Name: Godverdomme
Brewer: Craftwork Brewery (New Zealand)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale + Saison yeast)
ABV: 10%
Review Year: 2022
Godverdomme is a “Belgian Quadrupel” fermented using Saison yeast made by Craftwork Brewery from Oamaru, New Zealand. Godverdomme is essentially a Saison yeast-variant of the nanobrewery’s Belgian Quad called, Dark Lord.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B) with the Belgian Dark Strong Ale (26D) (but fermented with Saison yeast) as the base style, in the context of the 2021 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Deep brown, slightly opaque; very thin head that did not last long. On the nose: medium low raisins that melded with soft alcohol and barley. Medium-full-bodied; moderately low carbonation; subtle astringency. Flavor profile is also driven by the raisins (moderate), plums, but were backed by accents of cacao, toasted barley, low peppery heat and something akin to molasses. Sweetness (moderate) outshone bitterness by margin. Finished briefly with impressions of malty cacao nibs and lychees.
THE VERDICT
Since Godverdomme is a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (BDSA) fermented using a Saison yeast, we initially expected a very dry, spice-heavy Belgian ale. However, our a priori expectations were thrown out of the window as this “Saison Quad” delivered a malty yet complex beer that emphasized dark fruit qualities.
The malt flavor complexity is a positive, with bitterness-sweetness balance being appropriate. We personally would prefer more of that phenolic spiciness, but Godverdomme is a bold yet refined attempt in combining two popular Belgian beer styles. Very good.
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Craftwork Brewery
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