Pain In The Abbey Dubbel
Great Waters Brewing

I sampled this one prior to Winter Fest. It poured to a ruby-brown color with just a ring of tan lacing. The aroma is malty and sweet with the smell of dark fruits like dates and raisins. It had a bit of spiciness in the aroma as well. The flavor was sweet; that of candi sugars. The dark fruit flavors came through the solid malt backbone. It was a full-bodied brew that was dry in the finish and easy drinking. A good brew by Great Waters.

Sampled 1/17/04

Caveat, before we begin: cleverness is good and all, but I have a hard time with the naming of this beer. Apparently, there were problems in the brewing process, and it was a pain in the a--, ah, ha, ha! But I'll say it now, and I'll say it again. Why name a something that should be thoroughly pleasant, beer, after something totally un-, i.e., pain?

But, the beer.
Appearance, a bright garnet hue, with little head. Well, I saw some on others, but it left my glass before it got to me.
Aroma: full of fruit, cherries, and berries, vinous and sweet.
Taste: sharp and alcoholic, and full of sweetness, fruit aplenty. Very full in body, tasty finish, almost barleywine-like. Wish I knew the ABV here, for I could feel it sneaking up to me. Major flaw, though, was a lack of complexity, missing were earthier, darker, chocolate-y flavors that I enjoy in my favorite dubbels, if that's really what they were trying to do.
I liked it okay, but it didn't thrill me much. Nice try.

Clear mahogany. Creamy tight beige head. Good retention. Sweet candied aroma. Yeast and bread tones mix in. Fruity esters galore. The taste follows suit quite nicely. Fruity, estery, yeasty and bready. Pretty good combo. The mouthfeel is nicely carbonated and the body is about medium. A nicely drinkable tasty dubbel.

Rich cherry wood color....whispy white lace...sweet dark fruits...molasses...not real strong but a real nice nose....very tasty...dark fruits and banana too...spicy notes...feels tight in the mouth...luxurious almost...spicy alcohol on the finish..
Best I've had from this place...not an all-time great brew but pretty damn enjoyable..

On tap at the brewpub...

Reddish brandy-brown, just slightly hazy. Speckly tannish head, 1/4 of an inch. Puffy thick lace. Aroma is slightly yeasty, trace of citrus. Flavor starts out fruity, emphasis on pear with a light sense of dry cocoa. The low carbonation and medium body serve the brew well to start, but the bottom falls out a litle mid mouth to close. Takes on a flattish and slightly gummy texture at the end, even a trace of tobacco. I really like Dubbels, so I might be too judgemental, nice attempt at a more complicated style. And it is quite possible that this beer is in the "green" stages and may become more pleasant.

On-tap:Served way too cold and in a small 10oz heavy tulip glass - Plummy reddish tone in color with a gem like glow, fluffy thick tan head about a finger high leaves lot of thin sheets of lace after subsiding to a slight haze after a while. Smell is light but complex of malty sweetness with some raisin, plum and starfruit, has a touch of hops and yeasty spicyness thats a bit like pepper, but hints more towards cinnamon or paprika. As it warms it picks up small phenolic notes. Taste has a nice start upfront of sweetly rendered malts lending dark fruityness of raisin, plum, and starfruit, but that is short lived as it falls thin quite quickly with the midway hitting some yeasty spices and very light hops then drys a bit in the finsih with some very light spice and cocoa maybe. Feel is a bit bland for a dubble, has a nice start will a solid carbonation and slight fullness, but as it is now it falls flat very quickly ending with an empty palate and mouth. It may need a bit more maturation as we discussed while drinking many of them, so its drinkability was good, but its character in flavor length and body needs some work. A revisit is in order for this one in a couple weeks, hopefully it will ripen up and gain some depth.