Dubbel
TicketyBrew

 

330ml bottle poured into a Delerium Tremens tulip glass

Look: Pours a very dark brown - what head there is dissipated fairly quickly leaving very little in the way of lacing. It's bottle conditioned so there's some cloudiness from the yeast.

Smell: Quite malty and yeasty with hints of aniseed and liquorice. Quite spicy overall.

Taste: Follows the smell - quite malty and spicy with that hint of aniseed. Maybe it's the effects of the syrup which is evidently used in the brewing process (according to the label, at least) but this is quite unlike any dubbel I've had. Despite not being a fan of aniseedy things, I rather like this.

Feel: Quite 'chewy' - plenty of body without being excessively heavy.

Overall: I've had a fair few 'proper' Belgian dubbels of late, but this Mancunian version is something rather different. The bottle says "Rich and Spicy" notes and I can't really argue with that. It's something I'd try again for sure, and since its bottle conditioned there may be some mileage in cellaring it too. It's different, I'll give it that, and definitely worth a try if you're into dubbel/dark ales.

I'm not a huge fan of the style to be honest, a little too thin for me for a dark ale but this is decent enough tasting with good candy flavours
To be rereviewed