In some ways, I’m really glad I had this experience. I just want to say that up front.
Because neither of us liked this beer.
The schooner had a better nose than the mug, which was a surprise, given previous beers. I got a hint of something lemony. But the mug: nope. Just bitterness at the end. Difference is in the feel of the glass. The beers don’t change much, but the schooner is more comfy in hand.
Because what it’s boiling down to is simple: the Ft George 1811 lager is too bitter. It’s overwhelming. The girlfriend agrees.
Moving on to the next set: Pint keeps better head, and we notice more of a sulfurous funk. I got a touch of malt from the pint and later some corn in the nose but again, the bitterness is taking over the other flavors in this beer, and any other kind of finish is obliterated.
She doesn’t like the snifter because it doesn’t let her take a solid gulp. That glass is meant for sipping and lagers should have swigs taken from them. Snifter gives me more of a hint of corn on the nose but it dissipates too quickly to provide anything else.
Her; a cold mug (in Summer this might work), schooner, pint, snifter.
Me: schooner, mug-pint(tie) snifter.
So now we sit down and try to work it out. The truth is, we don’t like this beer much. Sulfur on the back end, funk in the nose, it smells like cheap beer from our youth, the stuff our fathers used to drink when they bought cheap crap. It tastes bad, its bitterness making it challenging to drink and frankly, I feel ripped off as these four cans cost me over nine bucks. It is not a product that justifies it’s high price tag.
Which is just so strange. I really want to try the stout. I’ve had Ft. George’s Vortex IPA and liked it quite a bit! But this lager is unpleasant to drink and costs too much. No glass is going to fix this problem.
A pint for Dionysus 
Their beers are all pricey. If you haven’t been to the brewery, I recommend it. Beers on-tap were wonderful. I have had hits and misses with the canned product in PDX.
I don’t object to the price, exactly. It’s the quality of product for what I paid. That said: I didn’t know there was a quality issue with their canned stuff so I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t feel burned by them so I certainly will go to the brewery if I have the chance.
*its high price tag.
Ft. George, while expensive, has more of a reason to be than Rogue. Rogue’s been doing it–to scale– for a long time. I don’t doubt that the lager is crap, but in my opinion, you get what you ask for: lagers are bitter and pissy. Their stout, on the other hand, IS quite gooe.
The style is clearly not for you; I know you’re a longtime fan of darker beers. However, I’ve liked Hopworks’ lager for quite some time and never, ever found it to be as savagely bitter as this lager was. The scale of their operation is no excuse for a poorly built beer and that poorly made beer is very questionable because I personally have had the IPA and liked it quite a bit and you, as someone who digs stouts, are vouching for that style.
If you’re charging me more, then my expectations go up and if you cock it up, then my reaction is more severe, especially when I know they can make good beers. They didn’t and they want to charge me $9+ for it. That is unacceptable.