Jovial
Tröegs Brewing Company

What the heck happened here?

This is beautiful in the glass at least, A bright golden tinted amber and it poured with a thick fizzy head.

At cellar temperature the aroma is mild and "off". The samitized yeatiness of a brewery and maybe a trace of raisin. This smells of plastic and band aids too. The flavor profile is weird too. A grainy, odd tasting yeastiness and a little bit of a grassy tingle. Where are the sweet fruits? There is nothing even vaguely "Belgian" here, let alone anything resembling a dubbel. The mouthfeel is chalky and unpleasant.

Shockingly bad given Troegs' track record. This has to be a bad batch, no way this is as they intended it to be.

 

 

In my opinion this is a very good quality dubbel but not really worthy of the pretentious packaging. Is there a tangible benefit to the caged cork other than mimicking a true Belgian? Troegs reputation combined with the special packaging creates expectations that this beer doesn’t quite live up to. I wonder if it would score better with just an ordinary bottle cap?

 

Very fresh, unpretentious. Uncharacteristic higher carbonation, YMMV

 

 

Chestnut color; huge, beige head. The aroma of caramel, raisins, plums. Rich, fruity taste. Moderate sweetness, a hint of roasted bitterness. Well done dubbel.

 

375 ml caged and corked bottle poured into a chalice.

Pouring clear and chestnut brown with a two finger tan head. The foam is fairly persistent but too slick to leave much lace. The strong nose opens with port-like and dried fruit aromas. A less robust milky candi sugar aroma takes over after the head settles. Starting mildly sweet, the dark fruit and dark sugar flavors dry quickly for a tangy finish. I’m getting just a hint of woody bitterness. Belgian yeast phenols add character to both the nose and flavor. Medium-weight and smooth it feels more frothy than creamy and is moderately carbonated, just enough for a weak crisp bite. Sweet and rich, but subtle with enough balancing dryness to drink easily.

L- Pours dark nut brown into a stemmed glass heavy head and lacing
S- Yeasty with neutral hops aromas and biscuity malt aromas
T- Medium bitter with mild noble hop flavors some toffee and fruit flavors
F- High carbonation and medium- light body
O- Not a great dubble. I was dissapointed by the bottle and beer presentation.

8/25/23, at the brewery again.

Poured from the bottle, beautiful deep copper in color. Light tan head and foam dissipated quickly with minimal lacing.

Aromas came through as described by the brewer: fig, caramel, toffee, and cedar wood. Definitely spicy.

High carbonation hits the mouth immediately. Flavors of caramel, toasted malts, and sweet bread. Also, surprisingly, a flavor of canned mandarin oranges came through.

 

Jovial pours a dark, murky brown with a smallish, long-lasting head. The aroma is dark, earthy spices and prunes. The flavor isn't as sweet for the style; lots of stone fruits, especially prunes, and dark earthy spices. Good body and feel. Overall, a darker dubbel with lots of fruit flavors.

 

Pours a clear dark brown with a minimal tan head. Not nutty, more chocolate, malt, smooth taste and feel. Ver well balanced. Hops smooth out the malt sweetness. Drinkable all day, everyday.

So good, it goes down right from the bottle. Sometimes the cork likes to fight you when removing it. One of my favorites. Impressive when lined up in a row with the corks and crowns x aligned.