Beer – #1,114 – Craftwork – Plum Dubbel

It’s a day off in NewZealand, Matariki, marking the rise of the star cluster Pleiades and the start of a new year. I’m having a beer. although this isn’t strictly encouraged for Matariki, a time of reflection and contemplation and future planning, by having a Craftwork – Plum Dubbel.

Again I find that I’ve been tardy with actually writing properly about beer and relying on the Instagram, Untappd, Twitter and now Threads posts. Which is poor form.

Craftwork – Plum Dubbel. I noticed that on the places I mentioned that this was thing, it was also a thing that I didn’t have. It was also a thing I wanted. Craftwork at the time did not have this available on their website store as a purchase, so somewhat frustrated had to wait a bit. I’m not good at waiting. But the lovely people at Liquorland in Forrest Hill came through, not for me, they’re just good at ordering the good stuff, and so here I am.

The Craftwork Plum Dubbel is ao ne off beer that is made in  Oamaru, Otago, 🇳🇿New Zealand in the style tht is of course a Dubbel and it comes with an 11.2% ABV

An exceptional one-off beer. As good fortune would have it, our chum Renzo offered us some fruit pulp leftover from a bottling of an aged plum liqueur, and we thought that in combination with our abbey dubbel, this could be a match made in heaven. Dark and vinous, this sweet nectar has a spicy aroma and begs for another sip. Take care, though, as it is very strong. We recommend sharing the bottle with friends and loved ones in small glasses. Pair it with rich fruitcake or exquisite chocolate. Mon Dieu, c’est bon!

Brewers Notes

So, What could possibly go wrong?

I’ve got all my good gear, the Craftwork Glass, and the special bottle opener, also as this is bottle fermented I have some emergency towels because you never know how excited this might be when I open it.

Which is lucky as this was a gusher. I think I saved most of it, my hand over the open bottle playing a high pitched whistle that miffed the cat.

As well as having a lot of carbonation this has an outstanding aroma, that dusty marzipan like note, and now it sits a lovely deep red in the glass.

The taste, well this is really really sweet, and the alcohol tang is clear and present, in this, a sharpness that prickles. This though is really rich and deep, it’s a proper heavy curtain thick body, it’s really rather nice having that much taste billowing around for such a small sup.

I mentioned that this was very lively on opening, which with careful use of of hand over the neck resulted in minimal beer loss but had it seems meant that this beer sits flatter int he glass that you might enjoy it expect, you can’t have one without the other it seems. Were instantly I pour again and there is plenty of carbonation left, I might be getting picky.

A really heady enjoyable beer that brought me a lot of smiles and a lovely experience. It’s a shame that the Craftwork Societé is on hold as the beers are exemplar of style , and now they have a decent on-line ordering system I as my self again… What could possibly go wrong?

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 of its things from the thing. A proper celebration of a beer, rich sweet, full, but even measured and enjoyable beer, one that I should have shared, or one that should be shared, and enjoyed with some robust cheese or indeed as suggested some chocolate.

The double dip review

• Where did I get it? The local Liquorland of course.
• Am I enjoying it? It is a very good beer, I am not surprised
• Would I have another? I am sore tempted to get one for the Herevana party.
• Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This I think is a beer that would be best shared and enjoyed, don’t get me wrong I’ve really enjoyed thus on my own, but I recon two would be a party.

Music for this:  Noel Gallager’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies. Which I am playing on Vinyl, but it’s available on Spotify without having to go through all the drama.

Dubbel

The Belgian Dubbel, also known as Trappist Dubbel, is a deep reddish-copper, moderately strong, malty, complex ale with rich malty flavors, dark or dried fruit esters, and light alcohol blended together in a malty presentation that still finishes fairly dry. Should not be as malty as a bock and should not have crystal malt-type sweetness. Similar in strength and balance as a Belgian Blonde Ale, but with a richer malt and ester profile. Less strong and intense as a Belgian Dark Strong Ale.