Valley Brew Decadence 8

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Stockton, California USA

Date: 06/09/2007
Mode: Hand Bottled
Source: Tasting, Noog 3D

muddy brown, frothy beige head, sweet chocolate and brown sugar aroma with lots of fruity character, sweet chocolate flavor, lots of bourbon and brown sugar sweetness, but it’s the rich dark fruit flavor that steals the show,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Cloudy reddish-brown. Aroma shows plums, dates, alcohol and light toffee. Yeasty, malty character, kind of phenolic with strong date overtones. Good example.

(Bottle) Pours a cloudy brown body with a medium beige head. Aroma of molasses, brown sugar, figs, nuts, and dates. Flavor of brown sugar, raisins, dates, some bread, and chocolate. A really complex and tasty dubbel!

Bottle courtesy of aspidites sampled on 9/15/07: Pours a transparent copper orange with a nicely-lacing tan head. Aroma of sweet pale Belgian malt and some cherry fruity tart notes. Body starts with some grainy, doughy malt and yeasty esters with a touch of raisins. Nicely-balanced, complex and enjoyable.

Bottle courtesy of CaptainCougar. Dark brown beer, thin head. Sweet toasty aroma. Chewy cherry/plum fruitiness. Sweet toasted malts and a bit of herbal character. Quite sweet but with a dusty cocoa flavour as well. Low spiciness. It seems a bit schitzophrenic to me.

Slightly sour undertone to the sweet malty aroma with some notes of alcohol. Hazy brown body is topped by a low but lasting fine bubbled head that leaves some sudsy lace. Decent bitterness offsets the sweet brown sugar and malty flavour. Some sour fruit and alcohol are notable. Medium body with assertive, effervescent carbonation that uplifts the mouthfeel. Bottle sampled with BeerPrince, CapFlu and Oakes.

Feb 08 Circle City gathering, brought by MI2CA (given to him by the brewer, ratebeers own KrausenJockey): Coppery brown with a minimal head but did have oily legs. The aroma has big oak and phenolic characteristics along with notes of caramel, apple, pear, star fruit, and grains of paradise. The taste is fruity and toasty that is well balanced with some acidity to counteract the sweetness. Light herbal and grassy bitterness towards the finish. I even noted a hint of bakers chocolate on the palate. The mouth feel is rich, oily and lush which matched the flavor profile very well. Dry and well attenuated on the finish. Once the beer opened up it really took off. I was shocked on how much I really enjoyed this beer... is it really that old or was it brewed again? I lot of ratings over the past 6 months.

Poured a dark copper color with a persistent off-white head. The aroma was sweet and yeasty. Fruity notes that appeared grapey. Light alcohol. Light fruity flavor with a yeasty finish. The finish was dry with a mild-moderate bitterness.