Allagash Dubbel Reserve

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Portland, Maine USA

Bottle. Dark brown pour, with super long-lasting tan head. I poured this awhile ago and the head still lasts. Great looking. Deep scent...sweet, dark fruits. Taste is good....not as spicy as I would have liked, but a nice complex flavor. Very delicious...better than the Ommegang Abbey Ale, I think. (tried to think of a comparable beer)

This dubbel had a nice brown color with a dirty-white head floating on top. A musty smell at first and a pleasant taste with chocolate and estery flavors. I liked this beer and it was easy to drink. Very nice dubbel and at $6 a bottle a pretty good deal. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-12-2007 17:08:26

I’m not entirely sure why we disliked this beer. Perhaps we’re not into beers that are malted sweet. I want to try it again,m to make sure my opinion wasn’t skewed by chris’s hate of sweeter beers.

Tasted at brewery. Pours golden brown, big creamy head. Aroma is slightly syrupy, a combination of sugar and hop resin. Very drinkable, mostly because the balance is spectacular. You get some roast flavors and there’s the perfect amount of bitterness to keep it dry. Yay beer!

Jenn likes this one. It is reminiscent of the fall and winter seasonal brews, with a malty flavor and little aftertaste.

Batch 82 - 750mL bottle into an abbey glass. The beer pours deep brown and red with a khaki head that shrinks a bit with time. The aroma is noticeably sour at first which gives way to roasted malt and a dash of wood. The flavor is sour at the front of the mouth and rolls across into a dark and dry combination of malt, slightly smoked meats, and a hint of nutty wood and tobacco. Medium body and high carbonation typical of Belgian styles. Overall, the flavor was a bit too earthy and meaty for my full enjoyment.

Dark browns and faded blacks fill out the curves of my glass while a gentle head of khaki mousse fades into a shy ringlet. A thin blanket of khaki foam remains, and as I swirl my glass, a rush of mouth-watering aromas make a mad dash for my olfactory indulgence. Sweet, spiced, plump, and a touch fruity. Maple and toffee mingle with brown spices, wood, and vanilla root. Her nose exudes supple warmth, a worthy compliment to succulent cooked red apples, pears, and prunes sprinkled with a none-too-shy helping of cinnamon fresh from the stick. Toasted sugars crunch, blending into wood, spice, and warmth. Smitten, I raise my chalice of swirling dark delights to eager lips which are met by a softly effervescent mouthfeel which belies a full body of chewy dark breads, prunes, and dark raisins. Despite her dark appearance, her palate shines with crunchy sugars atop toasted raisin bread which leads into a symphony of wood. Her finish is long, her warmth slowly but surely invading my chest and the back of my throat. If humans could purr in soulful satisfaction, my chest would be rumbling right now. Medium weight and a full palate keep my senses busy. As we spend more time together, a subtle dryness refreshes just in time for the next juicy quaff. A perfect merry-go-round of crunchy sweet, cooked fruits, dark fruits, toast, spice, and wood. Seeing as my Allagash Dubbel came in a magnificently corked 750ml bottle, I have another full glass to sit back and savor. It’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it.

Allagash never lets me down, and their Dubbel is no exception. If you are looking for a fine craft example of the traditional Belgian dubbel style, then look no further.

Ruby red with a vanishing head at pour. Nutty at first taste. The body seems a little too thick, at times. Smooth, though. Dark malt character at the finish. Incredibly drinkable. A very solid beer.