Dubbel
Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market

Interesting. I'm not sure how I felt about it. My parents picked up a growler of this for me as I was driving home from Iowa City to Glenwood. It was a good beer, but a little different than I would expect for a dubbel.

Pours to a very dark brown color, nearly black. Excellent head with a great retention, but not so much lacing. Nice carbonation apparent as the glass is tipped back.

The smell is good. Huge banana and clove aroma, with a blend of other spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Smells/tastes more like a Christmas beer than your average dubbel. Not that that is a bad thing, as it was still quite good.

The beer is fairly sweet with a huge dry and spicy finish. Predominant banana esters. Very interesting. Once again, reminds me of Christmas. As much as I enjoyed it, I can't rave about its drinkability. The spice profile was a bit cloying, and by the time I finished a single glass it was horribly flat (it took me over an hour to drink the glass... it wasn't due to the growler fill). Overall, it was good, and I am glad I was able to try it, but not something I would drink more than a glass of.

Murky, brown-coppery in hue with amber influences, it is a tad dark in the pub so I can’t truly judge the color but it does look a bit like cider. It was served in a pint glass (Boo!) with an off-white head of two-fingers in height. The head retention was fair; it quickly faded to a thin cap. I expected the lacing to start at this point but it did not. Hell, lacing didn’t start at any point once I started to drink it. Overall, the appearance is tolerable.

The nose says “Belgian” as it is spicy and malty rich, it reminds me of New Belgium Abbey. That is not a bad thing, there is some heat in the nose but I detect mostly caramel malt and a dusting of veiled spices. It is a bit clean at the end but well-rounded until that point. Moderately-low potency plus it was served too chilly. The aromas are simple and understated, I found what I could smell inviting enough to encourage me to take a sip. I had low expectations and they were barely met.

The palate is solid. Not great… not even very good… just solid. Again, I had low expectations but the palate, barely, succeeded them. Upfront there isn’t much but in the middle the flavors are the strongest, spicy with a caramel backdrop and a kiss of heat, and then by the end they fade away. At best this beer tastes good but there are few distinctive flavors. I mean it is clearly Belgian influenced but, IMO, it is too weak for a Dubbel. It needs more malt; it is too clean and the aftertaste is too fragile. I found it too be lacking in too many departments. It is flavorful in spots but void of charm.

Medium-light in body, low carbonation, the mouthfeel is dull, thin, and watery. Those are not positive attributes. Improvements are needed here.

This beer is good enough for me to consider ordering another pint (literally) in the future. If you don’t order one, well, you are not missing much. I sampled mine at the downtown Omaha location. So-so.