Notorious F.I.G.
Hopworks Brewery

 

12oz glass at the Underground's tap takeover for this Rose City brewery.

This beer appears a clear, dark ruby amber colour, with a thin cap of weakly foamy and bubbly beige head, which leaves a thin streak of peninsular lace around the glass as it quickly blows south.

It smells of heady dark orchard fruit, sedate earthy yeast, a further murky, estery Middle Eastern date sweetness, muddled spice, and a bristling alcohol astringency. The taste is sharply fruity, and slightly less phenolic in its yeastiness, with some dense caramel/toffee malt, Zeller's discount bin quality Fig Newtons, overcooked apple pie, and a still sedate and hardly noticeable booze warming.

The bubbles are less than capable in their handling of their basic support duties, the body an OK medium weight, and smooth, sure, if you're into those boozy side effects of the style. It finishes off-dry, the dark fruit and alcohol riding side-saddle into the sunset.

Yeah, the guest figs help out as much as they can, fo sho, leaving my impression of this ode to strong dark Belgian ales in the plus column, for the most part. Maybe I'm a tad naive, but I still consider this worth seeking out, if this is your particular thing, i.e. a BSDA, as opposed to the inexplicably weaker style it is currently classified as here.