SKA True Blonde Dubbel

Brewed by SKA Brewing
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Durango, Colorado USA

Botella. Deep golden colour. Hoppy spiced aroma. Quite good a mouthfeel. The flavour is fruity and hoppy with yeast and caramel. Nice one.

650 ml. Clear, burnt orange-gold with a lasting eight-inch of foam that leaves a nice tatting. Spicy lemon-caramel and bread dough aromas. Flavor is drier than expected, with the upper hand taken by the citrusy yeast and the resin-woody hops. Nice undercurrent of vanilla-caramel and light banana provides some balance. Light-medium body is smooth and dry. Tasty, easy drinker.

750 bottle pours to goldish orange body with no head at all. Smell is faint. Taste is smooth with a bit of alcohol burn. Nothing exceptional but worth a try.

14-karat pour, crystal clear with percolating bubbles that create a 1/4 inch yellow-tinted head. Yeasty, grassy notes with hints of citrus and spice. Flavor is also yeasty with lemongrass and banana present. Fairly refreshing.

650 ml. bottle. Smallish head which rapidly flattened out, nice lacing as things progressed, attractive golden , triple type colors, absolutely wonderful nose filled with spicy promise including,cardomen, allspice, citrus coming to the fore, but the taste took it all away, bit of spice on the finish, and nothing else. A major disapointment given the start.

This isn’t a blonde like I have had before. It’s somewhat too hoppy and bitter. The color is ok, the scent smells like a blonde, but it just isn’t quite right. Not a bad beer-it’s clean and has some decent yeasty flavors-but I would never buy it over Prarie Path or Leffe.

Bottled. Suspended yeasts at the bottom, small bubbly head. Bready and a bit spicy, some vegetables in the nose. Hops are great, almost overpowering, but I don’t see how this is Belgian at all. Hides the alcohol well. Strange hybrid, not as good as the sum of its parts.

i think they only called this a ’dubbel’ so they could put a whimsical picture of twins on the label. it does qualify as a golden ale in my book however; belgian style yeast and spice makes itself known on a small scale in the nose, though it diminishes quickly after the pour. the appearance is actually pretty wonderful but the flavor leaves something to be desired. the addition of honey seems to have tipped the scales towards a nearly malt liquor style flavor that is foul at times and at others almost subtle enough to be interesting. alcohol is relatively apparent. ska should have left the style well enough alone, it seems they have trouble with american styles as it is. this is far from a total failure, but tampering with belgian styles is only for the elite, wax coated necks doesnt cut it. in time this grew on me, the honey seemed to make itself even more well known and mostly to the drinkers advantage. i now see the honey even in the apperance and even find it in the mouthfeel. while i still dont desire any kind of sweetness this intense in my beer, it was interesting and became worthy of thought as time went on, even if i didnt agree with it. i still dont think this is very well executed (a criticism i have of many of ska’s beers) but its far from a failure, and definately thought provoking.