Lakefront Fat Abbey Strong Ale

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Tap @ The Nomad. Light chestnut color with a moderate light beige head. Aromas of toasted wheat bread, brown sugar and pralines. Caramel and mild spice (allspice) flavors. Didn’t have much depth to me. I wondered if the tap lines needed a good cleaning. I will need to revisit.; after seeing some of the other better reviews.

On draught at the City Lounge in Cudahy, WI. Pours a semi-hazy, orange amber brew with a small milky white head that has excellent retention and nice lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, citrus zest, a hint of pine and toffee. Taste is medium bodied, flavors of caramel malt, some dry citrus hops, with some tart fruit. Finish has a sharp bitterness that quickly disappears. Definitely more like a Tripel than a Belgain ale.

On tap at The Nomad. Poured a clear, rich amber with a respectable cap of off-white headage. Nose was of rich caramel and spicy malts.. along with herbal hops and toffee... very enticing. Flavor stepped it up another notch... spicy caramel blended well some significant hoppage (both herbal and Cascades well represented), buttered toffee, and mild nuttiness. Smooth and about medium-bodied on the palate. Very, very good!

At the Nomad. Dark amber color with a thin head. No aroma, though it could be the overwhelming smoke from the bar... Sweet malt taste with a strong buttery component on the end. Oddly enough, I did not pick up the hops at all. Not too damn bad.

I sampled this on tap at Trocadero. I was pleasantly surprised that this beer was so good. It poured to a hazy bright brown/red body with visible carbonation and a thick creamy beige head. The aroma was sweet caramel, almonds, and lightly hoppy. The flavor was really where this beer excelled. I tasted it and was like holy "@#!$%", I wasn’t expecting that! Very nicely hopped. If I had to guess, it’s greater than 70 IBU. The flavor is very hoppy, cascade hops, English hops, there’s also a rich malt. Toffee and brown sugar.

Brown Coloring with White Skin. Hoppy Aroma...Dusty Malt and Dry Hop Notes on the Tongue...Dry Musty Aftertaste..with an Oddly Buttery Beginning...glancing at JPDIPSO’s rating, I would Agree with Prailines.

On tap at the Nomad, presumably replacing the Pub Red. Murky caramel brown in color with a wispy, whitish / tan head. Sweet and rich aroma - chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel, carmelized pecans and brown sugar. First sip, and holy hop brigade. Bitter cascade hopping is up close and personal. Rich brazed pecans, cedar chest, pine combs, toffee and tobacco to go along with the prevailing caramel and brown sugar sweetness. Some slippery maple syrup melds the tongue to the palate and gives some fodder for the chewy malts. Very expressive with the IBUs. Mexican cigar wrapper aftertaste. Nice.

Served as a lightly-hazed mahogany with very little head to speak of. Aroma of sweet malts, grape, brandy and high alcohol... a thick, heavy scent that was detectable before the glass was set down on the bar. Contrary to the aroma, the flavor came off hoppy & bitter (not that I minded) under a caramel candy-sweetness. Dry palate was noticably alcoholic. Felt big in contrast to a thin mouthfeel.

<font size=-4>On tap at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/wisconsin/milwa Milwaukee, WI<font size=-1>