Abbey Normal
Cambridge Brewing Company

 

Pours a cloudy, reddish-tinged brown. Topped by a thin, filmy, beige head that leaves snaking trails of lace. There's a lovely malty aroma with notes of caramel, candi sugar, raisins, dates. There's also a light alcoholic character evident.

This beer is malty and sweet upfront: candi sugar, caramel, chocolate, and dark fruit. A peppery and alcoholic spiciness gives a warming sensation toward the finish, which is rounded out with good amount of bitterness. Medium-bodied and vigorously carbonated. The finish has a strong warming sensation.

Overall a very tasty beer, but with a strong spiciness.

On tap at the source-into a tulip...

Murky bourbon color...cloudy dark beers tend to remind me of a sewage color unfortunately but this isn't quite that bad. Decent maple-colored finger head - doesn't stick too well...not huge lacing. Looks nice and calm.

The usual suspects here - dried fruits, gingerbread, molasses...slight tinny alcohol burn as well.

Definitely some alcohol burn in there. Dried (and dry-tasting) fruits-prunes, plums and a few raisins. A little austerity of malt here but mostly spicy tones. Decent.

This gets better as it warms. Spice tingles on the palate and keeps it hopping. Finish is a little tight but good.

With warmth this is nice on a cool winter day. Booziness keeps it from sessionability but it's solid.

What it lacks in head it makes up in the creamy smooth mouthfeel, rich brown hue with a slight murkiness. Sweet malty and fruity aroma, more sutle in the fruit though. Little bit of peppery phenolic flavour middle to end. I could stick with this beer all night.

Presentation: Served in a 12oz tulip glass to capture the aroma of the beer and aid in head retention.

Appearance: Dark brown with amber hues. Creamy off-white lace that settles to a ring.

Smell: Malty, mild alcohol spice with herbal and floral in the finish and some candy notes.

Taste: Smooth, rich and malty with an even sweetness, chocolate, earth and background caramel to round the malts off. Alcohol is evident and spicy, mixing well with a thin herbal flavour. Touch of raisin skin. Sticky leafy feel with oils on the tongue. Dry finish with chocolate edges.

Notes: For an area with very few Belgian-style beers on tap, this is a very appealing, exciting and hands down tasty offering. I would have liked to see a bit more head on this beer, but regardless I highly suggest that you seek this one out if you are in the area.

Dark brown, with a rich, creamy head which fades quite quickly. Mild, sweet candy-ish nose. Medium body and tongue. Taste is mildly sweet, but lacks the typical belgian dubbel notes. Still a nice bier.

overall: 4.1
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 4 | drinkability: 4

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