St Feuillien Brune

Brewed by Brasserie St-Feuillien / Friart
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Le Roeulx, Belgium

When is a St. Feuillien not a St. Feuillien? When it comes in a bottle, sized less than 1.5l (=Magnum). Mine is ’only’ 75cl., so it isn’t a St. Feuillien. Then what is it? A beer, commissioned by the St. Feuillien brewery, but brewed at Du Bocq. Unbelievable? Incroyable n’est pas Wallon. <P>Dark brown with ruby highlights; thick yellow head, very stable, and - lo-and-behold - tasting of iron. Cheaters. Grapes and (rare for a Belgian dark abbey type), American-typed hops. Some dark malts, perfumey. Liquorice, tuns of the stuff, drop and, by gawd, even SALT drop. Gradually, bitter, burnt malts fill in. Saltiness is part a tad ironoxide, which made me check the head. The first choc of the liquorice is terrible, the scorched malts not much better, but then an uneasy, but all the same succeeded balance settles. After some time hop and parsley flavours appear. Quite filling, chewy, gritty feeling as charcoal. They’re irreductible cheaters. But then, the commercial description is more truthfull than any. And worse; I even like this beer. Sort of.

Sweet nose. Caramel, toffee, Twizzlers, vinuous qualities, plum. Roasted malts and fruity hops. Dark brown-reddish clear, with foamy lacing tan head. Medium heavy watery body with medium-high carbonation. Some carbonic burn. Alcohol warming. Starts sweet, with roasted malts and caramel, toffee, and Twizzlers. Alcohol, chocolate, and light coffee bitterness. Finish is mild bitter with sweet notes. Fruity hoppy character in the finish, with sweet toffee notes sticking through the after. Nice dubbel.

Head is initially large, frothy, light brown, mostly lasting. Body is hazy dark orange-brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel, toasted bread), lightly yeasty (mold, cobwebs), with notes of coriander and bubble gum. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. A little watery and not very interesting, but good. Spiced with coriander, seemingly.
Earlier Rating: 3/1/2002 Total Score: 3.6
Head is initially large, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy dark orange-brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), moderately yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of coriander, toffee, orange peel. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. I like the aroma and appearance, but it's a bit thin, watery, and sour for my tastes.

330 ml bottle. Chestnut colour, large head. Vinous aroma, claret, caramel, spices. Malty flavour where the sweetness is well balanced with decent hops. Elements of caramel, liquorice, dark chocolates and some spices. Nice warming mouthfeel. Definitely a beer I’ll buy again when I can find it.

Great looker here. Deep copper colour and fine creamy head. The nose is delightfully caramel and subdued malt. Flavour is very well balanced. My trip to Europe is surely improving the avarage scores of my beers overall.

Deep amber. Nose quite malty, some candy sugars, some raisin. Malty and sugary, some chocolate. Finishes with an overly strong alcohol burn, and somewhat sharply harsh as well.

Wonderful dark bitter Abbey beer, very like paulaner Dunkel. Dark and full bodied witha huge head. Great malty flavours and a nce yeasty end to it. A great all round dark beer.

Dark brown in colour. Aroma was malty (caramel, nuts, chocolate and butterscotch), some yeast and roasty. Flavour was slightly sweet, dark fruit, malt, brown sugar, yeast and caramel. Medium body, high carbonation. Finishes with a yeasty, toffee bitterness. Very good.