Brother Bart's Belgian Brown Ale
Driftwood Brewery

 

Thanks to mgermani for this one.

Split with my wife last night while having some chinese fondue.

Poured from a 650ml. bottle.

Appearance: Pours a rusty copper with reddish hues. Not really brown per se but still nice looking. Slightly clear with a voluminous head and great retention. Lacing drapes the glass as i drink it.

Smell: Sugar cane, brown sugar and caramel. Sweet is the dominating aroma with some spices thrown in for good measure.

Taste: Flavor does not last long in the palate at all. I grasp some candied sugar with a hint of cloves and other spices that leave a tingle on the tongue. Still, i get a glimpse of flavor and then fades to nothing almost immediately. Gets slightly better as it warms.

Mouthfeel: Lacks body for sure. Feels watery and too light for the style.

Drinkability: Scoring it as average as it drinks well though it doesn't have any qualities that would make me want this on a regular basis.

Overall: Not particularly impressed. I like my Dubbels with more depth and body and this just didn't satisfy at all. I get the feeling that this would be better fresh but with the ABV and the style, it should keep for more than 6-8 months.

22 oz bottle shared at Volo.

Pours a very lightly hazed dark orange/brown, some nice chestnut highlights, thin off white head forms and quickly settles to a thin and slightly fizzy ring around the glass, a couple lace spots stick.

Smell is neat, very malty and sweet, big toffee notes, toast, candi sugar, raisin and dark fruit, very light roast, a bit of chocolate, light spice, pretty neat.

Taste is nice too, sweet up front, biscuit, heavy toffee, raisin, brown sugar, dark fruit, light roast, candi sugar sweetness and a touch of spice in the finish, really long finish on it.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with medium carbonation, pretty damn smooth for the ABV. A neat take on a dubbel, more of a Belgian style brown ale as it has characteristics of both.

Craig's bottle, shared at Bar Volo. A brown/dubbel. Very drinkable from the malt sweetness, yet not too sweet, a bit of yeast spiciness giving it complexity. Cloudy brown body with Caesar white head, reddish hues. Average mouthfeel. For a dubbel, a bit light mouthfeel however.

a: This was a clear, ruby tinted mahogany color. It poured with a large, fizzy, sticky, off-white head.

s: Lots of candied sugar and caramel with some raisin aromas in the backround. Very sweet overall with a little flowery heat emerging.

t: Definitely on the sweet side with strong flavors of sugary raisins. It dries out somewhat towards the end with some mild, flowery yeastiness.

m: Medium bodied with with long lasting, but relatively gentle, fizzy carbonation.

d: I liked this overall, but the sugariness wore a bit thin by the time I got into the second glass. Stronger dry or spicy elements would have added some depth to this one.

For a new brewery these guys are making some nice beers and taking some chances. This is a real drinkable Belgian brown with some decent complexity and a good balance. Not overly amazing but still a good example of how BC beers have increased in scope and quality over the past 5 years. These guys should stick with the Belgian angle as they seem to know what to do

Clear, dark brown - almost like a light cola - with a creamy head that dissipated in less than a minute.

Raisins, baking spice, and dried fruit types of aromas on the nose; only a slight suggestion of damp wool. The aroma wasn't jumping out of the glass at me.

Very tasty, though. A full bodied malt profile with a pleasing balance of carbonation and sweetness.

Light oak colour with a tan head... solid dubbel appearance. Sweet bready aroma with caramel, dark fruit and a bit of the farm. IN the flavour I'm getting lots of sweet bready malts, combined with caramel, but moderated by earth and smoke. Nice bitterness in the finish. The body is medium, but also quite chewy. I'm really digging Driftwood.

Thanks Eric (Ritzkiss) for this bottle.

Very nice brew, though different than most dubbels... perhaps a Belgian strong dark farmhouse ale?

A: Amber brown with a light tan head, some retention & lacing.

S: Bready, brown sugar, dark fruit, light phenolic spicing with a hint of funk.

T: Very bready, brown sugar, dark caramel, dark fruit, light spicing, good bitterness, alcohol is well-hidden.

M: Smooth, moderate body & carbonation.

D: Quite drinkable.

Brand new beer from one of Victoria's newest craft brewers.

220z pours a darker caramel brown with one finger of head which dissipates with no lacing.

Smell is caramel, hints of fruit, hops in the back. balanced and smooth.

First bang is from the Belgian yeast but thankfully it is kept in check with some nice caramel notes, some malt, hops in the body, brown sugar, hints of alcohol in the back. A little thinner body than I expected.

This is a really solid, balanced brew. Much more finesse than say, Phillips Surly Blonde which tries to blow you away with the yeast and flavor. This is a smooth drinker and a nice addition to the local scene.