McKenzie Abbey 8

Brewed by McKenzie Brew House
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Trappist glass

750ml bottle thanks to jeffin7: Nice light brown colored body with a large light tan head. Interesting nose that’s fruity, with notes of berries, mint, spicy yeasts, banana, clove, bread, dough, and pear. Hints of fruit & toffee hint initially with some alochol. Then you get notes of sweet malt, caramel, vanilla, with some nice phenols and spice notes in there. Before things end you also get some flavors of slightly sour yeast, pepper & doughy malts. Nice depth and complexity here.

Pours turbid dark brown with medium splotchy wgite head. Aroma of malt, dark fruit, spices....very Belgian dubbly aroma. Tastes malty, fruity, with some finishing toffee and caramel malt and candi sugar. Not real dense on the palate, and with very little carbonation. Still, very complex and well balanced. A nice example of the style, and another winner from McKenzie’s.

Vintage August 2004. Hand bottled by McKenzie’s - 750ml bottle. Poured a medium to darker, cloudy copper color with an averaged sized tan head. Aromas and tastes of spices, bananas, yeast and some caramel. Malty and bready in the tastes as well. Lively and dry body.

Bottle courtesy of hopdog and one of the dude’s final batches at McKenzies. Pours pinkish brown with a thin tan head. Smells perfumy with lots of dark fruit, spices and dough. Taste is of tarte cherries, lots of fruit, nutty malt and pepper. An excellent beer. I hope to see this brewer land firmly on his feet.

Appears a murky, copper toned amber with a 1 finger off white head that slowly fades out into a gentle collar. Mild speckles of lacing are left around the goblet. Smell is of a raisin & plum reduction infused with light brown sugar, yeasty dough, and a dash of cooked banana, and light dusting of cocoa & powderized vanilla. Mmmhmmm...sure do love that Rochefort yeast. It’s the shizle. Taste is of the same great aromas, only better. The complex flavors materialize into a well blended Belgian Ale. Perhaps not as complex as Rochefort itself but if Scotty Morrison could bottle these again and us uber-beer-geeks could sit on them for a while, I’m sure it would ripen beautifully. Mouthfeel is sugary, yeasty, mildly spicy, and semi-dry.

Auburn in color. Finely beaded bubbles beneath a lumpy, spongy meringue. Alluring scents of assorted berries, mint, fennel, and bready malt. Underlying floral hop fragrance and doughy yeast. Lush carbonic texture. Superbly conditioned. Vague toffee breaths allay the early alcoholic sting. Amply full, with isolated pockets of airiness chased by a swift counterpoint of body-strengthening bready malt richness. Vibrant splash of juicy floral hops and soft melon acidity slowly relapses into a vast range of subtleties of vanilla, zippy fennel, spicy yeast, and cedary alcohol. Dry phenolic esters lengthen the dainty level of spice. Deeply-rooted cakey malt and doughy yeast gain foothold by working in tandem to highlight the tongue-tingling esters and sustain the fluffily thick body. Finishes yeastily astringent, yet moistly yeasty, as well, with a sweep of succulent malt accented with fruitcake and bulbously husky pale malt tones. Yeast addition imparts more mint to the aroma and exponentially increases the peppery flavor. Another artful brew from this most skillful brewer.

Draught at Kennett Square Fest, October 2006
Dark, milk-chocolate brown colored body is quite hazy, only showinga medium-low clarity. Deep beige/butter colored head is medium-sized and is retained at cover, leaving light lacing.
Very well-executed nose is reserved in fruitiness and ester/phenols, but still manages to integrate them in to the ample chocolate-caramel maltiness. Dry brown bread and light biscuits are contrasted with sweet chocolate-caramel notes, with a bit of honey-vanilla cream (pale/aromatic malts) behind it. Banana esters are soft and sweet, while more vanilla notes, light prunes and raisins all help to minimize the phenolic side. It turns out only a bit of clove, which comes off more allspice-like, sweeter and less intrusive in to the aroma. Little/no pepperiness. The malts really shine the most, though. Being very fresh and crisp, despite the choco-caramel sweetness, you can smell the barley-grain, almost, beneath the sugars. Just a nice wholesome edge to the aroma. Moderate esters and more raisin-prune notes trail off, with a pleasant, fresh yeastiness and a dollop of toffee. Elegant stuff, no alcohol noted, medium-high strength of aroma.
With all of the malt apparency in the nose, it’s no surprise when, in the flavor, the malt makes a big splash. Caramel/chocolate covered raisins, with very light plumskin dryness immediately create a balanced flavor. Buttertoffee and vanilla creep in on the edges, mixing with light banana and other fruit esters (cherries, strawberries, etc.) to add complexity and Belgian distinction. Light roasted notes and minor phenolics keep the balance on the finish. On the sweet side (though I never once thought too sweet), but the extra maltiness creates a tremendously soft, supple mouthfeel. Add to this a lightly brisk carbonation and fresh yeast. Vinousness increases as it warms. No alcohol noted. Lovely.

Auburn, very malty nose. Very interesting taste, somewhat sour with a sweet/sugary balance. Nicely dry at the end. Would prefer it a bit richer, but still quite enjoyable.