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A Taste of… Bornem Double Abbey Ale Brouwerij Van Steenberge Global Beer Network Santa Barbara, CA (USA)
Preface: I have been receiving promotional material from this organization for a long time now. Recently, I took the initiative and sent them my mailing address. They soon advised me that they would be sending me a selection from what they call their exclusive Belgian ales. As I still have most of the day of work ahead of me, for this morning's tasting, I have chosen their double Abbey ale. As noted above, the sample is provided by the good folks at Global Beer, arrived in good condition and has been kept refrigerated until an hour before opening. As you can see from the picture, I decided to use a burgundy wine glass for the tasting. Appearance: This is a very effervescent beer as you can see by the photograph. The ale itself is a very deep amber garnet red. It is not opaque, but it is incredibly dense in color. The light sandy brown head is quite rocky and consisted of medium to small sized bubbles that formed good lace on the glass. Aroma: Initial sensation is the intense aroma of freshly roasted Amber malt. The aroma is quite rich and full. There is little hop presents. Mouth feel: the rich malt impression is continued in the first mouth feel. This is a rich, full-bodied beer. The carbonation adds creaminess to what could be an almost too dense beer. Flavor: The first impression is a rich light-roast malty sweetness that develops into a much fuller sensation, adding hints of caramel malt, but maintaining the roasted, toasted, aspects rather than developing a sweeter flavor that can often be too much. Finish: The special characteristics of Belgian yeast are most evident in the finish of this brew. As mentioned before is not a sweet beer. The evidence of hops is also somewhat subdued. I had to keep in mind in tasting this beer that my taste sensations can be fooled. What may seem to have few hops or not too sweet a malt flavor might actually be something balanced quite skillfully. And so I made sure to taste this beer once again... And in the end, I must say that after a pleasant hunt. I did find the hops hiding out behind the ephemeral curtain of that particular yeast strain. Without that particular Saccharomyces this beer would be a disaster. As it is, it performs its traditional role in the synthesis results in a quite pleasant beer. Global Beer Network: http://www.globalbeer.com/ What others Say: BeerAdvocate: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48/1608 RateBeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer/bornem-dubbel/3954/
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