Oh my goodness I like this ale. Wow. What a find! As I wrote recently, the good folks at Abita have been growing more adventurous in the last few years, with overall good success. The beer pours dark and hazy, but not at all opaque. It really set up a nice head, which later disappeared. There was not too much lacing left, which was the only disappointment this beer gave me. The aroma is subtle, mostly grain. Tasted cold, there is grain and sweetness and kind of a chocolate flavor. It is difficult to describe, but not at all difficult to taste.I like to approach beers for this little blog in a certain way. I pour, I look, I smell, I wait, and then I taste. I showed this one to the wife after I had poured, looked, and smelled, and she asked for a taste. She took two LARGE gulps and her eyes rolled back in her head. "This is a GOOD beer" she sighed. So much for my careful tasting regimen. But to be honest, it is so good I was gulping it too. Right now, my corn is roasting on one grill, the rain is putting out the coals that were to cook our steaks, and I could care less. I have this beer and a dry place in which to drink it. I was going to say sip, but God hates lies. I should say this is not exactly a dubblel, and it lacks certain characteristics from the yeast of most real Belgium dubbles I have tried, but I would be wasting your time and I will waste it no more.
Highly and enthusiastically recommended.
I grad school we had a little routine on Friday afternoons that we called "Grill-n-Swill." Probably no need to explain what that entailed. Needless to say the term stuck with me all these years.
ReplyDeleteI think you mentioned that you went to school in Denver? Was that DU? What years were you there?
Chickenlittle, I had a very similar grad school beer routine, but it occured more frequently! I had been with lunch every day I could afford it as long as I did not see patients that day. It was about three weekdays per.
ReplyDeleteYes, I went to DU, I was there from 84 to 86. I LOVED my time in Denver, the fishing, the beer, the divorce, it was ALL so good. Seriously. Well, the divorce occured a few years later, but I realized I needed it in Denver. 8)
Were you there too pal?
Trey
Trey- I was up at CSU from '84 to '89. I used to come down to Denver to watch the Wisconsin Badgers play DU in ice hockey. I can't recall the name of the arena but it was small and there was a bar very close-by where we would swill before games.
ReplyDeleteFt. Collins at the time was a very cheap place to live: $318/per month for a two bedroom house walking distance from campus (I remember the amount because I cut a check every month for $159). Did lots of hiking up 14ers and also a bit a skiing in the winter. I never did get into fishing though.