Brewery: Dugges
Country: Sweden
Size: 33cl
ABV: 9.5%
Price: 45kr
Systembolaget: 12739
Ah, Dugges. Dugges is a brewery I have a lot of love for. The beers that they are producing right now are not only well crafted but are also a great blend of interesting flavour combinations. I’ve had more beers from this Gothenburg based brewery than any other during my time holding beer tastings. Although their beers are usually on the more expensive side of the spectrum, I’m willing to pay it because they have a consistently good quality of product. That is something that most breweries would love to have. The Sweet Sweet was released in November but I held it for a further 6 months as I wanted to have it in the Easter beer tasting. It seemed like the perfect place to try it out. When I finally got around to tasting it though, imagine my surprise when I realised this is by far the worst Dugges beer I’ve tried.
The beer was dark amber in colour with little to no head that quickly vanished. It seemed rather flat in truth. As it was swirled in the glass, it clung to the sides of the glass creating a thin, sticky layer. Once inhaled, the twin aromas of robust orange and vanilla sweetness filled the nose. It was clear from that instant that this was a beer that did exactly what it said on the bottle. It smelt like candy and it tasted like it even more so. The taste was sugar, vanilla, sugar, orange and finally sugar. Did I mention how sweet it was? It was like drinking vanilla syrup, both in taste and consistency. The orange tones that were there were not juicy, fresh citrus but more akin to a synthetic Fanta like orange flavour. The aftertaste did little to remedy the situation, with big hits of booze mixed in with the sweetness.
Maybe I was expecting too much from this beer due to reputation of the brewery. It did succeed in being a sweet dessert beer but it was all just a bit too much and that is coming from someone with a bit of a sweet tooth. It was lacking in flavour, with the sugar just muzzling and overriding everything else. Would I drink this again? No. Would I split this with a friend whilst enjoying a dessert though? Also no. This just wasn’t for me I’m afraid. I still really like Dugges and their products but for me this was a big swing and a miss. Avoid.