Brewery Vivant Abbey Ale

Brewed by Brewery Vivant
Style: Belgian Ale
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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pours a nice auburn color good maltyness up front with a nice spice finish but a bit watery. Over all a good beer and looking forward to the other 3 that I have in the 4 pack.

Aroma brings light spicy incense and Belgian sweet malty yeast notes. The raisins and pours described come through for sure on the aroma. Pours mahogany in color with a ton of bubbles. The flavor is malty, with light caramel and fruity fig notes on a smooth medium body.

Tall Boy, thanks manny57. Pours like cola with adequate carbonation but not much of a head. Nose is fruity and spicey, some belgian yeasty esters, dark fruits, pear, apple., very nice. Flavor is much more bittter and much drier than expected. Usually I like drier beers over sweet beers but this just seems out of place, especially considering the aroma.

This poured a semi cloudy darker red color with a beige head. Aroma was of some sweter candy suagr, some darker fruits, such as plums and figs, and some brown sugar. Flavor was much the same. Spicier and drier than was expecting from the aroma. Mainly yeasty spicenss, and plums. Solid belgian offering.

16oz can. Mahogany pour with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of dark fruits, chocolate, brown sugar, fruity, and yeast. Tastes of dark fruits, chocolate, and yeast.

Pours rich mahogany, medium head, aromas a bit on the dull side but pleasant. Bready malts, faint notes of chocolate, Belgian yeast esters. Smooth mouthfeel, good carbonation. A mildly sweet brown ale, little to no hop presence, overall a really tasty concoction though.

16 oz can. Pours the color of cola with a similar thinness and transparency in the light. Carbonation leaves a nice dense (but thin) head and little carbonation rises or sticks to the sides of the glass. First approach with the nose leaves the sensation of stepping into the grain bin of grandpa’s farm when I was a kid or going to the grain silos with him. Kind of a dusty and grainy aroma. Closer analysis indicates there is a little hint of dark fruit in the background, but it’s almost all grain. I’m wondering where the Belgian yeast complexity is at, because I’m not finding it in the nose. Flavor is better. Sure, it’s heavy with dusty grain, a little bit of a woodsy flavor (leaf detritus and firewood), nuts and just a hint of raisin or prune. It is light on the palate and doesn’t go very far... kind of thin. I like it enough, but it seems to lack complexity.

This is the first time I’ve been excited to try a dubbel since I had Chimay Red for the first time because HEY IT’S IN A CAN! I’ve never seen a dubbel in a can. I realize the can says "Abbey Style Ale", but it’s a dubbel. It pours dark reddish-brown with a thick off white head from the can. It has the aroma of caramel, raisins, brown sugar. Flavor is malt forward, brown sugar and caramel, with some note of dark fruit and Belgian candi sugar. Light pear and apple. Full bodied, nice authentic carbonation. This is a pretty good interpretation of a boring style. This is kind of special. I will have to make sure to visit this place next time I’m in Grand Rapids.

Draft sample. Poured a clear brown color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy toasted malt , nuts and yeast aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium toasted sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectation where met.

On tap at the brewpub. Deep translucent red-brown ruby/garnet body, thin tight buff head. Nose of clove, toast, and dark fruit, estery with slight sweetness. Firm estery body with cloves, dark fruit (plum), brown sugar, and toast, with a spritzy mouthfeel. Quite good, clean and well-executed.