Sierra Nevada Ovila Dubbel

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Chico, California USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

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Appearance: dark reddish/brown, with orange notes; thick, creamy one-finger light tan head; tons of silky, tiny-bubbled lace curtains . Aroma: notes of caramelized brown sugar, raisins, graham crackers, clove, hint of banana. Taste: ginger snaps, molasses, brown sugar, toasted bread, clove, a little peppery spice, a hint of old leather and maybe some cherry pie filling. Finish: a little sweet, with a pleasantly soft zing of spices giving way to a bit of tobacco. Notes: Absolutely wonderful. Might be the very best American version of an abbey dubbel I’ve ever had. To me, this beer is just a notch below the Chimay Red.

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Pours dark muddy brown with ruby red edges. Smells malty, touches of caramel and a good Belgian yeast smell, sweet and fruity. Tastes primarily malty with a sweet, bready characteristic. Full-bodied with an oily texture and decent carbonation, Ovila Dubbel finishes with vinous dryness.

750Ml bottle, caged & corked. Chestnut color, light tan head. Aroma of toasted nuts, caramelized malts, and dried dark fruits. Mostly nuts. Flavors include tobacco, nuts, caramel and toffee, some dry date flavors, dark bread, roasted barley. Finishes with a chalky dry texture. This is by far the BEST Sierra Nevada beer I’ve had. Complex, fulfilling, excitingly flavorful, and not to be too clique... spiritual. 7,5,10,5,18

Slightly khaki head, with a dark brown body. Maybe slightly lighter than dark brown. Powdery coat looking almost. Small bubble carbonation. Smell is yeasty, with plenty of raisins and some spice. Almost like you would want to marinade your meat with it. Fresh tasting which makes it refreshing as compared to other dubbels. Taste is brown, floral, slightly sweet. Ending is slightly carbonated, dry, chemic. True to the style, nice palate. As good as any other world class dubbel ale.

Bottle. Pours walnut brown creamy tan head. Malt sour aroma, malty, slightly sour taste, watlnut/hazelnut aftertaste. Very solid beer, and a very nice americanisation of the style.

Strong aroma of grapes and malts to begin with while the appearance is brownish amber. The flavor is of dark fruit and subtle all around. The overall score for this is very good and not over the top but still a great Dubbel.

I’m glad I drank this but will probably never buy it again. I recommend drinking this one just below room temp.

Excellent Dubel! And I usually don’t like Dubbels. Sweet with dry finish, notes of dark fruits, little coffee and some euro-tasting candy. A bit like a coffee candy - but so much more - notes of faint tannins, wood and cork.

THOUGHTS: Great dubbel. One of the best American examples I’ve tried. It could pretty much pass for Belgian. A touch sweeter up front than a lot of trappist dubbels, but otherwise finished just as dry & complex. Will probably age nicely. Equal parts fruity, spicy and malty with an underlying yeastiness. Great tasting, well-crafted beer. Nice balance. Bonus point for excellent label. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a medium brown with red highlights and a small to average creamy and fizzy, cream-colored head that mostly diminished and left fair to good lacing. The aroma had moderate to heavy caramel and dark candi sugar; slight nutty and toasted malts; hints of chocolate; heavy doughy, fruity and spicy yeast; raisin, maple syrup and clove. The initial flavor was somewhat to moderate sweet, somewhat bitter and moderately acidic; while the finish was moderately sweet and light to moderately acidic with an average to long duration. There was caramel, molasses, hints of chocolate, maple syrup, brown sugar, lots of yeast, spices, peppery, dark fruit, acidic, fruit, raisin, a little red wine, dark candi sugar, very yeasty, a little alcohol and dark cherry. The nearly medium body was a little syrupy, but watery syrupy, and then very dry with very fizzy carbonation and a dry and slightly alcoholic finish.