At the risk of doing *another* Stillwater Artisanal beer only a couple posts after the last one, this beer is too intriguing to pass up. It's called "Duck Sauce", and is a 9.00% ABV double IPA made with apricots, plums, pineapples, ginger, and Candi syrup.
Just like hops and malts, brewers can use different types of sugars to make their beers and to impact the taste. Today's beer is made with Candi sugar (which is reduced to a syrup in this example). Candi sugar is often used in Belgian beers, like trippels or dubbels, and is in the same general family as molasses. Beers like Fordham & Dominion's "Candi" trippel is one of the more famous domestic examples, and I think it's a nice addition to heavier beers.
OK, time to try this. Wow, pours lighter than expected. Given all the ingredients, including Candi sugar, I'd expect it to be darker. Instead, it's light gold.
Generates an aroma of fresh, juicy hops, with fruit. But almost like an artificial fruit smell, like you'd get from those old Airheads candy.
Hmm, there's a lot going on here. It's full of fruit, with pineapple dominant, accompanied by oranges, apricots, lemons, and some heavy, sweet plum flavors, like you'd get from those fancy jams they sell at Whole Foods. Not getting much ginger, though. In terms of hops, there's really almost no bitterness, but some herbal flavors, which is kind of nice for a double IPA. The Candi sugar is most evident after swallowing, and along with more pineapple, there's a caramel sugariness kind of like crème brûlée crust. Aftertaste is sticky and I'm getting more of that pineapple flavor.
Generates an aroma of fresh, juicy hops, with fruit. But almost like an artificial fruit smell, like you'd get from those old Airheads candy.
Hmm, there's a lot going on here. It's full of fruit, with pineapple dominant, accompanied by oranges, apricots, lemons, and some heavy, sweet plum flavors, like you'd get from those fancy jams they sell at Whole Foods. Not getting much ginger, though. In terms of hops, there's really almost no bitterness, but some herbal flavors, which is kind of nice for a double IPA. The Candi sugar is most evident after swallowing, and along with more pineapple, there's a caramel sugariness kind of like crème brûlée crust. Aftertaste is sticky and I'm getting more of that pineapple flavor.
You know what - it actually kind of tastes like duck sauce, in a way. It isn't nearly as viscous, but it's got some of the same types of fruit flavors and thick, jammy texture. I admit that I actually quite enjoy beers that are made to emulate other beverages or foods - it's fun to see something recreated in beer format. For example - Crooked Run's "Macchu Pisco".
This was $19.99 for a four-pack of pint cans, so somewhat pricey. For me, this falls under the "neat thing to try" category and although it's not cheap, I did end up getting a second four-pack. It's 9.00% ABV, so pretty hefty, but worth a try I think.
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