St. Nathanael's Double Abbey
Natty Greene's Pub & Brewing Co.

Sampled on tap at the new Natty's in Raleigh.

Brown with a hazy, even cloudy finish and very little head. Smells of sweet malts with caramel and brown sugar. The flavor is semi-sweet with caramel, brown sugar and a touch of fruit. Not much spice to it. It just seems to lack the complexity of a true Belgian. The mouthfeel is sturdy with a moderate carbonation.

This beer was flavorful and easy to drink but not especially compelling.

Had this one on-tap at the new Raleigh brewpub but this one was brewed in Greensboro. They must have made some improvements on this beer in 3 years since it had been on this site. The beer was served in a standard pint glass a crisp dark brown with a thin diminishing head. Aroma was dark malts, dried fruits and mild spice. The taste was a nice amount of dried fruits and spice. The beer was on the light side of medium with mild carbonation. This one was smooth and enjoyable, an easy drinking dubbel.

I was looking forward to this beer, I always like to see localversions of Belgians. Sorry to say, this one was way out of whack. Poured a hazy light brown with a thin head and no lacing. Not much smell, just some candi sugar and that is it. What was merely boring in the nose is much worse in the mouth. Once again all that is discernable more candi sugar. Extremely sweet, a little slick, and absolutely no Belgian yeast flavors. Mouthfeel is okay, but not enough to hide the sugar. Really not very drinkable. So sweet it makes your teeth ache and coats the palate. Luckily this brewery has some other offerings that are much nicer.

Served on-tap at the 1740 Tap Room.

This brew had a dark complexion with a thin head and moderate lacing. The color was a rich bronze. The smell was faintly of fruits and what you would expect from a dubbel, but lighter and more faint than I had expected. The same can be said for the taste as there is a mild, wheat backing but again very watery in taste. A bit more strength to this and there could be something special but a dubbel is a "big boy" beer and there are far better choices out there of this genre. A bit disappointing as this brewery offers better selections.

Served on draft at Natty Greenes. Poured a drark brown with a nice colored white head. Aroma was a bit off for the style. Not a lot of that Belgian aromas with the yeast or candu sugar. Nice mouthfeel though. Almost full bodied and an overall nice beer.