Style: Fruit sour
Brewery: Dugges
Origin: Sweden
Size: 50cl
Alcohol: 9%
Price: 75kr
Systembolaget: 51340
When Dugges began to experiment with hard seltzers, they began blending different flavour combinations. Eventually, they produced a beer using these results, which turned out to be the 4.5% Rainbow Sour. After that became a hit, the natural progression was to double everything to produce this! This one time brew imperial sour was produced with cherry, raspberry, strawberry and blueberry and first released March 2023. Dugges best-selling beer is Tropic Thunder, their tropical sour that has become a smash hit and mainstay in many peoples baskets in Sweden. I find imperial sours can sometimes be a bit hit or miss, but I’m happy to say this one was very popular indeed!
This was dark amber to orange with a thin, tiny bubbled head that disappeared quickly. The aroma had strawberry jam at the forefront, quickly followed by cranberry, blueberry and sour cherry. The taste had more of the same, but this time the cherry came through the strongest, with the red and blue fruits backing this up. The acidity wasn’t harsh, and helped to support the big mash of fruits. The carbonation was high, with tiny bubbles bouncing off the tongue with every sip. The alcohol was very well hidden, and there is no way I would have guessed this was a 9% beer. The aftertaste left the palate dry, and just waiting for another sip.
When breweries use a wide range of fruits in a sour, it is often the case that one dominates the flavour profile while the others are hidden to the extent of being non-existent. This is an exception however, with all the different fruits getting their time to shine, whether in the aroma or at different stages of every mouthful. This was a delightful imperial sour, and Dugges must be commended for some excellent work!