Mother Earth Windowpane Series: Fig & Raisin

Mother Earth Windowpane Series: Fig & Raisin is a Belgian style Dubbel. The beer is fermented with North Carolina figs and raisins, then aged in North Carolina Apple Brandy barrels for three months. Bottled in 2013. By no means is this a traditional Dubbel, but this is fantastic if you like a sweeter kind of beer. This reminds me in some ways of a barleywine that is pre-aged without the hop bite. Not surprising is the big dark fruit flavors of figs and raisins. Those are mixing with a nice sweet caramel malt base. The wow factor comes from the apple brandy barrels which are adding some vanilla, mild brandy and oak notes to the beer. Not cheap at $20 a bottle, but I am really happy I picked up two!