Dominion Belgian Style Brown Ale
Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company

Finally available in bottles as part of their seasonal mixed pack a while back.

Brown (not quite as dark as the draft version I've had) with a beige head and subdued carbonation. Raisiney aroma and flavor with a little less Belgian yeasty character than the draft version. The bottled version tastes more like a Dubbel than the draft version. Medium bodied and smooth. Very easy drinking here ...

Bottled: 02/24/05
Tasted: 05/17/05

Poured a ruddy fairly opaque brown. Little head, but I had been away from the table at the time the beer was delivered. Smell has a bit of sweetness of prunes and dried cherries cooked in dark brown sugar. Taste was nice with rich malt combined with a fruitiness and a hint of spice. The finish was a bit odd until I was informed that what I was tasted reminded them of root beer. Yep that was it a definate kind of sassafrass flavour in it. Now while I like root beer, I am not sure I like it in my beer especially since it now seemted to be overpowering all the other flavours ( probably just in my mind. Overall this isnt one of Dominions best offerings. I often find that breweries that dont concentrate on Belgian beers often fall short then they try them. I believe this is the case here. Even though they had cases on sale for 12 bucks ( some deal that fell through with Costco) I declined to pick up a case.

I had this on tap at the Old Dominion brewpub. Its came out a deep brown color with a slight beige head that left little in the way of lacing. The smell was of sweet fruit and caramel malt. The taste is very similar with sweet caramel malt being most noticeable and dark fruits also having a strong presence. There were definitely root beer like qualities that were in the taste and smell that made it an interesting beer. Mouthfeel was medium with a creamy texture. This was definitely drinkable as the lighter than normal body for the style allows this to go down much quicker. Not the best dubbel but an interesting twist that is solid.

I really enjoyed this brew. I thought it was a great version of the Belgian Brown style, especially for an American brewery. It had a nice dark fruity smell, with a dark malty backbone, which was very nice in my opinion. The taste was simialr but had more in the area of the malts, but still had the tinge of the fruits there. It was very creamy and coated the palate. Heavy brew, but very refreshing. Didn't make me feel bloated and full after I drank it, which is something that most dark beers can do. I'm not sure if they put this one out in bottles or not, but if they do, I'll be there to grab one.

Part of the Poitras/VA 2004 vacation.

German-style refillable growler filled at Old Dominion on 7/3/04, enjoyed on 7/3/04.

First pint glass pours with an airy 1" beige head, which quickly receded to 1/8" and exhibited little-to-no lacing. Pleasant dark caramel hued brew, with a slightly effervescent nose. Taste is similar to the aroma, but seems more root beerish than Belgian-style, in my opinion. Mouthfeel and drinkability okay.

Served on tap at the brewery. Pint glass, unfortunately.

Appearance: Hazy brown in color with a frothy tan head. I was served this in a pint glass, so I can't really speak to how well this would lace. With a proper glass, I'm willing to bet it would be up to the task.

Smell: Oddly enough, kinda rootbeerish in smell. Raisiny, pruny, and some rootbeer spices overlaid on some nice caramel and chocolate malt.

Taste: Sweet caramel malt, nice a yeasty. A little nutmeg spice on the finish. Again, oddly reminiscent of root beer, and I'm not complaining.

Mouthfeel: Just barely medium bodied. Well carbonated.

Drinkability: Another contender for what would fill my growler, but this guy came 2nd. I'll have to snag some on the next visit. A very nice beer, not overly authentic in my experience.. but it is named "Belgian Style." I liked the root beer-like qualities.

Other: Judging by the reviews, I'm thinking this is a reoffering of the Winter Brew 2002, with maybe some tweakage of ingredients.