Dick's Belgian Double
Dick's Brewing Company

 

 

2007 Vintage

A: Poured a reddish color with good cabonation and a dirty white head

S: Is a belgian yeast, spice, booze

T: Spice, booze, fruits and belgian yeast

M: Sweet, belgian yeast, hops pretty much replaced by malt and booze. Had a cardboard taste on the end

D: I drank out of curiosity

Vintage 2004

Wire cage broke upon twisting, with a stubborn plastic cork.
Vigorous pop from disgorgement followed by a lively pour with only a glimpse of head.
The clear, light brown liquid settled instantly with a placid, barren surface remaining.
A few humble threads of small bubbles ascended the glass, all indications would suggest an older beer.
Nose is chocolatey and fruity. Cocoa bits with bubble gum.
A hint of pepper in with some strong caramel notes.
Alcohol is subdued, and complexity is lacking.
On the thin side of medium bodied, a bit crisp with some weak carbonation and dry-ish.
Pallet is on the mild side of a double.
Chocolate and caramel, with some mild roasted notes.
Phenolics are in full gear, and dried figs hide behind some warming alcohol.
Finishes warming, with drying bitterness and lightly spicey.

There seems to be a lack of "connectivity" in this Double, as well as complexity.
It has the character of a beer that is 6 or more years old, and not in a good way.

Appearance – Kind of clear reddish-brown body with a nice head that left chunks of lace on the glass.

Smell – This has a nice but faint Belgian-style aroma. The toasted malt and yeast compliment are mixed well with some big fruity smells, mostly peaches and apricots.

Taste – Some dark spices, pepper and maybe allspice, came out a little in the taste. Otherwise, the aromatic fruits and malt led the way.

I did notice though a strange flavor that didn’t seem to belong. I’m not quite sure what it was, it was kind of hoppy, but it ruined an otherwise exceptional experience.

Mouthfeel – Lightly carbonated and medium-bodied in accordance with the style.

Drinkability – This one was flirty with some pretty big scores, but once again a Washington State brewery failed to replicate a malty style ale.

This beer pours reddish brown with a thin head, the beer is lightly carbonated. Strong yeast flavor, good hop bitterness. This beer has a lingering hop aftertaste that is better than the initial taste of the beer. Great for sipping but still pretty drinkable for the style.

This one was a hard one to rate. My initial reaction the the beer was that it was too hoppy, but after the first few mouthfulls, the beer settled down into it's groove and showed what I would consider typical dubbel characteristics (nice sweetness, cloveyness, fruit, malt). Color was on the light side of the range for the style and the beer poured with a quite generous head. Drinkability was quite good once past those first sips, would have given it a 4.5 otherwise. Mouthfeel was spot on for the style. Overall, a pretty good brew that I would probably pick up again in a couple years to see if the recipe is tuned.