For the second time, I’ve just missed the official day of The Session, this time about dubbels. I have a good excuse– immediately after work I hustled over to the Avery Strong Ale Festival, returning home sorely in need of sleep. I did plan ahead a bit, and sampled some homebrewed abbey-inspired 6 and an Easter beer on Thursday. Then quads and the like to start the fest on Friday. I’ll post a few pictures on Monday…
Six
4# Gambrinus organic pale
5# Weyermann organic pils/munich mix
1.9oz Weyermann organic chocolate malt
6oz Briess organic Extra Special malt 140L
6oz Weyermann caramunich
4oz organic flaked barley
1.25# organic Rapadura (unrefined cane sugar)
0.8oz New Zealand Hallertau 7.0% whole hops (5.6HBU)
Wyeast 3787 (Westmalle)
OG1.067 in 5 US gallons
step mash 148-146F (30min), 166-164F (30min)
ferment started at 66F, naturally rose to 73F
The beer was in primary for 6.5 days (kraesen fell at 3.5 days), secondary for 6 days, then to lager. I saved a pint in a small PET bottle when racking and force carbonated it, put it in the fridge and tasted it 16 days later. I’ll package it this week and report on the taste again then.
Impressions: big fruity esters tending towards a spicy bubblegum, bit of toast and prune; rich malt-sweetness with a bit of melanoidin, a subtle roast finish with raisins, some yeasty and/or papery undercurrents from second glass (which had some sediment); aftertaste lingers with some alcohol harshness on back with malt on front and continued esters working up the pharynx. Has a rich, creamy, very long-lasting, off-white head; deep red-brown with a slight haze. Overall: a promising but young dubbel/abbey brown with some roasty spiciness.
St. Feuillien Easter Beer / Abbey Beer
Has a marque that this is a Certified Belgian Abbey Beer. Brewed for Denmark, where they are apparently crazy for Easter beers (and beer in general), the label is in Danish and English. Obtained at the brewery during a nice visit in October 2003 organized by Chuck Cook. Best before: 06 03 05 (March 2005).
Big caramel aroma at first with licorice notes that soon become dominant. Malty, licorice, and sweet flavor that’s creamy up front with a spritzy finish. Color is light brown in glass but more orange-red when held to light; the tan creamy head dissipates quickly but rebuilds easily upon agitation. The CO2 and alcohol leave a harsh aftertaste amidst a malty-licorice mix.
Avery Strong Ale Festival
Increasingly crowded, and the unit price is high, but there was an interesting and tasty mix of beers, many that are otherwise unavailable in Colorado. Plenty of hoppy choices as usual, just a few of the barleywine/old-ale persausion, and the experimental or unusual segment was dominated by barrel-aged stuff (whiskey or wine). My first few samples I tried to stay close to the dubbel theme. Here are a few notes (fest description, OG, ABV in parens).
Unibroue Maudite (belgian strong amber, 1.067, 8.0%): very fruity nose into yeastiness, good malt flavor with alcohol, dry malt finish, lighter body than alcohol suggests, big long white fluffy head, amber color
Unibroue Trois Pistoles (belgian strong dark ale, 1.075, 9.0%): slight roast, malty-sweet with a bubblegum finish
Boulevard Animal (bourbon barrel aged belgian quad, 1.086, 9.7%): feels like some interesting malt is under the heavy bourbon flavor and alcoholic body, big off-white head, cloudy dark amber
Allagash Curieux (bourbon barrel-aged triple, 1.090, 11.0%): first aromas are of Brettanomyces (soft stale-barnyard) then bourbon, dry malt and bourbon flavor with bitter/harsh finish of bourbon
Redstone Meadery Black Follie (52/48 blend of black raspberry nectar and [New Belgium] la folie, 8.0%): sour, sweet, some razzy aftertaste
Avery Salvation (oak-aged in ferrari-carrano chardonnay barrels, 1.080, 9.0%): green Kool-Aid, sour/puckering aftertaste, not as good as I remember from their tasting room
I’ve retasted the abbey/six a few times, as I now have half in a keg (the other half being bottle-conditioned). The fruity-plum/prune/raisin character really comes through, and the alcohol harshness has faded with 4+ weeks of lagering.