Nouveau Belgian Style Dubbel
Mantra Artisan Ales

 

 

This one came to me courtesy of my local, in-person trader, @tone77 , who inadvertently added it on the site as a duplicate. He remains the beer's first reviewer, but no longer receives credit for the add. I am proud to be the beer's second reviewer.

From the Bottle: "What Is Your Mantra?"; "In a world that experiences the present as an anticipated memory, the Experiencing-Self and the Remembering-Self become architects of our mental narratives. Life becomes an italicized memory. The beer language that we speak informs our world of the duality of multiple mindwares. Nouveau is a cultural reality tunnel into a time when beer was consciousness."; "11.4 IBU[;] 18.6 Plato OG[;] (Drink Fresh Never Age)".

Wotta load of rubbish! Preposterous word salad that only lends credence to the idea that craft beer is indicative of hipsterism. Never age a Dubbel?!? More rubbish! Pheh.

I Pop!ped the cap, but having noticed some lees on the punt, I went with a very slow, gentle C-Line pour, leaving a modicum of liquid still in the bottle. My action(s) did not produce anything more than wisps so I went with an in-glass swirl to produce a finger of fizzy, foamy, light-tan head with modest retention, quickly returning to wisps. Color was Brown to Dark Brown (SRM = > 22, < 27) with NE-quality clarity. Nose smelled strongly of treacle and dried, dark fruits (think prunes, raisins, dates, figs) as well as a slightly sour chocolate quality. It reminded me of the time that I was a brave, big boy at my maternal grandparents & tried a spoonful of their Geritol. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, but kind of thin for the style. The taste was fruity and chocolaty and I'd like to add cherries into that fruity mix. It was like a cross between a cherry cordial & a Cadbury Fruit Bar, sans nuts. It was almost brandy-like, but guess what, you pretentious jagov brewers? It needed aging! This beer kind of suffers from being young. I think that, with even a modicum of aging, the flavors would meld nicely & really become something worthwhile. Finish was semi-sweet to semi-dry. Again, aging would probably lend to a more palatable dryness. YMMV.

 

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a dark bronze/amber color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of fruits, yeast. Taste is dark fruits, cherries stand out, malts, a touch of yeast and alcohol. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a quality beer.