Père Jacques
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

 

Shared 355 ml bottle, vintage 2010, from Voldby Købmandsgaard. ABV is 8%. Amber to brown colour. Oxidised malty aroma, reminds me a bit of Thomas Hardy’s Ale. The malty flavour is better, somewhat oxidsed but still nice, notes of oak and dark dried fruits, not very sweet though.

 

 

2012 vintage drank in 2013; poured from the bottle.

Murky red rust color.

Off-white head; strong lace.

Dark fruit & slight caramel.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

An American Barleywine taste here; sweet caramel with a hint of dark fruit.

Nice, but a bit cloying. No yeasty flavor.

2013

 

Don't know how I forgot to upload this one, here are my notes... Cloudy amber/copper body. Smell is very fruity for a dubbel: fig, raisin, plum with caramel, belgian yeast, and booze. Taste is pretty much the same, with a larger presence of the malt, though not as bready as I would have hoped. Feel has booze leaking through, sneaky heavy, and a touch sweet, but honestly it works for me. Not traditional or refined, but quite enjoyable

 

 

 

2013 vintage. Aging did it well.

This was the GOAT, hands down. Like a Rochefort 10 but kicked up to another level.

The first time I tried this beer I thought it was weird, and not in a good way - it reminded me of bananas, bubblegum, and rum cakes with hints of fig, raisin and sticky toffee pudding.

However, by the time I'd finished the four pack, after several days (I don't usually drink more than one or two beers in a single day, these days) it had grown on me and I liked it. I decided to try some again. Then, once I'd purchased and consumed 4-packs on a few different occasions I had deepened my feelings for this beer to the point eventually where I will say this: in it's better vintages (such as the 2015 one) this is simply the best beer on Earth - other beers may be as good, in a different way, but none better.

Although the vintage of the tested bottle is 2012, this beer tastes just like what I remembered at that time when I visited this brewery in Chicago. It still maintains the good, opaque mahogany color, along with the great blend of dark candy sugar, dark fruits and caramel malts, as well as the right amount of phynols for a Dubbel. The caramel phynol aroma and subtle carbonation compliments the nicely robust, grainy aftertaste this beer has. There is no annoying bitterness to worry about, which is fantastic for the style. In fact, this beer is so good, Anheiser-Busch discontinued it instead of making more of it!! So until they do the actual right decision to bring it back, I recommend the Dark Truth Stout from Boulevard Brewing Company, the Dubbel Vission from Aftershock Brewing Company and one of the Dubbel style beers from Rip Current Brewing Company.

 

 

2016 bottle

Pours a dark ruby color, almost brown.

Aroma is heavy on molasses, malt, honey, and dark fruits.

Taste reminds me of a fig newton. Very sweet with molasses and malt extract. Medium mouthfeel with a decent carbonation to match the viscosity. Dark fruit galore: figs, plums, prunes, and raisins all puréed with toffee, caramel, molasses, and malt powder. Very unique.

Overall, a very unique beer that does lean to the sweeter side. I see this pairing well with several desserts, but sticky toffee pudding and ice cream would be great. It gets a 85/100.

 

 

 

Père Jacques | Goose Island Beer Co.
From bottle at Rattle n Hum, NYC. 2010. Wonderful surprise. The molasses was the thing...but a very good thing at that. There was some spices & the yeast in the dregs (not really dregs, just the concentrated yeast elements) that all lent a spectrum of sensation that never got too far away from a really, really enjoyable experience. If you're lucky enough to come across this, do it. You'll be glad you did.

 

 

Amber molasses color, nice lacing. Aroma is sweet with notes of pear, muscovado sugar and medium phenol with a little dry yeast. Taste follows suit, lots of milder flavors (fig, fruitcake, sugar) but the phenol is calm & well-behaved. It is oddly thin and watery, and flavor really lets up right at the end so it finishes with this really limp yeasty aftertaste. Perhaps just an affect of age.

 

 

2013 Vintage

Pours a clear, deep amber producing 1.5 fingers of shortlived, tan, foamy head which leaves little lacing as it recedes. Aroma is dark malts, toffee, banana, dark fruits heavy to raisin with a little booze, thin coriander & an even more faint floral hop essence. Taste is sweet dark fruits, dark bready malt, brown sugar, Belgian yeast (wit-like), banana, cherry, more coriander than the nose, with hints of anise, cloves & roasted nuts. Finishes sweet with alcohol prominence & only a slight hint of spice producing an aftertaste of cherry & molasses backed by a little alcohol & coriander. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation, silky & creamy with a hint of tingling spice.

 

 

full body, red caramel, dark bread, toffee, date, earthy, fizzle at the end if the sip. I like it. Good for a fall or late winter into spring beer

A - Pours a clear reddish brown with a 1/4" head of off white foam. Very pretty in the glass.
S - The aroma is very sweet with a bit of booze.
T - The flavor is even sweeter than the aroma. Caramel is the dominant flavor with a hint of Jolly Rancher cherry, bready on finish. This is not bad at all, just sweeter than I expected.
M - Above average carbonation with average mouth feel.
O - I go back to the sweetness as this seems to be sweeter than most Dubbels. Not bad, just a little different. I like it.

 

 

2012 Vintage.

Pours dark brown with tons of floaters. Beer is slightly opaque even when held to the light. Very thin momentary fizzy tan head dissipates.

Smell is a pungent aroma of sweet dark stone fruits, brown sugar, molasses, red wine, dark brown bread, prune and fig. Very rich decadent aroma that is spot on for the style.

Flavor follows the nose with a rich dark fruit flavor touched with a brown sugar and molasses sweetness. Some read wine and dark bread notes are also present.

Feel is full bodied and smooth. Rich and thick. Mild to low carbonation. Slight warming sensation on the back end.

Overall this is a lovely dubbel. The age on this has turned it into a rich decadent beer. Just an incredible and well crafted dubbel.

Purple grape color with a butter colored head.

Prune juice and raisin aromas, viney with some dubbel and spice characteristics.

Flavor is like a wine left out overnight at a sweaty bachelor party. Some Belgian character but mostly just soggy red wine and raisin. Alcohol burn also is a formidable force.

Feel is sharp and dry with a lot of booziness.

Overall I wouldn't be sad if I never had this again.