The Sprecher Series, Part Two ... the Dubbel

A Wisconsin brewery decided to brew the series of Belgian beers.  The first of the series, which I have already reviewed, is the enkel.  Historically, an enkel is a light beer brewed by trappist monks from a basic recipe.  It was the beer that they would have in the monastery, rarely making out of the building for other people to enjoy.  

The next beer in the series is the dubbel.  This beer appears to have originated with the Trappist Abbey in Westmalle.  The monks brewed a stronger version of a Belgian brown ale, which, unlike the enkel, was sold to the public in 1856.  Other breweries followed, producing their own dubbel style beers.

I have reviewed only one dubbel on this blog in the past, Sierra Nevada's Ovila Dubbel.  The beer had a caramel color, with aromatic and taste elements of apples, caramel and raisins.  The question is whether one could expect a similar experience drinking Sprecher Brewery's Dubbel.

According to the Beer Judge Certification Program, a dubbel pours a "deep reddish-bronze" color with an aroma that provides hints of "chocolate, caramel or toast," as well as "[m]oderately fruity esters (usually including raisins and plums, sometimes also dried cherries)" and even banana or apple.  The flavor provides hints of the same elements as the aroma, with some spice or pepper notes. 

With this background, we turn to the Sprecher Brewery's dubbel.  The beer pours a dark brown in color, but there are hints of bronze or copper in the appearance.  As the beer warms, hints of caramel and fig greet the nose, with a slight cherry element too.  The fruits -- figs and cherry -- carry through to the taste of the beer.  These elements are joined with notes of plum and caramel, both of which are brought forward by the malts used in the beer.  Those malts are accompanied by a slight hop presence.  However, as one would expect with a dubbel, the hops play a secondary role, giving some balance to the sweetness of the malts and providing some dryness to the finish.

Overall, this beer fits squarely into the dubbel style.  The contrasts between the enkel and dubbel illustrate the progression in the Belgian beer styles.  The reviews of other beers in the Sprecher Series will be forthcoming, until then ...

ENJOY!

The 8th Wonder of the Trappist World

For many years, there were seven wonders of the trappist beer world (i.e., the world were the beers are made by or produced under the strict supervision of trappist monks). Six of them are found in Belgium: Chimay (Bières de Chimay), Orvan (Brasserie d'Orval), Rochefort (Brasserie de Rochefort), Westmalle (Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle), Westvleteren (Brouwerij Westvleteren) and Achel (Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis).  The seventh wonder is found in the Netherlands: La Trappe (Brouwerij de Koningshoeven).  It is one of my goals to try beers from each of the trappist breweries.  To date, I have tried and reviewed beers from three of the breweries: the Westmalle Tripel, the Orval Trappist Ale, and the La Trappe Quadrupel.  (I have had Chimay beers, but I have not done a review of any of those beers). 

As I struggle to achieve my goal of trying beers from the seven trappist breweries, more such breweries have emerged.  Indeed, there is now an eighth trappist brewery: Stift Engelszell.  (There is also a ninth and a tenth trappist brewery, including one in the United States.)  Unlike the older trappist breweries, which are found in either Belgium or the Netherlands, Gregorius brews its beer at the Engelzell Abbey, which is located near Engelharrzell and der Donau in northern Austria. It is the only trappist brewery in Austria. 

The abbey was founded in 1293, although it was dissolved by Emperor Joseph II in 1786.  German monks, who were expelled from Oelenbery Abbey in Alsace after World War I, re-founded the abbey in 1925. Having being originally established as a priory, Engelszell was elevated to an Abbey with Gregorius Eisvogel named as the abbot. In 1939, the Engelszell monks were evicted by the Gestapo (with four monks being sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp). 

Fast-forward over 70 years, and we come to the first beer to be produced by Stift Engelszell.  The beer is a dark ale brewed in the Belgian style, with an ABV of  9.7%.  The beer is named "Gregorius," which is a tribute to Abbott Gregorius Eisvogel who was at the Abbey for 25 years (1925-1950). The monks produce Gregorius with honey that is local to the monastery and a unique Alsacian wine yeast. 

The Gregorius pours a dark brown color, that is typical of the Belgian dark ale.  The aroma is malt driven, with bready tones that are accentuated by the alcohol and yeast.  Some dark fruit, perhaps some raisons or plums, are present in the aroma.  As for the flavor of the beer, there is a noticeable, sweet Belgian candy element to the beer.  The candy is complemented with a light chocolate taste and a little bit of bitterness on the finish, which reminds you that there is more to this beer than just malts.  

Although I could venture some food pairing for this beer, I think that the beer is best enjoyed on its own ... as, in my humble opinion, are most trappist beers. 

This beer was available in the Chicago area, which is where a bottle was picked up and given to me.  I have not seen it around where I live.  If you happen to come across a bottle, it is worth trying.

ENJOY!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Ovila Dubbel

There are many "collaboration" beers out there and I have reviewed a couple of them in the past, such as the Saison du Buff and the El Camino (Un)Real Ale.  However, I recently came across a "collaboration" beer that seemed to be rather unique.  It is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux. 

The Abbey is a community of Cistercian monks located in Vina, California.  The monks at New Clairveaux have their own vineyards and produce their own wines.  (You can check out their vineyard website at this link.)  However, with Sierra Nevada, the monks were able to reach back into the past of the Cistercian order and produce a beer whose style has been brewed by monasteries for more than one hundred and fifty five years.

Back in 1856, the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Westmalle (once known as the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart) began brewing a beer that became known as the Abbey Dubbel.  These beers are generally mid-strength beers, dark in color, with aromatic and taste elements that evoke fruit, yeast, and malts.  This traditional Trappist beer serves as a great starting point for a community of monks in California who have been making wine rather than beer.  

And, for their first collaboration, both the monks and Sierra Nevada have hit the mark with this Abbey Dubbel.  The Ovila Dubbel has a caramel color when poured, with a nice, off-white foam.  The aromatic elements of this beer are heavily suggestive of apples, along with some hints of raisins.  There is also hints of the malts in the aroma of the beer, with little to no presence of hops.  The aromatic elements are also present in the taste of the beer.  The Ovila Dubbel has a lot of apple in the flavor, along with the flavor of caramel and raisins.

A portion of proceeds from the sale of the Ovila Dubbel goes toward the restoration of the historic Santa Maria de Ovila chapter house on the grounds of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.  This medieval style building stood for eight centuries in Spain.  William Randolph Hearst purchased the building in 1931 and planned to use the stones for a castle at San Simeon.  Although Hearst never built his castle, the stones will be used to build a house at the New Clairvaux Abbey.

The beer is available at Whole Foods for about $11.99 per bottle.  A good beer for a good cause.

ENJOY!