The Pride
Birdsong Brewing

 

Nice dubbel. Poured dark brown but translucent. 1/2" head that dissipated quickly. Good smel but nothing jumped out at me. A little sweetness but not a sweet dessert style of beer. Some alcohol taste but again not over powering. Overall it just an ok beer. Nothing to brag about and no real complaints. Would drink it again.

 

 

 

Appearance: Rather dark brown body with a medium-sized, ivory-hued head.

Smell: Pride is fruit forward with a particularly estery nose, but you also have spice qualities of cinnamon powder and cloves, standard toast, brown sugar and alcohol.

Taste: Well-toasted bread falling short of chary. Heavy dose of sugar and spices, with fruity tastes of hand-picked red berries, figs and plums. Moderate sweetness. The fruitiness as well as the sugar-n-spice vibes joins some warming alcohol in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Barely hits medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Overall: It pushes on being a little too fruity and too sweet for me, but, overall it's decent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got to have a vertical of The Pride at the 3rd anniversary party at the brewery. I'll do a quick rundown of the three.
2012-Served in a tulip, the beer is a dark, rich, brown coloring, with a fluffy, off-white halo of head. Nose of richly sweet grape, old world fruit (date and fig), and some earthy highlights. Flavors are tartly sour forward, with grape must and subtle acidity, followed by earthy tones, notes of date and fig, tannins, and some woody notes. Good balance of sour and old world fruit. Crisp, dry bodied, with a tangy and tart aftertaste blending with earthy notes. Crisp, astringent finish. Very nice.
2013-got this on in a shaker pint. Looks about the same, but that's about it for similarities. 2012 had a different yeast strain than the more recent incarnations. The nose is more richly sweet, with caramel, fig, and raisin digging in. Wow. The flavors are date and fig forward, with cinnamon and nutmeg spice, apple notes, heavy roast, and brandy characteristics. Heavy. Smooth, light bodied, with a rich, sweet, candy apple aftertaste. Smooth finish. Very nice.
2014-once again in a shaker, and once again looks about the same, only darker. This one has a nose of booze forward, and the sweet notes from before are a little more pronounced and strong. The flavors are much more sweet and rich, with date, fig, raisin, red grape, brown sugar, and booze, with some vanilla notes in there, too. Smooth and light bodied, with a candied caramel and spiced aftertaste. Smooth, slick finish, with a spice linger.
Overall, this Is a solid beer through and through, and the older one with the different yeast strain has aged itself into a decent sour.