Borealis Fermentary Speckled Ghost Review

Name: Borealis Fermentary Speckled Ghost
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 9%
IBUs: N/A

It's been over 3 years since Borealis Fermentary has been featured on this blog. In fact, the last time they were featured on here, they were only available in a few select locations in the Duluth, MN area and now they've expanded their distribution to the Twin Cities. With that said, I never really kept up on their releases, so the other day I decided to pick this up.

I give to you Speckled Ghost, which is an Abbey Dubbel ale. The name comes from a supposed "elusive trout" that I have honestly never heard of, even during my tenure in Duluth. Maybe it's a tall tale or imagination, who knows?

There's also a bit of a backstory to this beer. About 4 years ago when I was visiting family in Duluth, I happened to pick this beer up at a small hotel liquor store called Cape Superior Bottle Shop (which has sadly closed since then) located along North Shore Drive just north of Duluth. It was a small liquor store and one of the first places Borealis Fermentary was carried at along with a small selection of their beers since they only had a couple beers released at that time. I took it back and fell in love with it and I considered it to be the best kept secret in terms of beer in Northeast Minnesota. It has been that long since I had this beer and to say I'm excited to try it again would be an understatement

Appearance - Cloudy dark crimson color with a high amount of visible carbonation. The heas is nice and foamy but there's not much in terms of lacing

Aroma - Caramelized malts, Belgian yeasts and plum notes, mixed in with some hints of blackberry, bitter hops and rum raisin like sweetness.

Taste - Belgian yeasts and plums upfront, with some hefty caramelized malts towards the middle, while the back end opens up to that rum raisin & blackberry flavor. As for the aftertaste, I'm getting more blackberry notes with a mix of lingering bitter hops and just a hint of clove.

When I first moved to Duluth, I was enticed by all the happenings that were going on there at the time. Beers like this remind of my time in Duluth, along with all of the innovation that is still going on there to this day. To me, this beer is like visiting an old friend and serves as a reminder for why I fell in love with the Duluth/Northeast Minnesota brewing scene in the first place. If you so happen to come across this, you should definitely check this out.

Borealis Fermentary Speckled Ghost - 9/10

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