Grottenbier Bruin

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Watou, Belgium

Pours dark bronze with a soapy thick tan head. The aroma has dark fruits, raisins, earth, yeastiness, lightly toasted malt and cola aspects. Medium bodied that’s lighter than expected with sharp spritzy carbonation. Flavor starts with toasty malt, dark fruits from the aroma - mainly raisins and figs, and a good amount of earthiness. The finish has some hop spice and some astringency. Nice dubbel.

Here’s a find. Huge thick tan head, very sticky and coarse, leaving a significant amount of lacing on the glass. Very bright, sweet, fruity aromas with pear, apple, peach, and cherry notes. A delicate spiciness (nutmeg, cinnamon), along with a sweet malt and candy-like base. Flavors were similarly bright and crisp, though slightly sour, with apples and pears coming to the forefront. Sweet malts, bready yeast, and a hint of hops complemented the overall sweetness of this brew. The spiciness was present, but was of a mysterious and undefined nature. The mouthfeel was silky and velvety, and the carbonation produced a slight prickly feeling on the tongue. Nice bitter and dry finish, creating a very well-rounded, complex, and balanced experience. Really nice stuff.

A beautiful pour, time after time from the endless 750ml bottle... well-hazed bronze (fine sediment, mild carbonation) topped with a pearly, ecru head that held thick and clung in a sticky sheet. Aromas are woodsy, tart, yeasty, yogurty, cherries (not sweet), mild vinegar and alcohol. Flavor has an annoying metallic quality that does not disperse. Otherwise, a creamy mouth carries a flavorful melange of fruity yeasts and malts with enough tartness to initiate those looking for an introductory "Sour".

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Impressively headed murky chestnut specimen. Sweet, dank, licorice-and- soy sauce snout. Smells decidedly cooked and foody. A sourish hint of Rodenbach’s barrelly strangeness. Medium sweet caramel malt with a restrained Orval-like herbal note lurking in the background. That tangily metallic sensation on the tongue again. A creamily smooth and tasty hybrid of Flemish sour ale and Dubbel. More beers should be brewed in caves.

Draught > Gingerman. Good appearnace & good fruity cherry aroma. Nice creamy palate. Very drinakble and tasty.

(33 cl bottle at The Rover, Göteborg) Clear dark red color, dense tan head. Acidic to sour, some Belgian ale yeast also, scent. Spicy and a bit yeasty and alcohol taste. Sweet aftertaste. Medium bitterness, spritzy mouthfeel.

Bottle, 33 cl. A couple of months past "best-before"-date.. Good, solid dark Belgian ale (perhaps the most atypical dubbel sampled so far), wonderful nose, lacking in flavour and palate though. Wonderful Bretty note lingering in background.

Draft at the FW GingerMan. Pours a dark brown with a creamy off-white head. Aroma of light caramel, leaves, some vinegar, and light cocoa. Great yeast presence. FIrst thing I notice is actually the wonderfully creamy body, and it’s not as high-carbonated as expected. Great for me. Tastes of sugar, pear, grapes, earthy dust, and a light sour taste. Finishes dry and pretty full, with some roast and an almost salty/sour taste. I couldn’t help but notice the very light sour tones in this beer, mainly cause it was giving me flashbacks to my first gueuze and flemish sour beers. But I like the sourness here, cause it was so much lighter and fit with the beer, rather than completely overtaking it. This beer loses some points for not having quite enough flavor to justify the creamy and almost thick texture, and not tasting all that unique in the malts. But the yeast flavors and body were wonderful.