McKenzie Abbey 8

Brewed by McKenzie Brew House
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

Bottle pours dark ruby, much like a root beer, very large off-white pillowy head, with sticky lacing.   Slightly yeasty and candyish aroma.   Very subtle chocolate covered cherry like aroma.   Not as aromatic as I would have hoped. Very little dark pitted fruit.   Semi-sweet malty flavor, but unfortunately thats about it.   Medium body, with a very fizzy/spritzy mouthfeel.   Finishes rather bland, slightly sweet, but without any of the darky fruity flavors I have come to expect.   This was a let down.   So far the Super Saison was much better.   Still have yet to try the Impy Stout and Barleywine.   Thanks goes out to egajdzis for the trade.

Pours turbid dark brown with medium splotchy wgite head. Aroma of malt, dark fruit, spices....very Belgian dubbly aroma. Tastes malty, fruity, with some finishing toffee and caramel malt and candi sugar. Not real dense on the palate, and with very little carbonation. Still, very complex and well balanced. A nice example of the style, and another winner from McKenzie’s.

Vintage August 2004. Hand bottled by McKenzie’s - 750ml bottle. Poured a medium to darker, cloudy copper color with an averaged sized tan head. Aromas and tastes of spices, bananas, yeast and some caramel. Malty and bready in the tastes as well. Lively and dry body.

750ml bottle thanks to jeffin7: Nice light brown colored body with a large light tan head. Interesting nose that’s fruity, with notes of berries, mint, spicy yeasts, banana, clove, bread, dough, and pear. Hints of fruit & toffee hint initially with some alochol. Then you get notes of sweet malt, caramel, vanilla, with some nice phenols and spice notes in there. Before things end you also get some flavors of slightly sour yeast, pepper & doughy malts. Nice depth and complexity here.

X-large offfwhite head thats long lived with plenty of sticky lace. Fairly clear brown colored brew with a deep gold glow. Nose is fruity, alcohol coming through, spicey, lightly bready. Medium body, creamy texture, nice carbonation level. Dark malts and fruit flavors, hints of bananna, black licorice along with notes of caramel, plums and a touch yeasty. Medium dry lasting finish. Well construced!

Auburn in color. Finely beaded bubbles beneath a lumpy, spongy meringue. Alluring scents of assorted berries, mint, fennel, and bready malt. Underlying floral hop fragrance and doughy yeast. Lush carbonic texture. Superbly conditioned. Vague toffee breaths allay the early alcoholic sting. Amply full, with isolated pockets of airiness chased by a swift counterpoint of body-strengthening bready malt richness. Vibrant splash of juicy floral hops and soft melon acidity slowly relapses into a vast range of subtleties of vanilla, zippy fennel, spicy yeast, and cedary alcohol. Dry phenolic esters lengthen the dainty level of spice. Deeply-rooted cakey malt and doughy yeast gain foothold by working in tandem to highlight the tongue-tingling esters and sustain the fluffily thick body. Finishes yeastily astringent, yet moistly yeasty, as well, with a sweep of succulent malt accented with fruitcake and bulbously husky pale malt tones. Yeast addition imparts more mint to the aroma and exponentially increases the peppery flavor. Another artful brew from this most skillful brewer.

Hazy copper color with a small greyish head and spotty lacing on the glass. Yeasty, roasty banana and blueberry aroma. Light roast and chocolate, yeast, and tart a cherry taste. Nice round mouthfeel. I can see the resemblance to Chimay Red, though this is much better.

08.14.04 Unlabelled 750 bottle @ HW 5th anniv. Auburn brown color, dark head. Malt showcase on nose with a creaminess. Hints of acidity and milky chocolate malt. This beer instantly reminded me of Chimay Red before I even knew what it was, I wonder if they use the same yeast?