Valley Brew Uber Abbey

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Stockton, California USA

Pours amber orange with a thick off white head. The aroma is powerful hops with orange, pine, caramel. Slighty yeasty. The flavor again is just like a double ipa. The only difference from uberhoppy to me is that it’s slightly maltier and sweeter. Lots of fruit and caramel. I’m not picking up much from the belgian yeast. This is still very good.

Draft. Amber beer with an off-white head. Grapefruit and light yeast aroma. Grapefruit and light pine flavor with light malt and light yeast. Medium bodied. Nice bitterness. Grapefruit and light pine lingers.

On tap at City Beer Store. A Belgian version of Uberhoppy. So, it’s easily the most American hops that I’ve ever tasted in a Belgian-style ale. Do the West Coast DIPA flavors mesh with the strong Belgian flavors? Not exactly. Is it still delicious? Yes. The hops are strong, bitter and very likely drown out a good portion of the Belgian yeast flavors. The Belgian flavors in there are nice - earth, fruity malt, burnt sugar. The beer is still fairly dry, perhaps not quite as dry as Uber Hoppy but still better than a lot of DIPAs. I love Valley; they refuse to be boring.

On draught @ TAPS! Clear amber orange with a one finger orange-white head, fading to a thin creamy film before long. Lemon and orange pulp and lots of berry hops up front. Some pineapple and cotton candy caramel malts are behind. I only get a hint of the Belgian yeast character. The flavor is a big ol’ mess of hops again with a good amount of the lemon and orange again. This seems like it has less of a dry-hopped character (than the last time I had regular Uberhoppy), though I don’t know if it’s true. I did have a little trouble picking out the Belgian yeast in the flavor as well. Bitterness peaked @ a 6-7 in the semi-dry finish. Light to moderate prickly carbonation with a full body. Glad I got to try it--thank you TAPS!

Great hop aroma and flavor. The sweetness is low and balanced. Dried fruit tastes come through with the abv which is a good pair. Their yeast strain creates a huge range of new flavors that oddly mix well with their hop choice. If you are not paying attention (towards the end of the glass), this one can surprise you, it starts as a pure Belgian then this amazing hop comes out of no where. Have tried this bastard combo from Stone, Russian River, and a few others and this is one of the better ones.

Draft @ TAPS Petaluma. Pours a hazy, pulpy brownish-orange color; foamy off-white head with good retention. Generous aroma of bubble gum, cotton candy, coupled to oily, juicy hop character; pine and non-acidic citrus; hints of peach; a nicely balanced, hoppy Belgian nose. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: loads of chewy esters (again, bubble gum, cotton candy, Belgian sugar) melded to a minimally-astringent, juicy and generous hop character; oranges, pine, hidden alcohol; juicy and oily, well-balanced, generous on both the Uber and the Abbey fronts; reasonably dry at the core; ultimately, though, this doesn’t dry out quite as nicely as the regular Uber, which is simply stunning in its original incarnation. Lengthy finish of zesty pine and citrus, oily and lasting bitterness, some toastiness and Belgian sugar at the far end of things; the tongue stays numb.

Tasted straight from the tank, thanks, Steve. Good hops and fruity Belgian yeast aroma. Great bready, caramel., and candy tastes. Quite good.