“Made with a 100% Belgian Malt bill from Castle Malting creating a beer dark brown in colour with malt flavour of dark fruit and warming alcohol. Our own inhouse (former) chemist, brewer Ajay was in charge of brewing up our own Belgian candi sugar, caramelising the sugar into a rich dark caramel toffee, then cooling it back to a solid rock. This was used in the boil adding caramel, chocolate and nutty flavours and keeping the beer light in body and easy drinking, even at 7.3%”
Served in a Trappist tulip. It pours out a deep amber with a copper tint. It struggled to produce much head as it swells to a finger and immediately retracts to a ring with limited lace work as it ebbs.
The nose offers some nice and traditional Belgian dubbel aromas – caramel, toffee, fig, cocoa, banana, clove and candi sugars. There is one component we dislike though…that is the funky and slightly vinegary character that’s happening. Call us old school but funky, tart, sour notes should be reserved for just that…sours. Not a bad aroma it just left us wanting.
The flavour follows the nose with a good foundation of sweet Belgian dubbel flavours like caramel, toffee, banana, clove, earthy fig and truffle but again we find that slightly tart and vinegary flavour distracting. It’s light in the lead up to the finish and a bit short in the tail as well.
Pretty lean and light on in texture. Slightly lifted co2 with quite a well concealed 7.1% ABV. Pretty smooth overall feel in the mouth.
We absolutely love this brewery and with exception to one or maybe two their beers are top notch. This one though….it’s a bit 50/50. We froth over big, dense and super sweet Belgian dubbels but this one was lacking that rich malt, spicy yeast and bubblegum notes that make them so bloody good. Slightly disappointing.