New Belgium Abbey Review

Name: New Belgium Abbey
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 7%

I know I have said this many times in different reviews before but New Belgium Abbey holds a special place in my heart for being the first Abbey style ale that I ever had. In fact alot of beers styles that I was introduced to was because of New Belgium Brewing. Funny how that works out, yeah?

In any case, when I first had this a couple years ago when I was still in college, I was taken aback by how good this was and it introduced me to a plethora of new flavors as well as what a beer can taste like. I have had quite a few Abbey Dubbel ales since then and now I think it's time for me to revisit this beer.

New Belgium Abbey pours a darker but clear red color with a filmy head. The visible carbonation is quite mild and the lacing is pretty good.

Dark fruits and licorice starts things off in the nose with caramel malts notes and some mild clove and spice notes. The flavor is more or less the same as the aroma but with more of a spicy/yeasty taste to it and there are noticeable floral hop notes thrown in for good measure.

The palate is moderately weighted which has a rather thick texture. The carbonation is also rather moderate but it helps bring out some extra characteristics in the flavor.

Having been exposed to more Dubbels since I first had this, New Belgium Abbey has held up surprisingly well and I also don't think the quality has suffered in the time New Belgium has expanded their operations. In fact, I would go as far to say that this is a great beer to introduce someone to the Dubbel-style ale. Check it out and you'll see why I fell in love with the Dubbels in the first place

New Belgium Abbey - 8.5/10

Goose Island Pere Jacques Review

Name: Goose Island Pere Jacques
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 8.7%

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had some fun last night and stayed out of trouble; If so, you are already off to a great start. To kick off a brand new year, we're going to review another beer from Keyport's Growler fill station: Goose Island Pere Jacques.

I have been looking for different ways to review beer because it's mainly been cans and bottles. So you could say my New Year's resolution is to review more growler-based beer and that's a resolution we can all get behind.

Pere Jacques pours a ruby orange color with a very fizzy brown head, and no lacing. The carbonation also has a very mild appearance.

The nose has some licorice notes with hints of caramel malts, plums/dark fruits, orange peel, citrus hops and toffee. Pretty malty smelling as far as Dubbels go.

The flavor is a bit more citrus focused than the aroma. I'm getting citrus hops, plums, licorice, and caramel. It's worth pointing out that it doesn't taste as robust as the nose leads you to believe.

It's got a pretty heavy body paired with some lightly carbonation. It doesn't quite give it a creamy feel but it's fairly easy to drink.

While it gives a great first impression and despite having a decent taste, the flavor leaves something more to be desired. I feel that with a bit more robust flavor, this would be a fantastic Dubbel.

Goose Island Pere Jacques - 7.5/10

Sprecher Belgian-Style Dubbel Review

Name: Sprecher Belgian-Style Dubbel
Style: Abbey Dubbel
ABV: 6.5%

Up until few years ago, Sprecher Brewing was known to me as the people who made those kickass gourmet sodas at the grocery story (Puma Kola is amazing if you haven't tried it out yet!) and it never really occured to me until I got into craft beer that these guys also made beer. Well it turns out that not only do they make their own beer but they are celebrating their 25th year in business. Like many breweries celebrating their birthday, they have released a commemorative Abbey Dubbel beer to mark this event.

It pours a dark crimson red with an extremely fizzy brown head. There isn't really anything here in terms of lacing and the visible carbonation is rather high.

The nose has a strong licorice & plum note scent. Right behind that are some caramel, hoppy and earthy/grass notes.

The flavor has some mild licorice, plums, raisins, caramelized malts and a slight resin hoppiness. Aftertaste is rather dry and the flavor as a whole feels a bit underwhelming.

The body is light however the carbonation is waaaaaaay too strong for this type of beer; Almost like a club soda it seems.

Sprecher's attempt at making a Dubbel has all of the components to make a good Dubbel Ale but it doesn't quite fire on all cylinders in terms of flavor. As a Dubbel Ale, it's quite disappointing and you're better off looking elsewhere.

Sprecher Belgian-Style Dubbel - 5.5/10

New Glarus Anniversary Strong Ale Review

New Glarus Brewing just recently celebrated their 20th year in business and are in the midst of an expansion that will bring their capacity up to around 250,000 barrels, moving them up the ladder as one of the largest craft brewers in America. They're already 17th largest in the nation, so naturally the only direction to go is up.

In celebration of their 20th year in business, they have released their Anniversary Strong Ale, which has been classified as either a Belgian Dark Strong Ale or an Abbey Dubbel depending on who you ask. It's ABV is also unknown, so you have you have to give them points for being mysterious. While we're on the topic, while seeking this out I was under the impression that this would be a similar size to that of New Glarus' Serendipity. Nope this comes in a 16 oz. bottle, I'll admit you really don't see those too much anymore. It's also a limited release beer, so I'm really glad that I'm getting the opportunity to try this out; The joys of being close to Wisconsin!

It pours a dark red color with an off-white foamy head, abundant lacing and a mild amount of carbonation along the sides of the glass.

The aroma has some definitive Abbey qualities to it, consisting mainly of dark fruity notes, caramel, spices, figs, licorice, cloves and malts. The flavor is also pretty heavily Abbey influenced with caramel and plums upfront, followed by cloves, licorice, spices, figs, cloves and malts. The body is moderate in terms of weight and it's pretty light in carbonation.

I would classify this as a Abbey Dubbel just based on the flavor alone, but whatever it New Glarus calls it, one thing is certain: This is a great beer! It's got a smooth yet robust flavor, it smells wonderful and it's something you can sit down and cherish. If you so happen to stumble across this, you might want to grab it for yourself before someone else does.


New Glarus Anniversary Strong Ale - 9.5/10