The Dwarf Invasion from B Nektar is a mead made with tart Balaton cherries and Styrian Golding hops. It is named after the Detroit urban legend of Le Nain Rouge, a dwarf with blazing red eyes believed to be a harbinger of doom said to have appeared prior to some of Detroit’s deadly historical events.
In the battle of Craft vs. Crafty, the time has come for the dwarves to show the giants they mean business. With blades as sharp as tart Balaton cherries, they can cut their way through the deceit with the ease of pure honey flowing over fresh hops. Le Nain Rouge is known to appear before a tragic event and this time is no exception. It’s only a matter of time before the dwarves declare their victory. This is no mere movement.
This is dwarf invasion!
B. HEAD THE GIANTS
It pours a brilliant, deep ruby red color with some minor bubbling that dissipates immediately. The “Red Dwarf” is said to have appeared on July 30, 1763 before the Battle of Bloody Run, where the death of 58 British soldiers turned the Detroit river red with blood for days after the battle. I can imagine the river being quite similar to the color of the mead.
The aroma is mostly tart cherry with some herbaceous and floral notes coming from the hops and wildflower honey. The taste starts with a little bit of sweetness from the wildflower honey, but immediately gives way to tart cherry. The cherry is definitely the star of the mead. With that comes notes of pomegranate and berries. There is some bitterness and light hop flavors that fight their way through on the tail end as it finishes dry, but overall somewhat one dimensional. I’m not a huge sour beer fan and the tartness throughout reminds me a bit of those. I would like just a touch less of the sourness for a more balanced sip.
I like how B. Nektar used a local legend to name this mead. It also fits nicely in line with the rest of their spooky offerings like Black Fang, Necromangocon and Zombie Killer. The imagery is exciting, eye-catching and really on brand, but I would like to see a little more thought given to the type and layout. The description text on the front and side don’t really blend nicely with the rest of the label. They seem to be just copied and pasted into the file without much formatting or font consideration.
Overall, the Dwarf Invasion mead and label are good. A few little misses here and there keep it from being great. But good is good – refreshing and quite drinkable.
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