Allagash Dubbel Reserve

Brewed by Allagash Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Portland, Maine USA

Dark brown with ample tan head and nice lacing. Heavy roasted malts aromas persist: coffee, chocolate, toffee as well as rounded fruit scents. Fruity and nutty flavors devlop as well as floral hops, delicate roasted malts, riasiny fig tastes with echoes of chocolate and vanilla. Nice mouthfeel, drinkable and a good example of the style.

Aged for 6 months (not really vintage)Pours a dark murky amber colour with a creamy off white head and lightly particulated.Aroma is dark fruit, chocolate and nutty malts. Intitial taste dark fruits and cherry. Finishing with dry and mild bitter and spice. Soft carbonation, good lacing of the glass, great head retention. Palate duration is average.

750 ml Bottle Pours a dark, murky brown with a medium sized off-white head. The scent is pleasent but hard to distinguish. The flavor is amazing - a smooth, refined blend of malts with a bit of some dark fruits. The finish is equally good as it slowly lingers in your mouth - excellent. This is truly at the top of the non-Belgian abbey ales and rivals even the Trappists if not in the overt complexity than the pure enjoyment of the brew.

750 mL bottle, Batch 404 (vintage), shared with ArcaneApollo, 4/4/2007. WOW, this beer became incredibly complex with age. The beer pours a deep ruby color with a lacy white head. Aroma is chocolate and plum. Taste is malt up front, with hints of chocolate, plum, and slight raisin, nutty, and earth notes included as well. Excellent dubbel (again, it’s worth noting I sampled a vintage, and the current Allagash Dubbel I have tried scores lower than this).

750 ml bottle from MCAS Miramar Marine Mart: Pours a murky prune juice brown with a medium, but fading beige head. Aroma is spicy and wine like with dark fruit. Flavor starts spicy and fruity with raisin and plum finishing lightly sweet with a mild bitterness. Medium bodied and creamy with moderate carbonation.

Pours a deep walnut brown with a one finger off-white head that fades slowly to a thin cap. The lacing is thick, almost completely covering the inside on the glass. Smell; sweet almost sugary, with lots of dark fruits. Raisins, plums and dates are all present as well as some roasted earthy notes. Taste; as with the nose the flavor starts out sweet with brown sugar, and little chocolate. Raisins, plums and dates give this the fruitiness you would expect with a double, and the finish is a touch on the earthy side. Not the best double out there, but pretty darn respectable. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a nice smooth carbonation, and the drinkability is good.

Looks good, tastes good. Malty and sweet. Nice dry finish. Nice little brewery up there.

Bu en échantillon, à la brasserie (bouteille de 750 ml.). Brune mi-foncée, moyen collet beige. Arome légé de caramel épicé, un peu malté. Goût de malte de cassonade peu impossant, pas si fort en sensation d’alcool. Assez bien!