Stoudts Abbey Double

Brewed by Stoudts Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Adamstown, Pennsylvania USA

Sampled at the RBSG 07 Grand Tasting. Light brown color with no head. Sweet nose with a sweet caramel body.

RBSG 2007. Copper color with no head. Good sugar aroma with some pepper. Caramel taste with a large yeasty finish.

2001 vintage. Burnt redish pour, With a nice head. Nice oak taste with some spice. Very sweet finish allaroudn nice beer

2003 vintage - 750 ml bottle Beer pours almost burnt amber in color. Fluffy tan head. The flavor is a mix of oak, vanilla, and spices. The aroma is thick and full but has a bit of almost copper in the back of it. Mouthfeel is a bit slick almost oily. The finish is sweet almost like a cloying honey. Well rounded, give it a try if you come across any left.

2004 - 750ml bottle. Tried 2/2007. 3 year old bottle. Pour is a deep plum purple with some wisps and a ring of cream. Aroma is very smooth blend of fruit and cream. Flavor is very well blended and not very oxidized. Fruity, creamy, sweet and rich. Vanilla and oaky. This beer has held up remarkably well and still tastes great. I may not have liked this beer nearly as much when it was fresh, but this is really nice.

2003, bottle similarly as puzzl below I bought mine at the same store. My experience was not as bad. Pours with no head and a bit of lacing. Beer definitely seems to have left its best years behind but holding on to some fond memories (a la Junior Soprano in the first season). A good amount of the aroma is that cardboard, old caramel, dusty malt. Its good but a part of you knows its a little bad. Some oaky vanilla, some chocolate in the background with a bit of cherry. Taste is getting a bit thin with that musky caramel, a bit soda like flavors. Leaves a sweet oaky vanilla aftertaste. Medium carbonation, low bitterness.

Why do I keep falling in love with retired brews??? Vintage date on the bottle was 2004 but since it’s bottle conditioned and I bought it from a trusted seller, I’m confident it tastes like it should. Deep brown/red in color with no head at all. Deep strong fruit and malt aromas. Rich dark fruit dominate in the flavor department. A slightly thinner flatter than expected mouthfeel was just a tad disappointing. Sweet woodsy background {oak?}. Overall quite a good dubble with a high level of drinkability.

2003 bottle. Took a risk buying this in the store. Not sure I should rate this, it doesn’t seem to be in top shape, but I figure, hey, it’s been retired two years, and it’s a 7% bottle-conditioned belgian style, so it should likely be good. But again, it’s retired, so no loss I don’t think.

Pours dark brown with a decent fizzy cola head. Aroma is still good, very plummy, boozy, raisin, spices, chocolate, paprika... tandoori chicken. Very nice complexity. Flavor is pretty much dead, a bit of old, musty sourdough, touch of sweetness. Palate is pretty flat, slightly metallic. Too bad about this. Looks like I won’t be picking up the remaining stock of bottles.