Corsendonk Pater (Abbey Brown Ale)

Brewed by Du Bocq
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Purnode-Yvoir, Belgium

Black cherry red with dirty vanilla foam. Heavily sedimented, but an insubstantial body for a Dubbel of this strength. Fruity licorice aroma. Dark fruit with a bitter chocolate finish. Rapidly losing my ability to taste (hayfever). Will get back to you on this one.

330 ml bottle 8/9/06

Pours deep brown with red highlights and a persistant head. The aroma offers tangerine and brown sugar with a considerable dose of leafy hops. The flavor brings porter notes, vinous, slightly sour, and rich with chocolate; I also get figs and plums and molasses, the sweetness of which is cut nicely by a reasonably drink and robust hop finish. Rich dark fruity malts dominate the yeasts, as Oakes pointed out in his review.

The mouthfeel is full but over-carbonated; not in a prickly sense but with the sort of bubbles that explode and fill your mouth. Still, I’m pleasantly surprised at just how good this one is.

Draft at the Barking Dog in Seattle 12/27/06.

Pours beautifully despite a modest head, black in the shadows, deep red-brown when held to the light. The aroma is all raisins and dates. They’re present in the flavor also, but there is so much else going on too. Not particuarly sweet, yet offering caramel and hints of chocolate, vinous tones and a whisper of orange peel, a nicely balanced finish that brings in enough hops to round out nicely.

This time I’d give it about a 7/4/7/4/14, but unfortunately, the beer was served much too cold and this certainly influenced the tasting. On tap, it picked up a point on palate (the overcarbonation was no longer a problem) but dropped a point on aroma, flavor, and overall. At the proper temperature, it might have recovered each of these.

pours dark reddish brown with nice creamy head. smells of brown sugar, plum, and dough. Has a complex flavor with hints of different sweet, dark fruits, possibly grape but with a slight metallic after taste. Very smooth and very enjoyable.

Bottle. Rusty/dark brown with white head. Dark fruits. Smooth feel in the mouth.´Medium carbonated. The sweetness and bitterness in the finish goes along well.

Deep and very dark brownish reddish color. Huge frothy, creamy, cappuccino-like head that stayed around until the end. Sweet malty, caramel, brown sugar aroma...hints of yeast, wheat, and a general spiciness. Great complex blend of flavors: dried fruits (dates, raisins, cherries), spices (nutmeg, clove), molasses, brown sugar. Somewhat syrupy and sticky mouthfeel, but not too much as to make it difficult to drink. Some very slight hoppy bitterness to the finish. A very well-balanced brew--really complex, but not totally overwhelming.

Bottle. Chestnut brown cloudy body topped with a huge beige foamy head. Nice malty/hoppy aroma with yeasty, spicy, and fruity notes. Its hoppy taste carries sour, plummy, and yeasty hints. Ends with a decent bitter/sour finish. Very enjoyable.

A Mes rate: 33cl bottle from Lowlander. Was sure I had done this before but it seems I have not. That’s why I did not remember it being this good. Sugary sweet and spicy nose with hints of dark fruit (blackcurrant) a little clove and a good dose of malt. Appearance is very good. Clean, not cloudy, mahogany with a thick long lasting tan head that leaves chunky lace. The flavour has an aged character. The malt is there again but this time it is accompanied by raisins and ginger. The bitter finish is brief and a slight letdown considering the quality elsewhere. However, overall its a damn fine drop.

Cloudy brown, with exquisite small-bubbled lacing; beautiful in the glass. Cherries and yeasty nose. Taste profile - showing bits of coriander and a medium-mouthed maltiness - is very reminiscent of Traquair’s Jacobite, with a bit more heft and hops and raisiny around the edges. An excellent brew.