North Coast Cru DOr Organic Belgian Style Ale

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

Bottle: Poured a deep clear brown color ale with a rather large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of candi sugar with some subtle fruity yeast. Taste is a nice mix between some candi sugar notes with some traces of fruity ester. Missing some dry fruits elements and candi sugar presence is a bit overdone. Average body with good carbonation and light alcohol ester.

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

there was something different about this one that i can't put a finger on that makes it stand out a little from the plethora of abbeys out there. thoroughly enjoyable, complex beer.

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

Pour was copper color, weak but ok initial off-white head, turning quickly to nothing really, some mini suds bubbles around the very edges, nothing really. The aroma was overwhelming caramel, hot alcohol, some brown sugar and dark fruits. The flavor followed, too much caramel (and not great caramel either), boozy strong, esp. for only 8pct, and some undeveloped non-ripe fruity notes. Did I mention there being a lot of caramel? Mouthfeel was a little on the thin side, hot, slightly sticky. Lacking any real spice, slight funk that just is drowned out in the caramel. A loser within style for sure. Sorry to all the non-rate-to-style folks, but if 2.5-3ish is the middle of the rating range, there’s no way this can be above average among the belgian ales out there.

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

I'm not sure where I picked this one up, but without a doubt I picked it up because it was a product of North Coast Brewing Company...a personal favorite of mine.

The beer pours out a hearty nut brown color with some cloudiness to it. The dirty tan head was huge on the pour, but quickly dissolved away to virtually nothing. The beer has an aroma of fig, yeast, and alcohol. I'm a little disappointed that I could smell the alcohol in there as I usually like how most dubbels mask the alcohol.

The beer is a little on the watery side when it comes to traditional dubbels. It lacks that heartiness that you usually find in most dubbels. The flavor is good, but not great. The flavor of alcohol really stands out amongst the spice and dark fruit flavors. Unfortunately it is a little too much for my liking and compared to others in this beer style.

North Coast kinda missed the mark on this one in my book. Again it's not a bad crafted beer, but in the way of dubbels, it could have been a lot better. Starting off with masking some of the alcoholic notes.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Aroma is of caramelized malt and sweetness with some Belgian rock candy on the nose as well as some ripened, dark fruits like bananas and Belgian yeast with some faint funk and hop accentuation. Appearance is a burgundy red in color when held to the light but clearer than expected with a medium-sized head on top with good carbonation and is light-tan in color. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with some decent complexity as well as balance with a palate that is a bit thin and a tad metallic. Flavor is of candy sugar and ripe fruits with some caramelization and an aftertaste that is smooth and wet-like with a finish that is very Belgian in origin. Overall, and interesting brew here and pretty on point stylistically speaking but the mouthfeel is a tad strange in some regard in my opinion; nonetheless, quality brew and recommended.

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

Deep ruby red color, clear with small, quickly dissipating head with a thin foam layer remaining. Weak aroma of dried fruit. The flavor was a nice blend of dark fruits, belgiany spices with maybe a hint of vanilla. This wasn't a bad beer, didn't fall into the familiar overly sugar sweet trappings. Not bad at all.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours a deep amber color with a nice foamy off-white head. Aroma is dark fruits, yeast with some banana and cloves. This is a pretty good tasting beer but something just seems a tad off. Somewhat spicy and fruity (darker fruits such as plums). The middle to the finish of the beer is quite bland though then a sour finish but it's not at all alcoholic. The aftertaste is a bit flat. The beer really does taste a little like the Diet Coke of beers. Overall decent and the more you let it warm the more spice you get.

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

This beer pours with an opaque body and medium head. Not much retention in the head formation. Like Begian ales complete yeasty aroma and taste. And like high alcohol content ales had a warming kick.

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

Translucent ruby amber color with a flawless very thin, very fine cap that never disappears. Aroma is surprisingly banana bread and caramel, much sweeter than the flavor. Regarding the flavor, it's pleasant spice in harmonious bittersweet bread. More bitter than sweet. Strong, but not alcohol-flavored at all. I look forward to trying more.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

~ 12oz bottle, purchased at the Vienna VA Whole Foods, and sampled on a hot San Diego afternoon. Does it make sense that this Californian beer was first shipped across country, and then hand-carried back to CA, before winding up in my Piraat glass? No, not really, but nobody said being a diehard beer aficionado didn't have it's own pecularities...!

There was a recent thread on The Forum discussed Organic Beers -- a thread in which I responded much to the effect of "I've had lots, yet few have impressed, and they were from Europe..."-- so it only seemed natural to pop this one open shortly therafter.

The results? Mixed, much in keeping with my previous expierences with Organic Beers.

~Pros:
1. The flavor of this one is pretty nice -- a bit on the sweet side of the spectrum, but not cloyingly so. Very "Belgian Candy-ish".

2. Reasonably dry in the front and the middle.

3. Not a bad drinker, esp. w/ the 8%ABV.

~Cons:
1. Not really sure what's with the appearence. Nil head or foam, rather lacking carbonation, too.

2. While this is rather dry in the front and middle, some residual sweetness/acrid cloyingness shows up in the finish, hitting the Drinkability a little, in my book.

3. Has a hard-to-pin-down "unfinished" feel to the whole affair. In other words, this seems to be missing something, IMHO...

All told, this is still a reasonably interesting offering. For the price, the stealth-8%ABV, and the interesting "Dubbel-ish" sweet-vibe, I can easily see over-looking the few cons this beer has going for it.

Worth a chance, organic, or no.

Music: "An Evening with John Petrucci & Jordan Rudess"
//TB