Soul & Spirits Brewery has marked a new milestone with its first-ever bottled release — How Strong, a 10.1%-ABV Belgian Dark Strong Ale, brewed to celebrate the Memphis brewery’s fourth anniversary.
The beer made its debut over the weekend during the anniversary party and is being sold exclusively in the taproom. It’s available on draft, as well as in 375 mL bottles to go.
How Strong is a big beer with dark stone fruit character and a dry finish that makes its strength deceptively easy to overlook.
But it’s definitely a sipper.
For co-founder and master brewer Ryan Allen, the beer was as much a reflection on the past year as it was a celebration of it.
“I try to do a beer every year that kind of exemplifies for me what the previous year brought to the table,” Allen told Memphis Beer Blog. “We did our Belgian Fest in the spring, and it was a huge success — and wanted to capitalize on top of that. I did a Single, a Dubbel, and a Tripel in the spring, so it felt right to do a Quad.”
The majority of the batch went into bottles — all 850 of which were filled and capped by hand, a first for Soul & Spirits. “You can’t put a Belgian beer in a can,” Allen joked.
Though the beer debuted at the recent anniversary celebration, bottles should remain available at the taproom for months to come, and Allen expects the beer to age gracefully.
“It’s meant to be a beer that can stick around for quite a few years,” Allen said.
The beer’s name is a nod to “That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Little Milton.
Leave a Reply