Hell Hath No Fury

Bottle (courtesy of Tpaglia): Poured a pitch-black color ale with a small brown foamy head with minimum retention and lacing. Aroma of light sweet malt and candi sugar. Taste of sweet malt and candi sugar with no spices or yeast characteristics being noticeable. Body is about average with no alcohol being discernable. I though that this beer was generally lacking in character and not that close to the style and definitely sub par from this usually great brewery.

Bottled at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Black, small pale brown head. Aroma of lingonberries and roasty malt. Rather sweet, tar and asphalt are evident. Underneath lies some tropical fruits and a solid core of malt. The mouthfeel is clean and it finishes with medium bitterness. Atypical flavours for basically anything - I like it!

2006 bottle consumed on 11/22/06
Medium-beige head is rather well-aerated/fluffy, only about one-finger in height and recedes to cover fairly quickly. Retention is moderate, not as great as is usual from Bells. Still, sediment I present on the bottom, and the beer is a dark maroon-purple-mahogany, with crimson and beige hues as well. Pleny of carbonation in the liquid. Light lacing left on the glass.
Dry roast and peppery phenols dot the nose as first with a definite helping of bananas overtop mushy walnut/almond flavored brown bread. The roast helps enliven or harden, I should say, the otherwise sluggish maltiness, while little hops are present, as it should be. Reminds me of the wheat series, particularly wheat 8. Nothing over-the-top in any category, and some definite berry skins, clove, banana and light raisins as expected from a dubbel. Warming brings with it a light touch of fusels, but I see this in almost every dubbel I’ve ever had. Not incredibly aromatic, with the phenolic dryness and husky roast/toasted malt giving a slight blandness and quick finish.
Chewy prunes and lighter plum notes open up the flavor as sharp, but light acids dig in to the back of the palate. A rather oily texture, with somewhat prickly carbonation does not seem to help form any softness. And softness would seem much needed. I get a bit of pale malt sweetness, but it’s quickly dissolved by a harder roastiness and strong clove-pepper phenolic dryness. Light bananas and some fusels sit awkwardly on the finish, with a bit of piquant raisins (which unfortunately throw more astringency/oiliness out). All in all, it seems to have the right flavors for a dubbel, but everything seems rather unrefined and disjointed. Not too impressed with the texture/carbonation either. That’s usually a bright spot with Bells’ beer. Maybe another month or two will help even things out. Will revisit.

Another entry from Bell. I’ve seen this in the beer store many times but it took a tap to make me try it. On tap at the Bocktown Bar in the Robinson Township shopping complex. Interesting label of a man being belittled and put into the dog house by a woman who is apparently his wife. Veary pleasing aroma - almost like good sugary candy of some sort. Pours very dark, possibley black in my glass. Nice darkish head. Very burnt roasty initial flavor like it was filtered in a barrel that was charred inside. Almost like lye soap and don’t ask how I know what that taste like. Too much astringent bitternessfor my poor taste buds. Long lingering bitterness is too much for my liking.

Pours black, with a deep tan head. Aroma is of dark fruits, molasses, citrus, and brown sugar. Mouth is medium thickness with some carbonation. Flavor has frutis, brown sugar, yeast, malts, and spices. It looks more intimidating than it is. It’s easy to drink, and tasty. A good brew.

Black as hell, with a lot of sludge at the end (about as close to Westmalle dubbel as to Imperial Stout...); small darker tan head. Resiny hops, quite a lot of liquorice, algae or other seaweed, with definitely iodium. Liquorice, drop , but this time it’s the zoute drop variety, the salted version that is so popular in Holland. This beer is truly salty, and retronasal it becomes as a gingerbread cake with sushi-seaweed. Bit of soy sauce included, and there are tuns of masked sugars. Quite well-bodied, thick-oily and slick. Very surprising beer. It’s not a real porter, nor a real stout, or an old ale. But whatever comes closest, it won’t be Westmalle dubbel, for heavens’ sake. Thanks, David and Liza!

12 oz. Goblet at the Eccentric. Rating #999! Ah, my last taste of mortality before I ascend to Beer Godhood! Damn, this one is black! More like an impy porter, mocking me with its tan head. Yet it has just a mild dubbel smell with no alcohol trace, just a fresh bit of yeast. I taste dark malts, with no roasties or tannins. Way off style, but I’m handing it a high mark there, anyway, ’casue it just looks to clever. I catch a tounch of unmodified wheat, then here comes that more faimilar Belgian taste. A big, surprisingly complex beer with an impressive finish. They were all out of bottles at Bell’s store, I could only get this on tap before it disappeared.

Heavily malted and dry with an interesting array of aromas and flavors, this dubbel is an enjoyable sipping beer. Dark, muddy brown pour with short and diminishing tan head. The nose is earthy with hints of wood, smoke, chocolate and roast. Slightly sweet in taste with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Some fruitiness under the roast and burnt wood flavor. Thick body with oily mouthfeel. The alcohol comes forward in the finish.