Anniversary Ale
Abandon Brewing Co.

 

 

Had on tap at brewery tasting room. Most enjoyable of all the beers we drank that afternoon. The dark fruit and molasses like flavors blended well with the Belgian yeast and came across as a good shot at a Belgian dark ale. ABV noticeable, but pretty well hidden. Overall was not that complex, but still served as a nice sipper on a rainy afternoon. A good beer in the style, and worth trying. Won't transport you to Brussels, but major kudos for what they are doing here. Brussels has a few years on them. Abandon seems committed and well situated. Expect to keep trying their beers like this one as they advance in their brewing over the years.

just like their spiced dubbel, i found this one to be on the edge of undrinkably sweet, and was also surprised by its color, barley even amber in a beer called "dark". the head is nice though, and it looks like a belgian style should, foamy and rich, and the nose on it is really nice. where the yeast in the dubbel was subtle, this yeast is really intense, fruity like banana and candied orange, with a spice complexion all of its own. the grain seems heavy in specialty malts, with a medium weight crystal as a base, caramelized, long boil type, molasses and honey. the booze is impressively well hidden here, especially considering the body is a bit thin, it seems like it should have every opportunity to come out and blow this up, but it stays in the shadows, and i like that about this one. to be a dark strong, it could use a little more toasted elements, more layers, it seems simplistic for an anniversary beer, but then again didnt victory just make a session ipa for an anniversary beer? needs more bubbles, and that was true of all the beer i had from these guys, but its cool they had tap handles at downtown bars with beers like this, being so strong and obviously handmade and all. i think i liked their nut brown the best though.

 

On tap at Buta Pub in Rochester, NY.

Pours a relatively dark brown, with a quarter inch head, and a little bit of lacing.

Smells like tangy dark fruit, raisins, and toffee.

This has a bit of tartness that's unexpected and actually pretty nice. Very fruity, mostly, with prunes and raisins, with some sweet toffee malt flavors, a little bit of a tea-like flavor, and warming booze on the back end.

This is medium bodied, with a syrupy mouthfeel, and a lower level of carbonation.

This was pretty solid. Not amazing, but solid enough.