Abbey
New Belgium Brewing Company

 

Nov-4-2018

Tawny appearance with a large beige head that faded quickly and left spotty lacing. Yeasty aroma of dark fruit and light spiciness. Residual sweetness in the flavor as the caramel malts show up. Spicy notes found in the aroma are still there along with a hint of tobacco. Faint herbal hop presence in the aftertaste. Creamy, medium bodied mouthfeel and a long lasting finish. A great bargain.

12oz bottle. Scored/graded to STYLE, since I am not the hugest fan of Belgians, but still respect them.

A: Presentation on the bottle is neat and clean and inviting.

S: Belgian yeast and dark malt, sweetness. Hints of banana, spice, cocoa.

T: More of the same; hints of a chocolate character in the malty sweetness, impressions of some darker fruits like raisins. Banana and clove are discernible.

MF: Smooth as all get out and dangerous at 7%; darn near crushable.

O: A nice abbey ale, very approachable for the style. Not overly spicy, funky, or fruity. Nice balance.

One of my favorite beers..

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Nearly clear dark mahogany pour. 2 fingers of foamy white head. Great lacing... nice looking beer.

S: Caramel and malts. Not picking up a lot of yeast.... a bit of dark fruit, but mostly sweet grains and old toffee.

T.F: Just like it smells. Caramel and toasted grains. Faint fruit... maybe a bit of raisin, but mostly the malt character. Medium bodied... sticky on the tongue. Some earthy hops for balance.

O: A below average Dubbel, and doesn't hold a candle to a real Belgian. Still... not bad and easy drinking.

 

 

 

Clear amber. White head. Good retention with streaky lacing.

Nose of sweet red apple and Maraschino cherry, banana bread, clove, and hay.

Following taste of caramel, brown bread, cherry, red apple, banana, hay, and clove. Sweet but dry and spicy on the finish.

Medium mouthfeel, well carbonated but not as effervescent as authentic Belgians. A residual sticky sweetness coats the palate.

A solid American dubbel. It's pretty obvious it's not quite on par with an actual Belgian dubbel but it is a serviceable and tasty beer.

 

(12 oz bottle-conditioned bottle, code 98/26 06OCT19 etc; purchased single off shelf... poured into far tulip)

L: ruby-colored liquid, bit of suspended sediment; dense, creamy, silky, off-white foam; bit of crystalline lace, not much

S: port, prune, moderately floral; subtle chewy jelly candy thread up the middle... anticipating rich, juicy-sweet malt, but with a cut dryness; not much booziness... sedate overall; floral aromatics dominant

T: raisin, blackberry jelly, but mellow sweetness; hint of singed wood, peppery herbal spice humming in aftertaste, as well as a mellow leather overtone... bit more malt and nutty wood in the second sip, maybe also a distant hint of dark chocolate (malt), later building in the finish... excellent overall expression; for its age, dry but not too much so

F: light-medium body, expansive reach via gassy carbonation; moderately dry finish, firm spicy warmth, delicate residual viscous drag (spice singes off its end)... smooth, oily, dry and spicy - heavenly

O: lovely malty depth found in few import Belgian examples (Chimay?); overall character perhaps most similar to Ommegang Abbey?... bro and I first had this end of summer, sharing a swill from bottle - was good enough to warrant grabbing another... not disappointed - one of the better domestic takes; would do a sixer (1575)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look: Pours a beautiful dark color with a dark ruby tint. A large foamy white head. SRM of 17-18. (3.75)

Smell: Aromas of roasted dark malts and Belgian yeast initially- mostly bittersweet chocolate and toffee. Then some classic banana and citrus. Some caramel, plum, and fig. Maybe a bitter, roasted espresso underneath. Hints of citrus hops. A strong banana aroma predominate eventually to define the style. (4.00)

Taste: Initial yeast pepperness that fades into strong malt flavors of toffee & caramel. Some bread and citrus. Even some sweet red cherry. Belgian yeast flavors of banana come forward too. Mild hops flavor and bitterness, but there is some citrus hops. Mild to moderately sweet. (4.00)

Feel: Body is medium. Minimally carbonated- Creamy and smooth. Not light, not oily. not resiny. Finishes clean on the palate. Balanced dryness and sweetness. (3.50)

Compared w/ Leffe: It has a touch lighter color. Very similar dark flavors of toffee and dark fruit. Hard to tell the difference. This one has more of a New Belgium yeast profile, whereas the Leffe's yeast is more authentic to Belgium. This one has more Belgian candied sweetness. Also a bit more citrus hops. Finishes a hint sweeter. Overall, they are extremely similar and difficult to differentiate.

Overall: A delicious Belgian beer that is malt-focused but not too sweet. More dark malt flavors of chocolate, plum, & fig than a tripel. Slightly less fruit. But Belgian yeast flavors of banana and and citrus come forward that define this style. Similar in flavor, but the less pale malts provide citrus and candifruit. More banana, cream, caramel, toffee and bread. A colder weather beer. However, the belgian yeast provides very similar flavors. I would describe this as a tiramasu mixed with a banana pudding or banoffee pie. (Final Rating: 3.94)

 

 

 

12 oz bottle into chalice. Brown with medium head and heavy lacing. Smells of dried fruits, prunes, dates, raisins.Very sweet. A bit of coffee and chocolate. Tastes of warm malt - like wort - and spice with a bit of booze. Hints of caramel and banana esters. Sharp carbonation bite. Medium bodied.

 

 

Pours from a bottle into a tulip glass glass looking beautiful with a creamy head and nice lacing atop golden brown body.

Sweet fruity smell and taste. Classic candy and spice with a bit of earthiness. Nice smooth feel, quite enjoyable.

12oz bottle into chalice
BB 9/30/18 was sitting in the cellar
Pours brown with red highlights,  with thin head
Figs, dates, pudding, raisins
Taste is obviously heavily malt forward, with dark bread notes, slight caramel, followed by plenty of yeast esters some might associate with bananas
The feel is medium bodied, has a thick feel without being full bodied
Overall the aroma is on point,  but the taste is unbalanced and dark fruit not as noticeable

L: Pours a dark purple brown with a small fluffy whitish head and thick lacing all around the glass.

S; Notes of caramel and toffee, a hint of cherry, and a light note of smoke

T: Notes of caramel and toffee, some sweetness, mixed with a light cherry note, a light bitterness. Subtle and not as forward as some dubbels but still good.

F: Medium to thicker body, maybe slightly watery.

O: A pretty solid dubbel.

 

Well lets start with ...i had this beer before and did not rate it, because I was not on BA yet...I wish I would have been at that time, because it has changed just like Fear4beer states in his review.
It is not what I remember, but still good...just not great like I remember.
There seems to be a little semi funk to this new recipe that has me puzzled, but still enjoying the adventure. It has the abbey and dubbel to it, but just a lil' off for me.
Will return to this again, and see if it is an off day for me and dubbs.

Well I have returned to it, and yes it was an off day for me and dubbs...it turns out to be a little more like I remember, and I have re-adjusted my rating.
The semi funk is gone, the taste has smoothed out for me and very enjoyable this time...The nose has gotten much sweeter with some caramel, banana, nad maybe some smoke.
The taste has also smoothed out with some mild sweetness of cherry with the mild smoke. All in all, very enjoyable this time and sorry for my rating the first or really the (second) time I had this brew...so please try it. It is a very nice Abbey Dubbel.

Sharp but smooth sweet aftertaste but almost flat texture.