Spirit Lake Couvee
Loowit Brewing Company

Color is clear amber with a coppery-orange tone. Plenty of foam in the New Belgium snifter. Grapey flavor with a sharp edge. Actually after some sipping this smells and tastes just like a dry white wine. Quite fragrant.

Grainy and definitely sharp, but what a tasty oddball brew. Moderate yeasty drying finish. I am not sure how much of a Dubbel this really is, but if you readjust your expectations it's an interesting Belgian-inspired brew. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Chuck's 85th St Market in Seattle.

22oz silver waxed bottle

A — Pours a really light honey hued amber into the glass. Almost no head forms or leaves any lacing behind.

S — Smell is very sweet, vinous, lightly oaky, really focused on the white wine characteristics. There is a real notable fruit component of golden raisins, apricots, and apple.

T — Taste is sweet and driven by the wine barrels here again, with notes of white grape, golden raisin, plum, and a bit of a chewy oaky overtone.

M — Medium bodied, sticky, sweet, long and lingering finish.

O — Okay overall, feels too light for a Dubbel and is really missing that burnt brown sugary sweetness and dark fruit character that is more prevalent in the style.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium orange-copper amber with a half finger off-white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of light caramel malt, apple juice, Belgian yeast, light stone fruit. Flavor is light sweet malt with a hint of caramel, white wine, overripe light stone fruit, finishing semi-dry with light Belgian spicing. Medium bodied with a light creaminess. Tastes like a semi-sweet malty ale mixed with white wine. Light Belgian influence, I'm not really getting a lot of Belgian dubbel character here. This is closest in flavor to styles brewed with fruit juice, although this is clearly white grapes rather than other fruit. Interesting, but for my taste white wine does not improve the great dubbel flavors. The balance between the ale and wine barrel flavors is well done. Glad I tried this, but white wine doesn't excite my taste, so this will be a positive, but one time, experiment.