewery’s Russian imperial stout, From Astoria With Love.

For better or worse, barrel-aged Russian imperial stouts are viewed by many (especially those who spend time on beer-rating sites) as the apex of craft beer achievement. Peaks & Pints tends to agree, especially Fort George’s barrel-aged version of From Astoria With Love — Matryoshka.

Fort George’s Matryoshka, a Westward and Westland Whiskey barrel-aged Russian imperial stout is slightly sweet with chocolate, caramel, cocoa, and mild whiskey notes and finishes with a little cardamom and cinnamon.

If the beer’s name and label remind you of Russian nesting dolls, then you get it. Fort George releases several smaller “layers” of Matryoshka after its annual Festival of the Dark Arts, the brewery’s annual mid-February stout meets fire festival. Peaks & Pints received several Matryoshka variants and offers them as an in-house flight, Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: 2024 Matryoshka Variants.