Stoudts Abbey Double

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

(750 bottled Aug 2002) Thin dense head of very fine bubbles. Lasts the duration of the drink. Great carbonation which keeps the foam replenished on the surface. Head light tan in color. Sweet fruity aroma with plums, spices and some malts. Dark mahagony brown in color. Flavor seems off to me. Slightly sour. Good helping of malts with sour fruit and a bit of spice. Lively in the mouth from the carbonation. Finish is a little watery and a little sour and tart again. I don’t think the brew is supposed to be this sour. Had a good start but finished poorly.

Nice dark color with a thin white head. Not the best, but better than their Abbey Triple. As the description states, there are hints of raisin and plum. There is also a nice fruity, Belgian beer aroma.

Blind double tastingSampled August 2004. Bottle is dated 06/2003 so about 14 months old is this one. Pours a very thick brownish-grey, dark and muted. Good off-cream colored head. Aroma of sweet raisins, creamy oatmeal, tons of chocolate (milk chocolate) and a hint of yeast. Flavor is intensely chocolatey! Wow they nailed that aspect. Yeast is moderately apparent, with light banana/bubble gum. Grows even sweeter towards the end, with some notes of lightly dry, lightly spicy hops. I can find no fruit in my bottle however, which was my biggest problem with this one. The lightly bitter hops gave it away as not so authentic, as I drank this in a blind tasting. Very rich and caramelly tons of chocolate, good thick, almost creamy body, but where are the esters?? Gets very boring after having a glass of it. Still, I have to give credit to the malt and body, it holds up very well and is rich and smooth, just not terribly on style for a dubbel.

Bottle. 7/18/02. Red cloudy in color with a nice tan head. Wood, and cardboard aroma and mixed dry fruit. It was aged in the bottle supposedly. I didn’t taste the aging. lots of alcohol burn. Too harsh for me. Flavors are falling apart.

Vintage dated 7/18/02. Brownish red cloudy with a nice tan head. Aroma of wood, cardboard, and mixed dried fruit, which tells its age. Flavors are falling apart. Cardboard, fruit, a little tartness. Sharp finish. I think that this is well past its prime. Disappointing.

Vintage dated on 6/4/03: Pours a muddy murky brown with a thin off-white head. Aroma is rich and caramely sweet with some bready Belgian yeast in it. Starts sugary sweet with some yeasty complexity, caramel, toffee, and dark candi sugar flavors. Body is a little thin toward the finish and undercarbonated, plus this could use some more balance. Nice authentic Belgian flavors though make this a quite drinkable brew.

disappointing. murky flavor. maybe I had a bad batch? creamy. good long head.

Thanks to the manager at Max's on Broadway in Baltimore for this free bonus bottle. Pours with a thick tan head that fades to a thin but solid layer. The aroma and the flavor are very cohesive and deep making it hard to break apart but I know there is a lot there. Aroma is of berries, dark fruit, and a hint of leather. Flavor is of dark fruit, berries, a little coffee, and a little chocolate. Nice creamy palate, full body. A hint of alcohol but it is tamed well. This beer is excellent.