Dubbel
Bruz Beers

this is good, one of their all the time beers i think, properly made, and on the edge of good enough to have come from an actual belgian brewery, and i love that they use proper glassware in here, adds such an elegance and authenticity. deep ruby color to this, backlit and sexy reddish rather than being real brown, a pretty almost inch of off white head on it too, lots of bubbles. the nose is raisin, restrained monastic yeast, and dried cherry, leather, and birch, way cool. the flavor brings chestnut, cola, deep abbey malt richness without it being a sugar bomb, and mild spiciness from the yeast, black pepper, allspice, and even a wrinkle of cinnamon. warming alcohol but its not boozy, a molasses note, and wonderful fruitiness that is beyond the norm, like this could almost be conditioned on figs or something, its killer. the yeast is more mellow in this than it was in their other beers when we were in, more worked in, less dominating, a joy to drink on, with a medium body and upbeat carbonation, big bubbles popping the whole time. excited and fun rather than weighty and intimidating, a fantastic take on the style, love the abv for this, the complexity of the malt, and the ferment. great american made belgian beer in a tricky style.

 

 

Cola brown color and appears to be clear. Modest head which becomes rim bubbles and leaves a couple of small streaks and some random spots.

Candy sugar aroma with some molasses and alcohol. In a word: toffee.

This is a sweet brew but it's less sugary than I expected. The isn't as rich body-wise as most Dubbels. It also has more carbonation than the style typically has. Plenty of caramel and toffee elements in the taste. There's a light, nearly imperceptable, hop and a low alcohol level on the tongue. This might be a good introduction to the style for the uninitiated.

 

Audibly fizzy... A tad more than a fingers worth of vibrant medium khaki colored froth... Modest retention gives way to a full inviting lacing... Color is a deep dark caramel brown... Warm rich inviting nose of cherry, brown sugar, caramel and Belgian yeast... Quite pleasant... The palate starts much the same before a strong peat and slight metallic emerge on he deep finish... Medium bodied, limited carbonation and a slightly dry chalky finish... Hides the 7.8% ABV rather well... Really enjoyable but a bit rough around the edges... A slight bit of refinement would go a long way...

A reddish/brown color with virtually no head.
Aroma is of dark fruit, caramel. Some earthiness.
Taste of caramel, plum.
Medium mouthfeel.
The beer is underwhelming and on the weak side.

Had on tap. Reddish brown body with a tan cap. Aromas of earth and esters atop caramel malt, dark fruit and a hint of brown bread. All of the usual dubbel flavors are shoved to the back, some dark fruit escapes, but estery yeast and tobacco is the strongest ruining the balance. Feel is smooth but thin, malts and yeast fight each other a bit instead of the usual dubbel tandem.

Bought from Beer Drop, my source for Bruz Beers and its Colorado competition. (I order at least a couple of Bruz in each Beer Drop shipment, but every box has some new brewer wanting to be the next Bruz... who specializes in Belgians.)

UnTappd puts Bruz' 7.8ABV dubbels into an "Abbey Series" along with lots of photos of the same can as me. So, I probably should have added this under the title "Abbey Series Dubbel" since they (Untappd) know more than me.

Prior, I'd had 10 Bruz in, let's say, 11 months. All but one have been on the pale side. It seemed like there was progress in keeping the Bruz Belgian yeast active. But, this is only the second dubbel (and the first had lots of rye, so not necessarily an analogy). Nonetheless, it seems like this 7.8 ABV needs a heftier yeast. It Looks foamy enough, but not enough protein swirls. Smells have only a faint figgy, dried fruit sweetness whereas a sufficient dubbel yeast very much reminds me of figs... a favorite fruit. Tastes are balanced (not sweet), but not complexed. And it is medium-mouthed.

I had Dubbel with my world-famous soup and it passed the test. This is a good table dubbel. Bruz needs to think about amping up its yeast for the darker months and those ales.

10/30/21 Had the second can from Beer Drop and I'm still the only the first review/rating and UnTappd has only 10 in the last month. So I'm thinking... this Dubbel needs to go back to the laboratory.