Well, here's an interesting little beer. Boom Island Gravity No. 9 Belgian Strong Dark Ale, aged in tequila barrels with plums. This special version of Gravity No.9 was released as a benefit for The Hero Initiative, a charity to help comic book artists who have fallen on hard times. Bill Willingham, of the Vertigo series "Fables" and back in the 80's "The Elementals" and more, produced the label art, and good ol' Dave Anderson got one for me autographed by the artist. Only 300 bottled, and according to Dave, only about 10 autographed, I presume, because most in attendance brought their comic books to be signed.
Enough jibba-jabba, let's drink it already….
Appearance: dark brown, with ruby highlights. semi-clear, slim, creamy head.
Aroma: Right away: the plums. A little tart, a little sweet, plenty fruity. The tequila notes seem to be peeking through.
Taste: Fruit hits you from the start, very wine-like, a touch of tannins. Fresh and berry-ish. I'm not really getting tequila out of any of this….but I wouldn't call that a problem. Nothing from hops here, nice and malty, ….perhaps the plums have overtaken the tequila?
Let's look at the notes on the bottle, shall we? "Our first collaboration with the HEro Initiative, Gravity No.9 begins with soft aromatics of vanilla and malt, which are followed by a full-bodied mouthfeel that rounds through dark fruit flavors and followed by a surprisingly dry finish." 9.2% alc. by vol.
I like this one. It doesn't have what I typically want in a Belgian Strong Dark, but it's tasty and fine. This could have gone wrong in so many ways, but it works. I feel that I need to visit the taproom and find out what it tastes like without plums and tequila.
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