 dkachur (893), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Apr 19, 2008
Review from cvillebeergeek.com...
Appearance: Poured into my trusty Duvel tulip (hate the beer, love the glass), this beer exhibits a slightly cloudy ruby red color. The head is foamy and thick. Retention is moderate, as is the lacing. 4.0/5.0
Aroma: Batch 69 exhibits a fairly typical dubbel aroma. Strong yeast aromas with banana esters, nuts, toffee/caramel maltness and a nice fruitiness (honeydew?). This aroma is, as I said, fairly typical. It doesn’t win any awards for originality, but it doesn’t offend either. 3.5/5.0
Taste: Taste is a little more bitter than I expected. Not much fruitiness here, but there is breadiness, a little toffee, and a strong nuttiness. A little mocha as well. This has the beginnings of a typical abbey dubbel, but lacks the fruitiness and the sweetness most dubbels have. Very dry. 3.5/5.0
Mouthfeel: Effervesence level is good (something I can only dream of when I bottle my first homebrew in a couple of days). There is a smooth and creamy feel to the beer, despite is dryness, a hint that the carbonation level is spot on. 4.0/5.0
Drinkability: Alcohol by volume is 7%, according to the bottle. While for me this might qualify as a session beer, it does require a bit of caution for most. Alcohol is hidden fairly well, though it does make its presence known. This beer will probably offend the virgin palate, as will nearly all Belgian styles, but if your beer palate is just a little bit developed, this is a nice beer. 4.0/5.0
Overall: Not really the typical abbey dubbel experience, but it is a good example of a dry Belgian style beer. The yeast strain used is unmistakably Belgian, but beer definitely does its own thing. I’m reminded of a time back in 2004, while campaigning for Howard Dean during the New Hampshire primaries, of being told that "that treeline" across a field from a high school in Somersworth was in Maine. Now, I’ve never been to Maine. We tried, but Dover, New Hampshire, where we were based, seems to be a vortex and no matter what direction you go in, you end up right back downtown. So, we never made it to Maine, but we did meet a lot of Mainers, and I’ve heard a lot about Maine culture since then. The point? When I imagine an abbey dubbel style ale combined with that Maine spirit, it would taste a lot like this beer. It’s not a great example of a abbey dubbel, but it is an easy drinking, high quality beer. 3.8/5.0
flatmatt (98), Northville, Michigan, USA
Oct 10, 2008 12 oz bottle. Pours slightly red brown with a small white head. Light aromas of dark fruits, green apples, toasted malts. Flavor is slightly tart green apples, biscuity malts, a touch of honey and a little dark fruit. Pleasant but also somewhat weak flavor.
punkrkr27 (354), Clawson, Michigan, USA
Sep 28, 2008 Dark iced tea colored pour with a ruby highlight and a large 3 finger off-white head. Subtly toasty caramel nose with some faint grass, dark fruit and cedar. Flavor is as equally subtle as the aroma with hints of caramel, almond, vanilla, dates, and cocoa. Medium body with a soft carbonation and a tad watery finish. Definitely a tasty and drinkable beer for being a high-po Belgian but it just seems to be lacking in body and flavor.
rds (116), USA
Sep 28, 2008 This dark amber, near brown, dubbel wears a thin tan head, and carries notes of caramel amid a woodsy earthy background. Plenty of balanced malt, not too sweet, real smooth. A fine dubbel.
chimp_lechamp (372), freehold, New Jersey, USA
Sep 28, 2008 tap at the memphis taproom- pours brown with thin offwhite head. nose is bubblegum, wheat? yeast, full bodied and very good. lots of subtleties about this one.
drfabulous (740), Columbia, Missouri, USA
Sep 26, 2008 I’m getting lots of malt. Some cherry. Sweetness. Even a bit of chocolate. "Should I open another?" I asked the wife. "Is it a bomber?" she asked. "Yes." "Then do it." And so this was opened.
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