Karl Strauss Belgian Abbey Red

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

I was hoping for something with a bit more complexity (as Belgian ales usually are)so this was a bit of a letdown. The beer poures nice and auburn with almost no head.The aroma was sweet and malty but not overly. It was smooth and velvety on the mouth, so at this point, I was thinking this would be a great find. That's when the dissapointment hit. The flavor was very simple and sugary, not a good kind of sweet either, more like Saccarine. After that, there wore some oaky and maple notes, but barelly so. Overall I'd pass on this one!

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

One of two pints that I had while at the Sorrento Mesa Karl Strauss location. And while I had some serious misgivings about trusting the normally lack-luster Karl Strauss brewers to do a decent Belgian-style ale...., I have to admit they did exactly that: they made a decent Belgian-style ale. No more, no less.

I get the impression that this is really little more than a big-ass American Red Ale, that someone dumped Belgian yeast into the fermenter instead of the ussual semi-funky Karl Strauss House Strain of yeast.

The result? A bit on the hot side of things, and perhaps a little sweet (Belgian candy sugar?), but not all that cloying -- a big plus there, IMO.

But enough malt and hops to get the job done. Can almost pick out the hops in this one: Styrian, maybe? Or Saaz? Either way, no complaints overall.

I had very little optimisim about this beer, to be honest. Been burned way too many times by lack-luster brewers (who can't even make a decent Pale Ale) trying their hand at more arcane styles from across The Pond -- with predictable results. But this one? Not horrible. I've certianly had worse....
//TB