5 Seasons North The French Beauty

Brewed by 5 Seasons North
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Alpharetta, Georgia USA

Serve in Trappist glass

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Aroma is malty and sweet with some spice and raisins. Flavor is sweet, smooth, very well balanced and so drinkable. Earthy spice notes and chocolate with some sweet oak and spice. Nice.

Deep brown/black pour with frothy tan head and lace. Full rich caramel, roasted malt, a hint of chocolate and a good malt bitter. Foamy and medium bodied. Very nice.

Bottle… RBWG ‘10… This beer rocks!… Pours very, very dark with a mid-sized, creamy, off-white head that never fully dissipates. Vanilla, oak and caramel are standouts in the aroma. Full-bodied with medium carbonation. The flavor is sweet, caramely, nutty and a bit boozy. Lingering, malty, caramely finish. World class beer provided by kp! Another Home Run from Crawford Moran, who is always swinging for the fences.

RBWG’10 pours dark brown, tan head aroma, roasted malts, some chocolate, dark fruits, light barrel flavors, roasted malts, warming abv with some bitter hops, light fruit tartness and dark fruits remain more present. french oak top everything. nicely without overpowering the whole palate.

75cl bottle, RBWG. Large tan head atop dark brown body. Aroma is moderately sweet, prune/raisin, milk chocolate, light wood. Taste is moderately sweet, milk chocolate, some wood, cherry, light raisin. Smooth medium-full body.

Roasted malts with oaky vanilla on the nose. Pours a very dark brown with little head. Rich malty flavors, molasses, hints of roasted malts, caramelized sugars with oak and vanilla flavors. Very nice beer.

鼮ml bottle, courtesy of kp) Pours a dark brown body with a medium tan head. Aroma of dark candi sugar, unripe banana, molasses, raisins, and dates. Flavor of dates, Belgian yeast, candi sugar, caramel, chocolate, and spruce with a dry oak finish.

Pours deep brown with a thin tan head. The nose and flavor are lightly sweet and dried fruit, but what comes out most is fresh banana. Kind of distracting from the other influences. Nice dry finish and subtle oak in the flavor as well.

750mL cork and caged bottle. The bottle opens with a very small hiss, but the pour is highly carbonated and has a huge cream colored head on top of the dark opaque brown body. Tons of lacing and legs on this one. The aroma is massively sweet with tons of dark fruits, chocolate and molasses. The oak is definitely present in the aroma with a slight dryness in the nose to balance the massive sweetness. The taste is even better than the aroma with lots of flavors balancing together perfectly. It’s got the sweet dark fruits with raisins and plums especially. Lots of sugary character and dark malts in the backbone. The finish is spicy with yeast and oak and the alcohol finally makes its presence felt in the finish though I wouldn’t have said 12.5% The mouthfeel is on the fuller side of things for the style and super creamy with lots of carbonation and a relatively dry finish. Another fantastic Belgian beer from Crawford, and one of the better Dubbels I’ve tasted. Very complex and way too drinkable given the ABV.

UPDATED: APR 16, 2011
Name: French Beauty
Date: April 16, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Vintage: 2008
Words: Black Beauty on French Oak
Appearance: dark brown, fine tan head, bits of drippy lace
Aroma: sweet dark fruit aroma, sweet licorice, balancing oak
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of mellow oak, dark caramel sweetness brings out the rich chocolate, light spicyness

Name: French Beauty
Date: August 02, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2008
Score: 4.1 to 4.2
Appearance: opens with a loud pop, black, fine tan head, sudsy lace
Aroma: sweet and fruity aroma, dark fruits, sweet vanilla, sweet fruity esters, light alcohol upon warming
Flavor: rich dark malt flavor, lots of roasted, sweet vanilla brings out a balancing fruity character, fruity sweetness in turns brings out rich chocolate to replace the roasted, nice light oak

Name: French Beauty
Date: January 22, 2011
Mode: bottle
Source: brewpub
Vintage: 2008
Score: 4.2 to 4.5
Appearance: black, creamy tan head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma, oak is coming out with some dark and roasty malts, hint of vanilla
Body: very creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate and roasted flavor, sweet fruity esters bring in ripe dark fruits, light vanilla enhances the fruityness, just a hint of oak

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 19/20
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Drinkability: 10/10
Score: **** /4