Belô São Francisco
Cervejaria Wäls

From a 375ml bottle. Not seeing a date on the bottle, but I know it is pretty old.
There was a nice pop, but no smoke upon opening the bottle. The beer looks murky brown in color. I did a very aggressive pour, but there's no head to the beer. Just a ring around the glass.
The nose of the beer is quite pleasing. I am just getting a ton of dark fruit in the aroma. Not getting any oxidation notes, no wet cardboard smell.
The taste has a nice dark fruit character to it. I am getting raisin and plum on the flavor. The flavor does seem a bit dialed down that I guess could be from age. There's no bad age flavors to this beer.
The body is quite flat feeling. It doesn't have the depth and fullness I'd expect from a dubbel.
This beer is all over the board, and I am guessing age is a main factor for it. Very interesting beer overall, and I'm glad I bought it.

From the 375 ML bottle in a snifter. This unique ale pours a dark
murky brown with a fizzling head that fades to nothing. Nose of
raisins, dried cherry, cranberry, and brown sugars....all very muted.
Flavors surpass the nose with a nice little presentation of mulled raisins
in rum, brown sugar, cherry, cranberry, and fig jam. Mouthfeel
is medium, faint carbonation, finishing medium dry.

Overall, this one had more promise but the mouthfeel is pretty much
flat. That said, the flavors are nice.....would love to try it fresher.

Cheers

 

 

We are right in the heart of the 2018 Winter Olympics & as such, I am delving into my foreign/import stash to venture into worldwide territory. This has been in abeyance for some time, having come home from the FGBS with me at one point.

From the bottle: "The brewery is located in the neighborhood with the saint's name. To honor the neighborhood, this was the first recipe brewed. It's a Brazilian Dubbel with South American raisins full of dark dried fruit, caramel and spicy aromas. Medium carbonation, great balance and complex character. Deep brown color with a toffee-cream head. Lacing is thick with sheets of tight bubbles that roll around your glass. Enjoy it's richness of flavors!"; "Ale brewed with raisins".

Okay, if you really want to irritate me coming out of the gate, use a metal cage that breaks off like an old sardine CAN key & follow that up with a composite cork! Grrr. I performed a very slow, gentle pour into my awaiting glass. A vigorous in-glass swirl failed to raise more than wisps. Color was Dark Brown to Very Dark Brown (SRM = > 27, < 34) with mahogany highlights. Nose smelled of dried, dark fruits (probably raisins), caramel, milk chocolate & a light black pepperiness. I was put in mind of a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar with a sprinkle of pepper. Hmm. Mouthfeel was medium, but kind of light for the style. There was no evident carbonation nor was there the lacing mentioned. The taste was very much of dried dark fruits, accompanied by a lightly sweet milk chocolatiness, but it just did not seem up to snuff. It lacked the intensity to make it worthwhile. Finish was semi-dry, but I would not have identified this as a "Dubbel". They may do the style differently in Brazil, but this was not within the style guidelines.

 

 

Cage and corked 375 ml bottle with a production date of L 002 F N. No problem figuring that out, lol.

Big pop when I pulled the cork out, it pours a deep reddish brown with a good head of off white foam that disappeared in a blink of the eye. Thar be no lacing; contrary to what it says on the label.

Upon opening, the smell was hard to avoid. Super caramel malt with equally strong notes of dark fruits. .and a port like nose besieged my nose buds.

Caramel malt, dark fruit, flavours of Port, properties of some oxidation going on here. Medium carbonation? Nah. Pretty much flat but that's not a big turnoff for me.

Very nice beer. Cuz of the lack of carbonation, it leans on the syrupy side and as far as it being too sweet, I don't subscribe to that.

Worthy of a repurchase is my line of thought.

 

 

If you're thinking this is a Belgian dubbel, think again. It doesn't have the yeasty taste or aroma of a classic dubbel, and it's substantially sweeter.

But it is a dark brown ale, and I suppose that "dubbel" is an OK starting point for its description.

Raisins and other dark fruits dominate the flavor. It's a sipper, not so much because of ABV, but because of the syrupy sweetness.

I'm glad to see Brasilian brewers getting away from the narrow range of beers that I've seen on visits to Brasil. I applaud the brewers here, but this is just a bit too sweet for my taste.

 

 

A: The beer is hazy brown in color; when held up to a light the edges of the glass are clear dark reddish brown. No carbonation is visible and there are a few particles floating in suspension. It poured with a thin ring of bubbles around the surface that eventually faded away.
S: Moderate aromas of sweet dark fruits are present in the nose—raisins stand out in particular.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste is a little sweet and has flavors of raisins with notes of other dark fruits such as dates and hints of yeast and the underlying malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and is flat, with no carbonation.
O: This dubbel has nice aromas and flavors of raisins. Although the sweetness isn't cloying, it could use more carbonation and seemed flat.

Serving type:

 

this is a real weird take on a dubbel, much different than others i have had. first of all, i get very little yeast character out of it, its not belgian or even other odd european with the yeast, its just not real present outside of a faint fruitiness. the malt is cool, caramel and cereal in nose and taste, with dark fruits abundant. figs and dates and raisins and even some nuts, cashew and almond, lots going on in the middle of this beer. i like its complexity in that regard, but really think its just way too thin in the mouthfeel for the style, it never really gets to that rich and regal level i love in the style. carbonation is on the lighter side too, i just dont love the mouthfeel, i dont think it matches the depth of flavors here, and the disconnect is unflattering. still, its cool to see a brazilian brew like this, not really beholden to any tradition, free to roam and experiment, and while i liked the petroleum they do better, i appreciate this one very much in that context. it sort of tastes like a baked breakfast loaf or something, bred pudding, the raisin is pretty lively, and i dig that

 

375 ml bottle into chalice, bottled in 2/2014. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep reddish brown color with a minimal foamy head with reduces to nothing fairly quickly. Minimal lacing on the glass with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of raisin, prune, fig, date, caramel, toffee, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, light clove/pepper, and yeast earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/earthy yeast, raisins, and dark/bready malt notes; with decent strength. Taste of big raisin, prune, fig, date, caramel, toffee, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, light clove/pepper, and yeast earthiness. Fair amount of earthy yeast spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of raisin, prune, fig, date, caramel, toffee, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, light pepper/clove, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice robustness and complexity of fruity/earthy yeast, raisins, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/yeast flavor balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light carbonation and medium bodied; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/bready mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice dubbel style. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, raisins, and fruity/earthy yeast flavors; and very smooth to sip on despite the lacking carbonation. A very enjoyable offering.

 

For a beer from Brazil, it's quite yummy. If it was readily available, I'd buy again - at some point.