Borealis Fermentary Mon Cherries Dubbel Review

Name: Borealis Fermentary Mon Cherries Dubbel
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 8%

Tonight I'll be redirecting your attention to Duluth's craft beer scene once again. Actually this beer isn't even from Duluth, but from a small community called Knife River, MN which is located about 15 minutes up the shore from Duluth. In Knife River is a microbrewery called Borealis Fermentary, they specialize in Belgian Style beers and the availability is very limited; By that I mean you can only get it at 9 Locations, both on-tap and off-sale in the Duluth Area.

Last week I managed to grab their Mons Cherries. As you may have already guessed from the title, this is a Dubbel Style Beer with that is brewed with Cherries that comes with an ABV of 8%. I have had their Speckled Ghost before but I will hold off on reviewing that until I can find an actual bottle of it readily available (As I said, limited availability!)

To start out, it pours a pitch black color with a creamy off-white head with some carbonation visible along the sides of the glass.

The nose starts out with some rich cherry, oak, chocolate and plum notes which leads into licorice, figs, spices and hops. I'm getting that barrel aged aroma here, particularly with the oak scent. Makes sense since this is aged on oak.

The flavor has strong oak, licorice and cherry notes upfront followed by chocolate, tobacco, spices and malts. There's that oakiness that gives off the impression of being barrel aged. Also while the initial sip gives the flavor an underwhelming sort of feel, once you let it warm up, that's when the flavor starts to shine through.

The body is fairly light in weight and is moderately carbonated, which starts to taper off after being opened. A bit of a watery feel considering the style of this beer.

This has a different sort of feel to it compared to other Dubbels I've had and it's an interesting take on the style as a whole. Plus you get the impression that the brewery put a lot of work and love into making this beer. This is worth seeking out if you know where to look.

Borealis Fermentary Mons Cherries Dubbel - 9/10