Duindoorn
Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal

 

not quite lambic but a really unique little bottle of belgian wild beer here, done with sea buckthorn. i love these guys, always something creative, and while i dont think this is overly well refined at this stage of its life, its still an awesome beer, like nothing else out here. hay and only a little bit bubbly from the bottle, murky with some real sandy sediment towards the bottom, not a lot of beer here, but thats okay, its punchy and pungent and quite acidic, a little goes a long enough way. it smells like some richer grains than are normally found in this sort of thing, tangy citrus, the floral and puckery sea buckthorn is evident, green grape, white wine, old musty oak and some minerals as well, piquant as can be. the flavor is great too, the sea buckthorn is apparent, lightly medicinal, very sour, but also rather funky and wooden and rustic, different for sure, and more bubbly than it looks. unique orange character, lemon zest, white vinegar, and some neat malty character behind it. cool fermentation profile, very mature, definitely wild. a drying almost gritty texture is unique, its sort of pithy on the palate after the swallow, complex and weird, warms up well, but stays sharp. i feel this in my jawbone after each sip, it keeps on going, a total salivary experience. some would call this aggressive and raw, but i like it a lot. glad to see some beers from these guys on sale in idaho here, i love what they do and am thankful to have it available!