Anderson Valley Brother Davids Double

Brewed by Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Boonville, California USA

Pours a beautiful deep reddish brown with a thin sand colored head that quickly disappears. Not very carbonated. Fruity, sweet malty aroma that reminds me of Chimay Bleue. Strong, assertive flavors of roasty malt and dark fruit, with hint of coffee and chocolate, that leaves a sweet, flowery soy taste which lasts and lasts. Very spicy as well. The floral qualities of the flavor on this one, especially the finish, kinda surprised me - again I’m reminded of the Chimay Bleue. Mouthfeel is thin and smooth. The 9% alcohol is very apparent without being too boozy, and burns the tongue just a slight bit. All in all, a delightful beer, perhaps not of the same caliber as the true Trappist dubbels, but enjoyable in its own right.

THOUGHTS: The taste was great at first, but then drooped off a lot. It seemed like a nice Belgiam recreation, but was only halfway there. Maybe that was due to the seeming lack of bottle conditioning. Not the best dubbel, but a still a really nice beer. Bottle. Poured a dark red that was almost brown in the glass with a small, off-white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was moderate caramel malt with apple, brown sugar, a little alcohol, spices and wither a port wine or brandy. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and slightly sour, while the finish was moderate to heavy sweetness with an average duration. The flavor had lots of spices up front along with brown sugar, some alcohol, more spce and dark fruit. Then the flavor becomes flat halfway through the mouth. If it weren’t for that it would have a nearly perfect flavor. The medium body was lightly fizzy with a light alcoholic finish.

Dark & almost opaque. Head thick, dissipating fairly rapidly, with lots of lacing. Punch-like aroma. Not as intensely bubbly as others have described. Sweet malted toffee plus juicy-fruit esters transforms into intense, complex earthy yeastiness. Alcohol really in your face. Sip it! This will allow to enjoy the funky yeasts without feeling overwhelmed by candy overtones or head-slamming alcohol (9%!).

lacey tan head, brown body, homebrew-esque nose, sweet sugar and apples, smooth liqourish flavor, brown sugar, delicate fruit flavor, sweet and delightful

Large bottle poured into trappist glass. Very dark browne colour with slight ruby highlights. Lots of carbonation but no real head or lacing. Aroma was sweet and that carried into the flavour. Alcohol was noticeable but not distracting. I disagree with the dubbel but it does seem right for winter. It was okay but not something I would try again.

Big bottle. Pours about as perfect a beer as you’ll ever see. Smallish off-white head over a cherry wood hued, crystal-clear beer. Aroma of nuts, cherries, brandy, apricots. Very hot and dry on the palate - definitely off style for that, but very good effect overall. Moderately long finish, with toffee and milk chocolate. May have been too heavy on the bittering hops for the style.

Nearly black ruby color with a thin head. Sweet fruit and malt aroma with raisin, cherry and hard candy flavor. Goes down smooth with little carbonation

Bomber, Ruby appearance with a full foamy off-white head that relaxes to a thin covering into a tulip and Gouden Carolus chalice glass, effervescence, aroma of brown sugar-molasses sweetness with fruit, faint alcohol in the background, dark malt, some chocolate fragrances, taste is some sweetness mixed with dark malt and a touch of pepperiness towards the finish, faint alcohol in the background but hidden well for 9%, faint plum flavor mixed with other malt flavors emerge on the palate, has medium or more carbonation to make this feel bubbly on the palate, alcohol did not grow on the palate to destroy the malt flavors, when I took my first whiff of this I thought the alcohol would overcome the rest of the flavors but not at all, I enjoyed this more than their triple, not bad at all.