Anderson Valley Brother David's Double Abbey Style Ale

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Strong aroma has earthy, malty and caramel notes with a hint of hops. It pours a dark coppery brown with a thick and rather persistent light tan head that leaves minimal lacing. Scrumptious flavor has caramel, malty, nutty, earthy and subtle maple syrup notes - not too sweet, very slightly hoppy. Rich texture has plenty of tingle and fizz, smooth yet lively - very satisfying. An excellent companion to Brother David’s Tripel.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 7

Nice double. Pours murky brown with a nice foam head. Bubbles continuously errupt from the bottom of the glass. Looks like a double bock. Smells of plums, bread, and some brown sugar. Mouthfeel is doughy. Taste of mixed fruit, rock candy. Finish is sweet alcohol with a touch of allspice.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Dark ruby brown body with a thin filmy head and spotty lacing, fairly lifeless for a Dubbel. Pretty good execution of the style. Medium bodied, sweet and semi-dry with lots of fruity undertones. Plums, raisin, rock candy along with a touch of anise and clove. Nice Belgian yeast component.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Dark brown with a beige head. Aroma contains some toffee, caramel, and spices. The flavor is quite malty with some nuttiness, caramel, and toffee. The palate is a bit thin but thats all good. Some booze in the finish. Overall not bad for a US made tdubbel.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A good example of a Belgian dubbel. Nice flavor, but slightly lacking that full belgian yeasty/hoppy flavor that you get in a true import. Not super pricey, so was worth the try. Paired with dinner and split with a friend, so had no problem finishing. When going with this style, I prefer the Trappists, Urquels, St. Bern, Unibroue, etc....but nice to try some US microbrews attempts. Similar to North Coast Old Pranqster. A bit on the red side.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

I will give ole bro David a 9 for wax on the bottle, but once again a domestic Belgi that is long on presentation and short on all else. It is odd this brew shows up in the outback of the high desert so it was a welcome site siting next to such wonders as Lost Coast and Rogue. On further investigation (opening the bugger) I found the typical brownish slightly malty/cardboard with a watery finish. Its strong, but in a bad way, and can hurt you in the morning and has on the 3 or 4 times I have tried this product. Stick to the real thing or go dry.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Visually this is a very appealing beer, good reddish brown color with a nice frothy head. From there is goes kinda south. Aroma is slightly fruity and alcohol, nothing too spectacular. Taste at the beginning is classic dubbel but the finish is too dry and almost boring. Not as good as real Belgian Abbey ales.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

A rich, mahogany colored beer. A foamy textured, light beige head rises above. Some hang time. But, in that, not overly impressive. Settles into a small, light-soapy ringlet. Fruity tartness and yeast rise to the nose. A light to light-medium bodied beer. Mild caramel and fruit tartness in the tasting. Good, but a distant second to Anderson Valley’s Tripel

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Bottle: Poured a deep brown color ale with a medium foamy head with average retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of lightly sweet caramel malt with some residual candi sugar. Taste is not overly complex with some bland caramel malts with some easily noticeable candi sugar. Body is a bit thin for style with OK carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Lacking some complexity and character with too much sugar.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Poured a very dark, almost cola-like cleare brown beneath a smallish tan head. Aroma was delicate, fruits and spices combined. Taste was quiate good, with some dark fruit and spices. Solid mouth and nice finish, not too sweet. High ABV was obvious but not in an unplesant way. Pretty good dubbel for a non-Belgian.