New Belgium Abbey

Medium amber in color, with moderate head of large bubbles - full aroma of yeast, clove, banana, nutmeg, earthy tones - lively, mouth-tingling carbonation - grainy malt character - light character with some odd notes of vegetables I can’t place - background hints of spices (mostly cinnamon) - subtle tartness, slight hops way in the back - very dry, not as sweet as I expect from the style - overall not too bad - thanks to Crosling for the sample.

Thanks to csbosox for sending this. Pours a clear brown color with a ring of offwhite lace. Aroma of smoked malt (?), caramel and alcohol. Flavor of caramel, malt and yeast. Light body, dry mouthfeel and soft carbonation. It’s good but I consider that a Dubbel should be better than that.

12oz - Solid nosefull of sweet yeast, banana, and bubblegum. Bubbly transparent brown with a nice huge head and great lacing. Flavor is subtle yet strong and hides the alcohol well. Again, sweet fruit and yeast common in a dubbel that New Belgium does very well. Palate is a little sour and sticky. Overall a good example of a Belgian for a fraction of the price.

Bottle-conditioned: 355 ml (i.e. 12 oz) bottle, as in the picture. Served at about 45 degrees, just a bit cooler than the 50 degrees recommended on the bottle. As the glass warmed, things got better and better. Dark red/brown, mahogany color with a smallish head that gives way to just a persistent light lace. Nice appearance. Smell is definitely fruity (raspberry and cherry?) with some chocolate and fig. Taste is chocolatey, sweetly dark and rich like figs, with a depth of toasted malt in the aftertaste. Also picked up some pepper and grapefruit (!). Not overly toasty, just warm and rich. I’m sure there are some hops in there somewhere, but their presence is delightfully subtle. The alcohol is there but masked by the spicey fruit and pepper. Mouthfeel is where this beer delights! So smooth and round, you want to swirl it around in your mouth! Mmmm. Perhaps a bit too rich for drinking many of these --- two or three is the limit. The alcohol limits consumption a bit as well. I really enjoy the yeast in this beer -- it’s ALIVE! Overall, a really nice American example of the style.

Clear dark brown in color with a good size amber head that sticks around. Aromas of banana and spices greet you. Flavors of banana, clove sweet malt, and yeast stand out in the complex flavor of this beer.

rated from a sample at the brewery...an OK beer with a massice nose of banana & bubble gum...and that yeast continues to overwhelm the beer as well...I try this about twice a year and always think the same thing about it...there’s nothing that moves me here...but it does look pretty in the glass...

The bottle poured a beautiful clear garnet-brown liquid with lively, tiny bubbles ascending to an ample off-white creamy head. The head lasted for ever and produced Elizabethan lace on the edge of the glass! The aroma was a heavenly fruity mixture of fresh banana, grapes and plums with notes of clove and pepper in the background. The mouthfeel was just a bit thinner than I would have expected but still quite smooth. The flavors were somewhat complex but primarily sweet malt at first. There was a slight hop bitterness in the middle ... more of a crispness. The finish was very long and had pleasant alcohol warmth to it.

Poured a dark amber with a medium to large off white head. Aroma is sweet malt and fruity yeast. Flavor follows suit with a heavy sweet malt flavor and a very heavy bread yeast flavor. I can’t explain all of the other flavors but this was a very nice dubbel..