Allagash Dubbel Reserve

Not bad Allagash. Much better than you white I tried. I did enjoy this, well done. Another example of why I went to beerfest.

Batch # 68. Mice pop while opening. Brown pour with light tan head. Head is thick and frothy. Sweet and yeasty aroma. Dry crisp taste- mild sweetness and noticeable yeast flavor. Alcohol is barely noticeable.

[Bottle] Pours reddish-amber with a small, lingering off-white head. Aroma is apple, light peppery notes, a lot of yeast, and some malt. Taste is some malt again, some alcohol, and a lot of yeast...ok there is a lot of yeast. Possibly a little raisin, but I think I’m reaching even for that. A little thin, pretty good length finish. A fairly poor dubbel, and really, I hate rating beers like this. Totally one-dimensional, hardly anything going on, and although not offensive, certainly not that great. Can I get some beer with this yeast please?

Poured a clear, dark as ever red until I dumped the yeast in. Now it’s a cloudy dark nut brown with a pretty frothy beige head. Aroma is all Belgian white...clove, yeast, and a touch of banana. Mouth feel is thin and flavor is watery, then dry. Finish is slightly nutty, but is uncomfortably dry.

12 oz bottle poured into a goblet. Hazy russet brown with a modest off-white head that doesn’t leave much lacing. Aroma is pretty faint but I get notes of dark breads, stone fruit, and clove. Flavor is more robust than the aroma but it’s still not as deep or complex as most authentic Belgian dubbels. Figs, burnt toast, raisins, pepper, clove. Mouthfeel is a touch watery with somewhat rough carbonation. Lacking in aroma, flavor, finesse, and fullness.

Batch 62 - I think this is a relatively aged bottle even though I bought only a few months ago. 750mL bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar (Escondido, CA). Pours a deep mahogany color with one finger of off-white head. Nice rich aroma, primarily of malty caramel but also some brown sugar and dark fruit. Taste is malty and pleasantly sweet with dark fruit present...and definitely some dark chocolate which was a little surprising. Light mouthfeel for the style. Some more of that dark chocolate in the finish. Rating #21.

Bottle. Pours a mahogany body with a big off white head. Chewy with hints of caramel malt, spices, and some unrefined sugar. Dusty apple caramel notes and an almost spiced rum sweetness. Great stuff.

I have never had a bad bottle. For a flagship this one is great. Very good belgian flavors of spice and candy. Some fruit and raisins and berries blend well with the creamy body from the caramel and molasses. Faint burnt character that lends to the bitterness with the hops. Very good.