.jpg)
So far, I've been pretty down on these guys. But they are new enough that the Google Street View of their brewery shows it as the Youth for Christ Teen Center that was there before they moved in. Admittedly, that was in 2019; before the plague. Still, that makes them at least 7 years younger than this site, and that's what we compare things to around here, like it or not. So, lets see what these young upstarts bottled in 2023 and sold me in 2026 (which shows some planning and forethought).
The beer is a very nice, dark rose color, and the bubbles are suspiciously calm. I noticed that the bubbles slowly crept out of the top of the bottle while it was sitting there after being opened. I wonder how far they would have gotten, if left to continue their snail-like pace. Either way, the aroma is quite strong. Spiky yeast and tannins are really reaching out with their dates and raisins close at hand. The 7.5% ABV on the label seems like it would be in my normal range, but the aroma makes me think there may have been some continued fermentation in the bottle. Either way, it's got a hairy funk to it.
First sip is... here's the thing. This doesn't taste like a dubbel, and we need to stop thinking of it as one. This tastes like a wild ale. In fact, it tastes so much like a wild ale that I went to their web site to look up the beer. It took much looking to find it on the bottom of the beer menu, after all the other breweries had been accounted for. Sure enough, this is a wild ale. As such, it's not half bad, but I was really expecting a proper dubbel.
Tip-in is that spike of yeast that is tart to the point that it's almost sour. The middle rolls with, and I can't stress this enough, smooth goodness that makes me really understand the attraction of a wild ale. The raisins and dates are mixed with slightly sour cherries and that wacky yeast moving to the background. The finish is once again tart, and the yeast drags dryness across the tongue before cherries hit the back of the throat for the trail off.
Bottom Line: Their best yet.
3.75/5
