5 Seasons Delerium Dubbel

Brewed by 5 Seasons Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Date: 01/21/2002
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Score: iii

Dark ruby, thin tan head, sweet fruity aroma, rich malt flavor with strong essence of dates, slight hint of floral hops, dries out considerably when it warms
-------- /> Date: 01/05/2003
Score: iii

rich tart aroma with a sliqhtly alcoholic sweet fruity essence, complex malt flavor, lots of fruit character, sweet with a tart edge,
-------- /> Date: 01/04/2004
Score: iiii

still tart in the aroma, and very rich fruit essence in the flavor, resembling a burgandy, it’s all about the malt, better every year
-------- /> Date: 01/27/2005

rich sweet fruity malt aroma with only a hint of tartness, rich complex incredible malt flavor, hints of ripe fruit that surface as it warms,
-------- /> Date: 02/02/2006

malt flavor has dried out this year, still some really nice ripe fruit character,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 9/10
Score: **4

Objectively speaking: Straightforward dubbel which goes off track with its ridiculously overamped carbonation. Whirling the glass does not completly heal it. A bit disappointing as an introduction to 5 Seasons Brewing.
I like: Interesting yeast strain matches Belgium’s for its peppery spiciness and fruity ester production. Vinous aroma with prune, caramel and chocolate notes.
I dislike: You know it’s going to be overcarbonated from the very nose. Biting, murderous carbonation kills the flavour development. Nothing is left behind this storm. It even fails to produce a decent foam.

2002 bottle shared at the Georgia 14%gathering: Pours a clear brown with a thin white head. Mild bready Belgian yeast and caramel malty aroma. Starts lightly sugary sweet and smooth with nice complexity. Finishes mild with chocolate notes and some fruit. A very nice Belgian style dubbel.

My Bottom Line:
An inviting doughy, fruity Belgian yeast character permeates the malt’s generous cocoa offering, building a lustful body for this textbook Dubbel.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A creamy sheet of foam dwindles into the cloudy reddish-brown.
-The fruitiness is redolent of dates and figs.
-This is not the most complex Dubbel, but it is ever so satisfying for lovers of the style.
-I was expecting the bottled version to be a tad better than the tap, but its carbonation was so expansive that it marred the body somewhat. Otherwise, the beer was as satisfying.

On tap at the brewpub and from the bottle.

Bottle ala Nathan. Hazed dark copper color with a small dense head of light tan bubbles. LIght butter caramel and butterscotch in the flavors. Not much yeast character for a dubbel.

Poured a dark brown. Malty aroma was sweet, fruity, and bready. Mainly dark dried fruits. Flavor was sweet caramel and raisins. Light to medium bodied.

Vertical tasting: I had the fresh on-tap keg as well as a bottle condition version from mid 2004. While they each had their own characteristics, and similarity of dark colour, I found the recent batch to have a creaminess, lace, and distinct fruity colour. The aged bottle had lost that fruitiness, there was more caramel as predominant taste bit while drinkable, had to have food to offset the astringency.

TheDM and Hotstuff vacation brew 27. This draft brew was enjoyed at the brewery in Atlanta Georgia. Dennis, the owner, treated us royally. He kept bringing sample after sample to our table. We were given every courtesy and treated very well. Thanks to their fine staff. This brew poured a small head of fine to large sized off-white colored mostly diminishing bubbles that left behind a hazy brown colored yeasty body. The mouthfeel was smooth and slightly tingly with a slight bite in the finish. It had heavy malt flavor with brown beer notes. It was a nice mix of flavors that was pleasing. The aroma was doughy.