Captain Lawrence St. Vincents Dubbel

Brewed by Captain Lawrence Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Pleasantville, New York USA

Porus a hazy brown with an ok head. The aroma is that of a bran muffin with maybe a few raisins thrown in for good measure. The flavor is a little hot. You’re tasting the alcohol more than you’d expect from a beer that’s 8% and fairly sweet from the malt. A little sticky.

Bottled 2006, Sampled September 2007
Pours with a frothy, initially three-finger thick, tightly beaded, tan colored head that sits atop a drab, opaque, dark plum colored beer, but which shows a brilliantly clear, bright cranberry color when held up to the light. The aroma is quite fruity smelling, with notes of blackberries, sweet plums and cherries being noticeable as the beer sits on the table in front of me. When I go in for a closer inspection of the nose, I get concentrated malt notes as well as the previously noticed fruit notes. Aromas of caramelized malt, brown sugar, a lightly concentrated malt note that evokes thoughts of an umami-like savoriness, toasty grain, lightly-browned soda crackers make up the distinctly malt derived components. The malt, obviously heavily influences the fruit aromatic components of this brew too. The fruit character also yields aromas of raisins, prunes, concentrated-caramelized apples and a bright berry like note. The aroma is quite nice and quite rich; I could certainly wish for a bit more spicy yeast influence, but it is really quite good.

Despite being fairly well carbonated, the beer has a soft creaminess to it up front. The carbonation then kicks in and helps to lighten the beers effect on the palate as well as adding a zippy frothiness to the brew as it flows past the tongue. It is fairly sweet and fruity tasting, though not overly so and in fact dries out to a soft sweetness after the first sip or so. The finish is interesting though, with a definite dark malt influence that leans towards darkly browned toasted bread and even an astringency from the toasted influence. This adds a bit of sharpness to the finish. Speaking of sharpness there is a spicy note in the finish as well; flavor notes from higher alcohols, a touch of phenolics and ginger/clove like note that gives me the sensation of a tongue numbing. Actually that tongue numbing note is really reminding me of the sensation I had last night when accidentally chewing on a clove that was in my bowl of Pho. This has ample fruit notes to it, with flavors of prunes, raisins, touches of dried figs and concentrated berry flavors all being noticeable. The body of this beer has a light-medium heft to it; it impacts the palate well with lingering flavors, yet remains quite light feeling. Strangely enough, I would not classify this beer as quaffable; it seems to have the body for that, but somehow the flavor impact is too large for me to feel comfortable with quaffing this brew (this is most definitely a good thing, given the alcohol percentage of this brew).

This is quite tasty, it has quite a bit more darker grain notes in it than is typical (especially towards the finish), but these notes mostly add another dimension to this brew. While the aroma is not overly so, the flavor definitely has some heavy spiciness to it (though I wouldn’t guess this is anything more than fermentation character). Fairly rich tasting, yet the overall experience of this beer remains surprisingly light. Either Dubbels are finally beginning to grow on me (Dubbels have been one of the few Belgian Styles I have not really been exited about), or this is just enough different from the typical example that I am really enjoying this right now.

Drunk 7/5. Caramel/amber color with fluffy tan head. Sweet caramel aroma. The taste was the mainly sweet caramel. Medium body. Better as it warms.

Bottle straight from the brewery. Brown pour, medium white head. Aroma is sour and caramel notes. Flavor has a touch of sourness, caramel, milk chocolate, nutty and toffee. Just a great rich malty flavor that start with a sour touch, caramel and chcolate then ends with a smokey finish.

750. Thanks, GoldTwins! Pours deep murky brown with a thick, creamy off-white head. Plenty of lace--clingy sheets of it. Huge green apple and sour cherry nose. Creamy soft body with very light carb, kind of a thickish mouthfeel. Very subdued flavors throughout the mid-palate and into a very restrained finish. A bit on the polite side, but very clean and drinkable.

Pours red/brown, with a tan head. Aroma is dark fruit, malt, brown sugar,a nd a small amount of bananas. Flavor is dark fruit, yeast, malt, and banana. Creamy body. A solid brew, but a bit steep at $14.

Bottle. Hazy orange/copper color with a large head. Spare lacing, good retention. Aroma was yeast, apple, fig and brown sugar. Fruity-sweet taste with cherries and lots of yeastiness throughout. Some tartness to finish. Fairly warm for the 8% ABV.

Name: Saint Vincent’s Dubbel
Date: 08/27/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark brown, scant head, slightly sweet dark fruit aroma, creamy body, touch of fruit flavor, nice gritty sweetness
-------- /> Name: Saint Vincent’s Dubbel
Date: 09/29/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2006
Score: 2.9 to 3.5

the dark fruit aroma is getting richer, the sweet brown sugar flavor is blending better with the fruity character as it ripens, touch of chocolate comes out as it warms, light bitterness keeps the balance,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4