Grottenbier Bruin

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

Serve in Trappist glass

330ml bottle, poured into a trappist glass. Pours a cloudy, ruby red with surprisingly small head. Aroma is mostly Belgian yeast and spiciness, some dried fruit. Taste is much of yeast and spices on the first gulp, but on the second the full range of flavors reveals itself. Fruitiness, apricot, lots of spiciness, bit of dried fruit. Aftertaste is full of spices with some berries. Some sour cherries in the background. Palate is silky smooth and full. A very nice and complex beer. Probably a lot to it that didn’t come up this time.

Brown, medium sweetness, medium bitterness, medium body, quite a good beer, recommendable.

BB 02-13. The pour is a murky, mahogany color with a full, beige, creamy, fluffy head which is somewhat lasting and leaves some tight, scattered lace. The nose is pleasant with dried fruit, coriander, dark candi sugar, doughy and spicy yeast, earth, and dried caramel. The flavor is similar with still lot of dried fruit and coriander, faintly tart, candi sugar, doughy yeast, and earth. The palate is medium, soft to lively, silky, and lightly drying. The beer finishes drying with earth, dried caramel, some coriander still, and some bitter herbs. Interesting dubbel with such a small carbonation level for the style and a very slight tart note from the dried fruit or the coriander notes. The beer really seamed like it was a little sweet but the finishing bitter herb notes really brought some balance. Not a bad example and certainly a bit different than the norm.

UPDATED: FEB 16, 2011 Light Belgian brune aroma. Nice opaque-hazy brown color with soft tan head. Not as malty or sweet as other brunes, but not bad. Notes: Had both versions, including the Pierre Celis signature collection. Bottles from the beautiful city of Valkenburg.

Bottle. Poured cloudy brown with huge beige head. Aroma is toffee and yeast. Flavour is raisin, yeast and sugar.

Really good ale. Interesting, complex taste and aroma. Some fruit, some malt..

Small bottle. Hazy brown/amber body with a huge head that stays on. Fresh yeasty aroma with some sweet dried fruit. Taste has malt, dried fruit and spices. The problem is that it feels kind of watered down. Maybe it had more flavor in the past - I will never know now. Since it is smooth it would make a great session beer, but it is too expensive for that.

Bottle. Hazy brown with medium tan head. Flavour is malt, sweet, yeast, caramel, dark fruit and spices.