Bottled@Akkurat, Stockholm. Deep orangeish amber colour with a mediumsized pale beige head. Aroma is wood, caramel malts, mild raisins, some slight sweetness from the alcohol and also has some slight toasted notes. Flavour is quite similar in a nice balance, but also has a slight spicing to it.

Bottled at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Lightly hazy copper colour, faint head. Caramelly nose. Sweet with medium body and rounded mouthfeel. Completely dominated by caramel, with slight notes of marzipan and citrus. Growing late bitterness. Correct, but lacks depth.

Not to be overly snarky and cynical, but the quality of this bottle leaves me surprised. Abita hasn’t made an amazing, world-class Abbey Ale, but they’ve made a damn fine Americanized version of one. Pours a deep opaque red with a head worthy of its Belgian heritage. Too bad about the smell, yeasty funk replacing any spicy Belgo-goodness. Fairly stinky. Tastes good, not great, but complex enough to keep me occupied for an hour or so. Malt and fruit hit your palate first, then spicy clove and cherry-raisin thickness, followed by a lemon-zest and brandy fade that warms all the way down. A little too bubbly for a Dubbel, but, in the end, a good beer. (6/8/09)

Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark red-brown color with a huge creamy orange-white head that lingered and left great lacing. The aroma was tart cherries, red wine, sugar and plum. The flavor was tart and tangy cherry, plum, sourdough bread, pepper and sugar. The finish was long and tart with lingering sourdough bread and fruit. Medium body. Ok.

Sampled at Great Lakes Brew Fest in Racine, WI. Aroma of cloves and Belgian yeast. Pretty good stuff, good mouthfeel, pretty good stuff, would try again.

Bottle at Brewforia Pale hazy yellow with a small white blocky head. Soft fruity aroma. Apples and honey and biscuity malts. Softly carbonated . A mild bland and forgettable offering but not unpleasant.

Bottle: Poured a copper brown with a creamy off white head. Aroma is sweet with caramel, veggie, and dark fruit. Taste is a veggie malt mix, light on the fruit. Very sticky to the tongue.

22 oz. painted bottle. Popped after the Saints won their 1st Super Bowl. Nice brown, cloudy body, fizzy head. Smell of fruit leather, a little clove, and touch of pipe tobacco. Taste is a little sugary, but not as much as the North Coast Cru d"Or I had last night. Solid maltiness with caramel and toffee. Just a touch of horse blanket, but a slight tobacco aftertaste. Fleeting impressions of cherry, Beeman’s gum and broiled steak. This is barely a year old, but tonight seemed best reason to open it. But this shows some rough spots that would smooth to a complex brew if it were to lay down a while longer.

Deep muddy brown coloured body with a thinnish fast-dying tan head. Aroma of alcohol, pears, apples, yeast, concord grapes and sour lemons - nice! Medium-bodied; Assertive yeast and apple characteristics with a good malt backbone, some alcohol and pit fruity notes of figs and prunes. Aftertaste very pleasant and long-lasting, a good amount of sugars arise, while some mild yeast and malt characteristics round out the flavours. Overall, a pretty good dubbel and without a doubt the best Abita beer I’ve had. Definitely impressed with this from the brewery, get it if you like dubbels, since this is a respectable beer from an American producer. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Half Time in Poughkeepsie, New York on 27-November-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 13-December-2009.

Taster at the SLC tasting 2009
Appearance: Poured golden with a nice white head and some lacing
Aroma: Citrus hops, caramel and Belgian candy
Taste: Belgian candy, roasted malts and hops
This was a very good beer, smooth and enjoyable