Brasserie de Rochefort 8

Another beer I ordered from The Abbey Bar at Appalachian Brewing Company was Brasserie de Rochefort 8. The beer pours a dark amber color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, malts, raisin, and chocolate. The mouth feel is extremely bubbly and foams up on the sides of the mouth. There are lots of chocolate and raisin flavors paired with peppery spices and grassy hops. A dry biscuity finish and earthy flavors round out the taste. The alcohol content is 9.2% ABV. I enjoyed all of the flavors of this beer, but I wasn’t a complete fan of the mouth feel. I felt it to be a bit over-carbonated and too foamy, but it did calm down as the beer warmed up and it was much more enjoyable then.

Sierra Nevada-New Clairvaux Ovila Dubbel

I picked up a bottle of the Sierra Nevada and The Abbey of New Clairvaux Ovila Dubbel from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours an orange/dark amber color with a lofty off-white colored head that dissipates rather rapidly. The aroma consists of sweet malts, raisin, Belgian yeast, and bread. The taste is smooth with Belgian yeast, raisin, fig, dates, and a big bready profile. You can definitely pick up on the Sierra Nevada influence in the finish with earthy hops. The mouth feel is very light and foamy with lots of carbonation. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. The Ovila Dubbel is a very solid dubbel with a great earthy hop accent, taking a solid Belgian style beer and adding a slight American twist to it.

Westmalle Dubbel

At the Abbey Bar in Appalachian Brewing Company, I ordered a glass of Westmalle Dubbel. The beer pours a brown color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of raisin, bread, Belgian yeast, fig, and alcohol. The mouth feel is frothy and bubbly, which took me by surprise. The taste is raisin, fig, cinnamon, bread, and Belgian yeast. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I enjoyed the flavors in the Westmalle Dubbel, but was completely surprised at how foamy the mouth feel of the beer was, and I think it took away from the beer a little bit.

Maredsous 8- Dubbel

I ordered a glass of Maredsous 8- Dubbel at Fat Head's in Pittsburgh. The beer pours a brown color with a tan bubbly head. There is raisin and fig in the aroma with some hints of chocolate. The taste is smooth and creamy, which I found surprising. The beer was heavy on fig and raisin and had a smooth and sweet chocolate finish. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. I thought that the 8 was overly delicious and would definitely order this beer again.