Barrel House Belgian Winter Ale

Brewed by Barrel House Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Hazy dark brown color with a tan head. Aroma of spices, yeast and sugar. Flavors of dark fruits, sugar, yeast and spices.

Sampled on 2/3/07 courtesy of TheBeerCellar2: Pours a transparent copper mahogany with a thin ring of tan head. Aroma has some complex fruity oakiness with sweet bready biscuity malts. Body starts fairly full and earthy caramely sweet with nice light tart fruity balance and oaky cherry complexity. Good authenticity and very enjoyable.

On tap at Barrel House. The most impressive offering I tried- I was really surprised that they pulled this beer off so well. Poured dark red, topped by a thin light tan head. The aroma was largely of dark fruit; I even picked up hints of raspberry. The flavor is where this beer shines: it begins with dark fruit (cherry), chocolate, raisin and spice (including cinnamon), ending rather dry with vinous character and ethanol. Sharp, complex, and rich with an authentic Belgian feel. They should serve this at a more appropriate temperature! Nevertheless, this is a very solid beer.

New draft at Dilly Deli in Cincy. Poured a hazy brown with a small creamy light brown head that lasted. Good malty fruit aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture. Full flavor of allspice, cinnamon, clove and a good black cherry tone at the finish. Welcome back!

Draft: Pours dark brown with red hue and mediumalmond head. All I can say is I’m convinced this is chocolate cake with raspberry glaze. You get chocolate and roasted malts but then this tart raspberry fruitiness hits you and your like "where the hell did that come from" but it just taste awesome. That’s it chocolate and raspberries mixed a match made in heaven.

Bottle sample at a Barrel House dinner at Teller’s of Hyde Park. Pours a dark, almost opaque ruby-brown color with a medium tan head. Aroma of berries, dried fruits, caramel, molasses, sweet grains, sweet malts, and biscuit. The flavor is sweet and tart, with notes of berries, caramel, molasses, sweet roasted malts, figs, biscuit, winter spices, and bread. Medium bodied, with a syrupy, oily, and chewy mouthfee. The tartness is not overpowering, and adds an unexpected element for the style. Some of the spices and milder flavors are overshadowed on the nose by the berries and sweeter elements, but these all come out more clearly on the palate. Alcohol becomes just a bit apparent as it warms. Really nice winter beer.

22 oz bomber. Pours a hazy reddish brown amber with a creamy thick beige head. Aroma of raspberries, some chocolate and berry pie filling. Taste is tart raspberry cherry flavor with hints of chocolate and caramel. Interesting concoction here.

Thanks to beastiefan2k for sharing - pours a cloudy reddish brown, with an impressive, foamy lace - quite a tart aroma, with earthy/musty/yeasty qualities, and some brown sugar and bready malt in the background - the flavor is tart, nearly sour, and almost bretty at first, complimented well by notes of overripe apples - well-spiced, with nutmeg being most prominent - some sweetness develops, but mostly it stays tart and nearly tannic throughout - not sure it it’s supposed to taste like this, but I like it this way.