Dubbel Porse
Kemker Kultuur

Pours a cloudy, deep amber coloration with a golden hue and a medium, frothy, quickly recending head. Smells of bready malt and and a distinct juniper presence and just a hint of floral hops, caraway and musty funk. Taste is an excellent balance of doughy, bready malt, a strong, tart and bitter juniper presence, some bog myrtle lending mild notes reminiscent of aniseed, some musty, sweaty funk and citric acidity, as well as hints of floral hops and caraway. Finishes with a light tartness and bitterness and some juniper and bog myrtle lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While this may not be a "true" Gruit, containing hops, these lightly floral accents do remain in the background and complement the tart and bitter juniper character well, while the bog myrtle also comes through with that certain, mild aniseed character as well. Of course Gruit isn't really supposed to be sour and funky either and I was a little surprised by the not too heavy, but certainly noticeable, musty/sweaty funk and lactic acidity there is to this. Sure, it's triple fermented with saccharomyces, brettanomyces and lactobacillus, but I wasn't sure how much that would really come through. So, at the end of the day, far from a traditional Gruit, but a very nicely balanced experimental brew, kind of a mix between a Gruit and Lambic actually, that stays true to its roots with a clear focus on the herbal notes. I also think that the combination of tart and bitter accents in the finish works very well here. First pour is still rather clear, becoming more cloudy with subsequent pours.