There is always a sense of expectation with the Inselbrau beers. Wrapped more beautifully than most of the presents I gifted for Christmas, I think I missed a trick by not including this beer in the December pack last month!
If you are new to the beers of the Insel-Brauerie, they are a small German brewery on an island in the Baltic Sea. Hence many of their beers are call ‘Baltic ……’. That is their naming convention, though there is always something interesting about the beers; something that sets them apart from those of a similar brew style.
Our beer this month is the Baltic Dubbel, and straight away the thing that stands out as different is the ABV for a Belgian style dubbel. The German’s like them big!
It pours quite a thick viscous black liquid and settles to be quite still. The aroma is full of caramel malts and lots of dried dark fruits with maybe a little earthy, nutty hint.
With a malt base of barley, wheat and rye, as well as dextrose, the beer has a very full body, with lots of caramel malt, chocolate, roasted malt, and also very fruity giving raisins, figs and prunes. Good carbonation and some herbal spicing lift the mouthfeel toward a tasty, slightly prickly finish.