McNeills Dubbel

Formerly brewed at McNeills Brewery
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

I had the Dubbel Vision at the brewery, and I'm assuming this is the same one. Pours a deep cloudy brown, with a dun colored, quickly dissipating head. Aroma is malty and big, with a slight alcohol bite. Flavor is huge. Tastes more like a barleywine to me. Big malt, with pretty agressive hopping. Slight nuttiness, big alcohol flavor, light notes of cherry, licorice, and raisin. A touch of coffee. A pretty swell barleywine, but I wouldn't call this a dubbel, unless you mean the color. Points boosted a little because it is an interesting beer, just not right for the style.

Light nose. Fruity with chocolate and licourice. Nice hazy reddish brown color. Chocolate coffee with a cherry tartness. Has a slight hop bitter in finish otherwise finishes clean and smooth. Not what I was expecting at all. I'll have to live with the fact that mcneills came up short on one.

May 03: 22oz bottle, first day (I think) of general availability. You have to understand, I live in a beer-starved state. No, not as beer-starved as Iowa (6.25%) or Utah (3.2) or parts of the South, but beer-starved nonetheless. 8% maximum alcohol, small thinly populated state which most breweries simply choose to ignore because they can't make enough $$. We're on the E. coast, but no Victory, no Southampton, no Cisco, no Berkshire (until last month), no DFH (exceptin a few of their lower-grav options, only in the last month). Etc, etc.

Forgive the rant. So when Vermont's best brewer comes out with something NEW after a long year-or-more's wait, and when that something new is a BELGIAN-style from this great English-style brewer, well I stand up and take notice. The pour: faint pop when the cap came off, very little carbonation--not a good sign; ruddy-muddy red-brown body. Nose of cherries, faint yeast, pleasant but unimpressive. Flavor: port-wine feel to it at first, cherries again, chocolate-caramel, more carbonation in the mouth than was evident to the eye but still "flat" for the style, hints of alcohol and yeast but overall not that far off from their Old Ringworm if you ask me. I'm not all that impressed on a first sample, though it is certainly drinkable and not utterly boring. I'm waiting for the doppelbock in bottles, Ray, not your rendition of a Tripel at this point...

Later on... I'm being too kind to this beer, probably out of love for the brewery; it's not horrible, but it just isn't a good Dubbel. This is one of those cases where I would probably never retry it if not for the quality of the brewery overall.

Oct 03: much better sample this time; between this, Slopbucket and the Imperial I've learned what McNeills problem is: poor control over the bottling. Better (though still not ideal) carbonation this time, stronger nose, fresher overall. Not great, but acceptable for sure.