Max Abbey

Brewed by Max Lagers
Style: Belgian Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Color is a beautiful dark honey-golden, cloudy and opaque, with a decent white head. Aroma is strong, malty, with fruity undertones. Flavor is rich, mainly malty with a touch of apple, and just a whisper of hoppy bitterness. Velvety smooth and mouth-filling, this is a beer to sip and appreciate.

On draft
The pour was scotch ale brown, with a minimal, yet persistent head. The nose was not too potent, but gave off an apple and sin-o-mon aroma. The flavor: very fruity for a dubbel, again apples and peach. This doesn’t fit into the roasty - chocolate type of dubbel. The finsih is mild and sweet, with a medium body. I’m curious about the ABV - I’m guess about 6%.

UPDATED: DEC 2, 2006 Rerate 11/2/03: Much better this time. Apparently when I got what was basically the last glass in the keg last time, it had in fact gone bad and wasn’t just a bad beer. The color is the same, a heavily cloudy dull medium-dark brown. The head is a nice, wet capuccino foam that fades completely, but slowly. The aroma is nice. A little tiny bit of spice (just enough to let you know they really did use trappist yeast) a bit of melon, a fairly complex set of ester aromas and a good bit of malt. You notice the candi sugar, but it’s not overpowering like it is in some beers of the style. The flavor is nicely malty and the alcohol is nicely covered. You notice the strength when you’re done, but you don’t notice it when you’re tasting it. My only qualm is that it’s too mellow. Perhaps it could have been fermented at a little higher temp to increase the yeasty flavors. Still, brewing such a large beer and getting it so balanced and covering the alcohol so well says a lot for the quality of this beer. The mouthfeel was rich and silky. Too bad they serve it in an American pint glass and way too cold. This beer deserves better. 1/20/03: The body is cloudy tanned leather. The aroma is sweet malt and light yeast spiciness. The flavor is tea and a slight belgian yeast spiciness. Seemed really flat which probably affected the flavor, but I’m not sure if this is a problem with the brewing or if the beer had just gone flat from being tapped too long. I’ll rate it again because the brewpub is pretty good.

This was a really great abbey dubbel. One that definitely has alot of promise once it warms up. Unfiltered and very dark amber in appearance. Very little head, but some nice lacing that lasts through the drink. A very nice malty backbone, with some interesting spiciness that dominates throughout. A very nice creamy mouthfeel, and once it does begin to warm up, the yeastiness overpowers you with some biscuity notes, again the same spiciness, but this time the aftertaste is kind of candi - coated and sugary. A very good outing from Max Lager's.

Appearance: Clear, amber-golden body with a thin, short-lived, white head. Already, the widespread carbonation problem, which has plagued the other pints I’ve tried, seems to be present here, too. What gives?! Smell: Spicy and sweet on the nose with a notable bready character and fruity notes of golden raisins and semi-ripened apricots. Taste: Bready, lightly toasty maltiness lightly brushed with sweet caramel. Moderate amount of sweetness throughout. Background hint of finely-ground spices. Light fruitiness splashed with honey liqueur. Max Abbey has a warming finish that’s a tad on the sweet side. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Lightly carbonated. Touch of stickiness to the mouthfeel, no doubt facilitated by the sheer lack of effervescence. Drinkability: A decent abbey ale, but, like Max Lager’s other beers, seems to be hampered by a surprising lack of carbonation. Which, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a proponent of highly carbonated beers with all their ghastly tongue-prickling fizziness, but that doesn’t mean flat is the way to go.

Lightly hazy amber, decent head. Aroma was caramel and clove accented Belgian yeast. Flavor essentially matched. A bit off from a true dubbel, but not a bad belgianish beer.

Cloudy amber with no head. Aroma is medium sweet, clove, banana. Taste is the same, plus an orange/lemon element. Medium body, light acidic. Tastewise, it's more evocative of a Weizenbock.

On tap at the brewpub. Handsome pour, gleaming deep brown with moderate carbonation and nice sticky lacing. It’s a pretty game effort at a dubbel. Soft and inviting nose. Not exactly obvious that there’s Trappist yeast involved, but the aroma is still a nice blend of nutty malts, caramel, and esters. Body is a bit on the thin side, slightly slick in the finish. But it tastes nice, on point even if not "wow."

UPDATED: DEC 15, 2009
Name: Belgian Ale
Date: November 19, 1999
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Sandy Springs
Appearance: dark amber, whispy head
Aroma: slightly sweet malt aroma
Flavor: rich malt flavor, balanced
Overall: but a belgian?

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Score: ** /4

Date: November 02, 2003
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: muddy brown, thin frothy tan head
Aroma: sweet chocolate banana nose aroma
Flavor: rich cholate flavor with lots of banana sweetness leading into a spicy finish

Date: January 20, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Score: 3.1 to 3.6
Appearance: clear dark red, dense creamy beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: huge yeasty fresh baked sourdough bread aroma with a hint of fruit and chocolate that appears as it warms
Body: body is a bit thin
Flavor: lots of fruity flavor on a rich chocolate malt base, maybe a hint of banana esters but may be a suggestion from the earlier rating, light bitterness adds complexity and balance
Overall: not as many esters as a typical Belgian but a very tasty and drinkable beer

Date: January 02, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Score: 3.6 to 3.4
this year’s version has dried out quite a bit living it spicy and bitter, as it warms some of the fruity esters emerge but are still a bit too reserved,

Date: November 08, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Score: 3.4 to 3.6
sweet fruity esters are back, nice dark fruits, light balancing bitterness,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4

TheDM and Hotstuff vacation brew 17. This draft brew was enjoyed at the brewery in Atlanta Georgia. We got the word that the Max Special chaged every 6 weeks. This rating was referred to as the Max Special an Abbaye Dubbel. I decided to post it here under their Abbey. This brew poured a small head of finely sized quickly dissappearing bubbles that left behind a fair lace and a hazy yeasty brown colored body. It had a mild floral aroma and a tingly mouthfeel with a lingering finish. The flavor was mild with notes of malt, yeast and dough.