Beer – #1,106 – Garage Project – Single Fruit Black Doris Plum

The latest in the magnificent, in my opinion, series of beers – This one is the Garage Project Single Fruit – Black Doris Plum edition. These are occasional beers that when you see them you get a little excited about. This has been awaiting a proper opportunity to enjoy, and that is today.

Garage Project of course make the Garage Project Single Fruit – Black Doris Plum – and they do that in 🇳🇿 Wellington, New Zealand. This is in the style that is a Sour / Wild Beer – Flavored beer of 6.5% which makes the 375 ml bottle 1.9 standard drinks in NZ

The weather shows no sign of getter better and it’s settled to a gloomy murky grey afternoon, but at least I have something to look forward to.

SINGLE FRUIT – BLACK DORIS PLUM 2022 HARVEST A blend of foeder and puncheon aged beers, fermented with our own house culture, and infused with juicy, ripe Central Otago Black Doris plums.

The finished beer is a vibrant crimson, with a remarkable ripe plum aroma, and a lush tart fruit palate. Bottle conditioned. Serve chilled. Pour carefully.

A lovely hiss, and a burst of lovely sweet plum aroma when you pop the crown.

A lot more pink than I expected, which was a nice surprise, the pour sits there with a lovely fluff of pink tinged head looking splendid,

The aroma in the glass is much the same, a familiar wild our cider like aroma but with an underlying sweetness. There is a slight disparity between the expectation and the amount of sweetness or plum flavour that you get delivered, the dry sourness wins that arm wrestle, but when you push through the initial taste you are awarded with a lovely sweet kiss.

It’s hard not to take your time and sip and not quaff this, the sourness is quite compelling and draws you in with that instant hit and little kick, and once you’ve swum through the sourness you really do begin to enjoy the subtle and enjoyable plum addition.

There is quite a lot to like about this beer, that initial over-sourness you get over, the initial lack of fruit, that too becomes less and the fruit blooms into this, but it’s the combination of the subtlleness of this that is the most beautiful thing, you can taste the quality and care that went into this, and the way it unfolds shows that thought and time went into the preparation.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 of its things from the thing.

The double dip review

• Where did I get it? The local Liquorland of course. It’s possibly still online available.
• Am I enjoying it? I really am, it’s all I wanted.
• Would I have another? I might and could easily yes
• Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? It is a very good wild beer, and would be really showcased in a taste demonstration amongst other beer of the similar style .

Music for this:  The update Expanded edition of the Beatles- Revolver.

Sour / Wild Beer – Flavored

The “Flavored Wild Beer” and the “Flavored Sour Beer” are catch-all styles for any beer with a clear flavoring element and where the implementation of a microorganism other than traditional brewer’s yeasts ensures a drier, thinner, sour and/or funkier product. Such microorganisms includes Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces. The base beer style becomes less relevant because the various yeast and bacteria tend to dominate the profile. It also features an harmonious marriage of the additive and beer, but still recognizable as a beer. The additive character should be evident but in balance with the beer. (For example: fruits, spices, herbs, vegetables, coffee, honey, chocolate, maple sirup, chilies, nuts, vanilla, liquor – BUT not including Smoked malt or barrel-aging element resulting from the brewing process). The “Traditional Wild / Sour Beers” are often the result of a Mixed-Fermentation Blend of beers aged in barrels and tend to have a complex funky taste acquired from the microbial flora. Wood or barrel aging is very common in this type of beers, but not required. The “Kettle Sour Beers” or “Quick Soured Beers” are generally soured using a Kettle Souring technique in a stainless steel mash tun and have a tartness taste similar of an unsweetened yogurt. This style also includes beers described as “Smoothie Sour” or “Milkshake Sour”, a kettle-sour beer which use unfermented whole fruit purée, and often lactose and fruit pectines, to achieve a beer with smoothie-like consistency.