Commencing operations back in 1769, the Dubuisson brewery celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2019 and with that came a branding change for their beers.
You may previously have recognised this beer under the name ‘Bush Scaldis’ or just simply ‘Bush Beer’. At one point it was Belgium’s strongest ABV beer, and was originally known as ‘Bush Beer 24’. There is a story – too long for the space in these notes – about the forced change of name for this beer. Apparently it was trying to pass itself off as an American beer of similar name!
Whatever it is called, this is one of Belgium’s iconic beers. Simply labelled as an ‘Amber’, we’ll put it in the category of barley wine.
Amber in colour thanks to the generous use of caramel malt, with a gorgeous nose that hints at orange marmalade, raisins, banana and cloves.
First to taste is the sweet caramel malt, with that background of dried orange and yellow fruits. The house yeast has been preserved for over 80 years, and it provides a lovely bit of spicing and a peppery tingle. Despite the big ABV, the beer isn’t too sweet, and dries out toward the finish which is long, full and smooth with that gentle warmth of the alcohol.