Mouette A Trois Holiday Fruitcake Ale

My local beer purveyor knows my tastes pretty well and recommended I try this offering from Karl Strauss Brewing. He said it’s similar to a wild ale, it’s exotic, made by a good brewer, et cetera, et cetera.

Swing…and a miss.

I guess it’s a Dubbel style, and it’s one of three holiday ales produced by this otherwise-delicious brewery in San Diego. The ABV comes in a 8.5% and it costs a spine-straightening $14.

The beer pours a beautiful clear reddish brown and gives the idea that there’s a bit of wild ale going on with the sour cherries coming through, some tartness, and dark fruit popping up.  I was a bit nervous to drink it due to “fruitcake” being in the name, but what the hell.

The predominant taste is wet cardboard.  It’s doughy and sticky and leaves an awful aftertaste.  Yeah, there are some good apricot flavors, and the citrus builds as you go, but there’s no spices, nothing clovey (this is a holiday ale, right?), and definitely a beer I was not happy about buying.