Southampton Abbey Single

Brewed by Southampton Publick House
Style: Belgian Ale
Southampton, New York USA

Bottle. Pours a slightly cloudy gold with a thick white head. Aroma of skunk, yeast, light fruits. Flavor is yeasty with sweetness in the finish. Some tart lemon notes, citrus, and grapefruit really come into play as the beer warms. Very crisp and dry. Light and spritzy with a decent amount of carbonation. Very nice and drinkable, lots of flavor too. 8/4/9/4/16 (4.1/5)

Tap at the brewpub - this is a seriously tasty belgian table beer - moderately sweet in aroma, with a pleasant yeasty character, and mild belgian fruitiness - full but soft carbonation in the mouth - nice and clean - medium-dry, with just a mild honey sweetness late - mostly crisp, biscuity malt and floral hops - finishes mostly clean, with a slightly starchy, jasmine rice sort of quality - a really pleasant belgian session beer.

On tap at the SPH. Arrived at the table a slightly hazed gold with an uneven film for a head that disappeared after the first couple of sips and left a spot or two of lace. Very pleasant aroma of yeast, candi sugar, lemons, apples, and just a bit of spice. The flavor is not as sweet or fruity as the aroma suggests and is mostly yeast and malt with a bit of spice. As the beer warms, a biscuit flavor emerges in the aftertaste. Lightly bitter at the finish. Very easy to put back two glasses with my dinner!

Tap at the brewery. Cloudy, very pale yellow beer with a thin white head. Nice light yeasty aroma, bubble gum, lemony citrus and a touch of wheaty spiciness. Flavour shows a light clean malt profile. Some wheat and some bready yeasty flavour. Fairly well-hopped, light spiciness from those. As it warms some apple/pear esters come out. Light bodied but not light flavoured. Very easy to put back. Nice brew.

2005. Hazy bronze. Fizzy, off white head settles quickly. Aroma of sweet cream corn, candi sugar, light fruits, and a bit of yeast funk. Same flavor with some nice malt and pleasantly bitter hop finish. Medium, balanced body. Excellent, easy drinking brew.

Cask @ Brazen Head. Pale yellow in color with a little white head. Light grainy and hoppy aroma. Citrusy notes. Sweet malty and and hoppy flavor. Clove notes. Medium bodied. Smooth. Very nice beer. Drinkable.

Cask at the Brazen Head cask fest in a10oz glass. This one came in at a 5% alcohol level. It was yellow, very light looking, very little head. It smelled great though, an apple-syruppy smell. It tasted nice, weak body though. Sweetness but not anything overpowering. Very good combo for a light beer with lots of taste. 7/2/7/3/14

Three years between batches, too long. I have to thank Bill for getting me this bottle, I love Southampton but just moved out of NY. Fortunately, Bill was able to score some stuff for me. It pours with lots of anger, a quick rush of foam and carbonation bubbles. The head is at first medium-large, fades quickly but not completely. The color of the beer is a light golden, clear with lots of visible carbonation bubbles. Looks very pretty. Here comes the aroma and I am quiet surprised and delighted. Its has a strong floral sweetness surrounded by a light doughiness from the yeast. A sweet perfume flower with a very faint herbal character at the very end, if I look hard enough anyway. Its perfectly melded, strong but not too sweet, or too floral, perfectly present and well, I like it. Taste is similar except that sweet floralness takes a back seat and the herbal character grows stronger. There is a light, faint muted lemon zing there as well. This all finishes with a lightly dry bitterness. This makes it absolutely quaffable, can just keep drinking it for days. It is in general very fresh and springtime-like. As I pour more from the bottle these aspects of the beer grower stronger and the color gets darker, thicker, and murkier. Actually looks awesome going from the clear beer to the thick little clarity body.
22oz bottled in Dec, 2008, Bell’s tulip glass, thanks again beerbill.

RBSG 2005. Head is mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly hoppy (flowers, herbs), moderately yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of lemon zest and clove. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Thanks to Mike for sharing this rarity...it’s hard to imagine a 4.5% beer being any more enjoyable or characterful than this.