Dear Abbey Dubbel
Poured into a Chimay chalice to give this beer the best chance of scoring well, though I still have my doubts about a 'Abbey Dubbel', new to a brewery in rural Pennsylvania. Pours a tarnished gold color and brown in the glass with a big two finger fizzy head that falls back to a 1/4 inch off-white foam that seems to stick around and a fair amount of rejuvenating champagne-like bubbles. Smell is weak all around but there's some ripe fruit, honey and yeasty bread. Taste is very much like the ripe fruits in the smell. A little banana and a neutral fruit like pear. There is a small degree of the Belgian sugar, common to most abbey ales but much less here than in many, especially the Belgians. This Americanized version is more to my palate while still keeping true to style. I'm impressed. Must be the glass. The carbonation is almost disturbingly sharp, distracting from the taste in the front and very end. If you get by that then the mouthfeel is pretty good. Medium to light body with a clean finish. If the carbonation were just a bit less, I could see this as a very drinkable beer. I may get this one again to share with others as a decent example of an Americanized Belgian Dubbel and perhaps a gateway to Belgians in general.