25 Belgian Dubbel Style Anniversary Ale
Hale's Ales Brewery & Pub

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Purchased from a store cooler. Apparently about four years old; unknown storage details. Pours a medium coppery amber, half finger fine white head with lacing and good retention. Aroma of malt, dark fruit and boiled vegetable. Hmm. Flavor is very muted. Caramel malt, light fruit, faint spicing; mellow. Finishes sweet with mild malt and fruit, a bit of cardboard. Nice creamy body makes up for the mild flavor. Probably past its prime, but although very subdued, still pleasant. Wish I could have tried this fresh, but sometimes you have to taste with the beers you have, not with the ones you wish you had…..

 

 

From the bottle into a Piraat glass.

Look: Pours a dark brown to blackish syrup with reddish hues. Lacing and foam are absent from the beer.

Smell: Aroma from this beer is very faint. Smells of chocolate, toffee and coffee are present.

Taste: Bready with more punctuated notes of toffee, coffee and yeast. A slight coffee roast bitterness is more noticeable at the end.

Feel: Super thin. Dissappointingly thin. Also little to no carbonation.

Drink: Goes down super smooth but as the style tends to be, filling.

Overall a good beer to check out if you see it on the shelf. But nothing I would rebuy.

Poured into 16oz goblet. Poured a barely translucent brownish-red, with just a thin cap of tan head that had low retention and barely minimal lacing.

The aroma was fairly typical, nice malts, yeast, some spice and some fruity notes. The flavors followed along with a lot of similarity, a bit fruitier than the aroma, with a nice lingering finish.

The body was fairly typical for the style, perhaps a touch thinner than my preference. Drinkability was very good, but not special for the style.

Overall, now that this beer is 2 years old, reports are this beer is probably the best it's been, or will be. If you see it, try it.

A full-sized head of frothy tan rises steadily as you pour Hale's 25th Anniversary Ale. The body beneath is a surprisingly almost completely opaque dark-brown 'black". The head settles into a creamy cap, and it leaves some nice short 'mountain ranges' around the glass just above the surface level of the beer.

The aroma expresses delicate spice, dark caramel, apple, and some delicate red berries.

The flavor is fuller, but it delivers essentially the same things that the aroma does. It's sweetish, but not sweet, and that's comprised of a combination of gently sweet (slightly doughy) and darkly caramelish malt, yeasty fruitiness (apple, plum, raisin), and yeasty spiciness that includes a bit of clove which suggests candyish sweetness to the brain. There's not a lot of bitterness beneath it, and it's interesting in that it's very soft. It's not bitter, and yet the sweetness never gets away. That may be due in part to the soft and smooth mouthfeel from bottle conditioning. It's only at about 2.4 volumes of CO2/liter, whereas it could easily be 2.6 to 2.8 for the style. Still, it somehow ends up fairly dry in the finish - some leafy hops are present, as well as the spiciness of the yeast, and there's a little bit of alcohol to boot!

Overall, it's a pretty decent take on the style although a touch sweet. The trade-off for that is that it's much more drinkable in a 'quaffable' kind of way. Nicely rounded... needs a touch more balance.

Thanks goes out to JohnGalt1 for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Poured into my Corsendonk glass a very nice golden amber color, nice carbonation, nice little creamy off-white head, which leaves some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with some nice yeast notes, pears, plums, raisins, cherries. The taste is malty/yeasty, very nice dark fruit tones. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a very nice Dubbel.

Thanks to Toby (johngalt1) for this beer

A: solid dark hue that viewed from above is a reddish brown dark dark color. the head is wispy and doesn't stick around steadfastly. that said ou have a nice ring and a lil espressos swirl in the middle for a while. above avg, but nothing insane

S: somewhat dark fruit and prune type aroma. rather sweet and almost resin and deep red wine in aroma.

T: really smooth, surprising, but with a deep fruit backbone. it starts with a sweet dry grape front, almost like a heavy red wine that is slightly spiced but not mulled in nature. then has a more tart dry fruit finish. its wine like sweet and very surprising in that regard. i have no clue the alcohol level but it is only slightly noticeable. the more blackberry red wine finish is the note of close

M: not too light bt not too heavy. it is what it is

D: this is surprisngly easy to drink the fruit is heavy and forward, but if yo like heavy semi sweet dry redwines.. you will love this beer

Picked this 22 oz. bottle up on a whim a few weeks back. Poured tonight before dinner to a 'Chimay' chalice, enjoyed both during (a chicken and lentil soup) and after (watching the middle innings of the Angels - Red Sox playoff game #3).

A: Shade darker than many of the dubbels I've tried; tis appears a deep brown, shows auburn highlights a stream of tiny carbonation when held to light. Thin head of creamy ivory, drops quickly to a clingy ring and scattered film, gathered around a creamy spot at the center (directly above the etched bottom).

S: Starts with dark, syrupy-sweet fruit and a spiced-yeast. Fruitiness is full of raisin, plum and carob with toffee. A candied 'berry' aroma that smells a bit artificial (Kool-Aid?) and a faint whiff of solvent alcohol (cheap vodka?).

T: Good flavor of spiced fruit, herbal tea and a cola/root beer. Sugary raisin, some ripe raspberry and plum, a little earthy peat. Yeasty spice has an authentic 'Belgian' flavor that's very appealing. Malts dominate but there's a good bittering in the finish.

M: Mostly creamy in the mouth with a light carbonated prickle. Spices linger, medium body. A little boozy warmth.

D: This was reasonably drinkable at first pour, improved when paired with food, but really shined after warming to near room temperature. I recommend serving this after it warms at length - flavors blossom. A well-done version of the style, worth grabbing a bottle or two.

Happy 25th, Hale's!

Bomber poured into my Lost Abbey goblet, Hale's 25th Anniversary Ale is dark mahogany with a small, eggshell head that pretty quickly dissipates, leaving light, scattered lace. Looks sugary, but not so much in the taste.

Smell is muted, prunes, leather and a touch of phenols Served about 50F, the cured dark fruits come out as it warms.

Taste is pretty malty and true to style, a nice amount of spiciness, just enough phenols (less then the nose), not to sweet, really spot on, if not to exciting. I could use less plastic and more residual sugars, but that's nitpicking- this is a well made dubbel, and would pass the blind "Belgian or not?" test.

Mouthfeel is pretty smooth but with a spicy crispness on the finish. Medium bodied, a bit yeasty towards the end.

Drinkability is pretty good, tasty and smooth. I like to see any US craft brewer putting out an authentic Belgian style brew, and when they keep the price in check (less then $5 for this bomber, really makes the Allagash bottles I had this weekend seem foolish) it's great. Still, this is one of my least favorite Belgian styles, and there's nothing ground breaking here to get me too excited.

Service Temperature, 50 degrees. Service Glassware, Pike's Tulip glass.

Appearance, deep burgandy & clear with a mild foamy head that quickly dies and leaves a torn napkin of lace.
A waft in the nose and I detect some clove, a little bit of zest and a minor cherry.
Sipping this I get minor alcohol burn along with some spice, a little bit of dryness, and some minor raisin.
Overall mouth is medium

Cheers

22 from the Coop for about $5... poured into my Kasteel tulip...

Dark brown with very red clarity when held to the light... 1" head with pretty descent lacing.

Aroma is plummy esters and a little bit of dried cherries.. some caramel .. and a little bit of spice... not as complex as many of it's European brothers... still not bad.

Flavor is better but sorta drops off fairly quick for such a complex style. Malty but finishes fairly dry with a short lived clove spicy note. Body is on the lighter side for the style... carbonation is subtle small bubbles.. sorta creamy feel.

Good value and cheers to Hale's for taking a chance on a Belgian style.... I will certainly pick up a few more of these.

pours a dark brown with a red tint, small light tan head that dissipates rapidly, some lacing.

smell is dark fruit, caramel, some spice, some roasted nuts.

taste is a little watery, dark fruits, spice, white pepper, somewhat sour ending.

overall a drinkable beer, not as thick as the average abbey dubbel.

Big fruit and yeast aroma with some phenols (the good spicy kind, not the rubbery/medicinal kind). Big amounts of malt behind it that is a lot of darker crystal to me, smells like molasses with some licorice mixed in. Nice complexity on the nose.


Deep brown, when held to the light a little red. Clear with some rising carbonation. Starts with a 1/2 inch thick head that fades to a persistant ring around the edge with pockets of bubbles in the center.

Fruity and spicy all at once. Lots of dark pit fruit flavors (plums, cherries even some raisins) and licorice and peppery too. Just enough hops to know they are there but mostly caramel malt and brown sugar.

Nice carbonation level keeps it lively and not heavy at all. A bit warming so even though the bottle doesn't say it, it probably packs a good punch. Warming in the stomach too.

Nice beer and thanks to Hales for stepping out of their norm for the occasion. I'd like to see more of these kinds of beers out of them. At under $5 for a 22oz, this is a great deal on a well above average beer.