Ovila Abbey Dubbel - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Alieniloquium

Florida

2.93/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750 mL bottle poured into a goblet.

Appearance - Deep amber body with some sediment floating around in it topped by a cream colored head. Great retention and a nice pillow of foam on top of the beer.

Smell - When it's cold, it smells of nothing. When it's warm, I swear I smell bourbon. Also, some bready malts and a hint of caramel. Really have to suck it in to get the aromas, though.

Taste - Again, a hint of the bourbon, with a bready sweetness right with it. After that, it falls off to an odd, but light, bitterness. Not a lot of flavor going on and the finish is a bit off-putting.

Mouthfeel - Highly carbonated with a dry finish. It's actually a bit abrasive in the finish as a result. Medium bodied, but it's gone quickly due to the dryness.

Overall - Not something I'd drink again. Takes a lot to get any flavor out of it, and when you do it isn't great. Not a good take on a Dubbel.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2011 01:21:59 | More by Alieniloquium

BobCS

New York

2.88/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: Hazy and brown with some red highlights under a tight beige foam. The haze appears to be chill haze and definitely temperature related.

S: Earthy, fruity, yeasty, with a distinctive Belgian abbey character. Although the aroma profile is spot on, the intensity is less than many other classic Abbey ales. Aroma and overal character definitely improves as this beer warms up in the glass.

T: Medium-sweet with dark fruit and banana, some tartness, and restrained spicing in the background. As with the aroma the overall character of the flavor is dead on for a Belgian abbey, but the overall impact is somewhat lacking.

M: Medium-full and well carbonated

D: This beer nicely fits the characteristics appropriate for Abbey beers, but is lacking in intensity (as compared with other classic examples). Do let this beer warm a bit as both the aroma and flavor will improve greatly. It is drinkable and enjoyable, but there may be little reason to return to it given some of the other excellent choices from Belgium and North America in this category.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2011 23:48:00 | More by BobCS

heygeebee

Australia

2.88/5  rDev -24.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a brown mahogany. The two finger head dies to a film.

Aromas are of brown sugar, Belgian yeast.

Taste is sweet and in the same vein. A bit one dimensional. Hint of vanilla/butterscotch.

Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated and medium weight. But too sickly sweet.

All in all, in danger of blanding out here. No real redeeming features and the sweetness just plain gets in the way.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 08:39:04 | More by heygeebee

dcloeren

Texas

2.85/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured a deep amber with subtle ruby hues on the edges with 2 fingers of foamy cream colored head that disappeared pretty quickly

Getting some plums and other dark fleshy fruits with some raisins perhaps...? Very subtle caramel back ground The aromas on this beer are very subtle and pretty disappointing

As far as taste goes this beer is average at best... Getting the same dark fruits as I got in the nose with an even more subtle caramel background. Getting some spice and a very small amount of heat from the alcohol. Once this beer warmed up it tasted like nothing but dark fruit syrup. Shits weak son

The mouthfeel was the only above average thing about this beer. It was syrupy with a great amount of carbonation that prickled the tongue with each sip. Dark fruit aftertaste that lingers

Overall, I don't plan to ever buy this beer again. It was decent but it was nothing special

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 01:04:58 | More by dcloeren

sinstaineddemon

Connecticut

2.85/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - even a careful pour creates a medium tan head thats three quarters of the glass at first, it tames after a minute or two enough to fill the glass properly. The beer is a dark brazil nut brown with crimson highlights and plenty of carbonation

S - malty for sure, some currant aromas peek through a yeasty aroma base

T - maltier than the aroma let on, the dark sweetness alluded to on the bottle is present, the candied sugar and dark fruits, especially currants or plums. The spicy, peppery notes are subdued if there at all

M&D - malty and malty, and sweet and sweet. not a very complex brew. Having the words Sierra Nevada on the bottle got my hopes up a bit and this didn't meet that. It's smooth and easy to drink, just expected a bit more. The "mild hop bitterness" characteristic of this style wasn't there to serve as a balancing factor.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2012 03:20:42 | More by sinstaineddemon

bierguru

Florida

2.75/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A - its a muddy brown with mild carbonation and a thin tan head laces well

S - the nose of the beer is very weak. Mostly covered by brown sugar followed by mild yeast and spice.

T - right up front you get smacked from brown sugar followed by spice that flows through the rest of the taste.Taste ends with some fuitiness.

M - mild carbontation which is good however the beer leaves a mild-heavy flemminess in the mouth very unpleasant

O - the beer is okay not worth a seond try but worth a first somewhat

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 18:56:52 | More by bierguru

Philousa

California

2.63/5  rDev -31%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Imbibed on tap at The Rose & Crown 5/25/2012.

Opaque chestnut, rust color with a ring of delicate bubble around the rim. Nothing covers the bald top. Good amount of Belgian dark malt. Nutty and a little bit of metallic penny aroma. Solid, but not complex. Very nutty and creamy flavor. Some candied sugar is evident but not annoying. No bitterness from hops, but malt bitterness lingers nicely/smoothly. A bit watery, this beer finishes dry.

Not very complex, but much more smooth than other Dubbels I've tried. Many times there will be an annoying flavor accompanied with an itching in the back of my throat when having a dark Belgian, but none of that with this beer (I think they toned down the candied sugar). Solid, but I'm not intrigued enough to try this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

05-30-2012 04:34:59 | More by Philousa

broken22

California

2.58/5  rDev -32.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

So I was looking for new Brews at my store when I this beer. The label caught my eye. Its nice and simple with subtle details. I like the label design a lot. So when I saw this was a Sierra Nevada brew I was surprised. Once I read the label about how buying this beer would make me a good Samaritan, okay not really, but it does say that proceeds go to help rebuild The Abbey Of New Clairvaux. So naturally I wanted to help and I bought this beer :P

Lets get on with the review.

I have had this now on tap and in a glass so thats why I put on-tap. This beer comes out with lots of carbonation. I had to wait a while until it stopped effervescing. Once its done your left with a nice glassy lake like surface without any head to speak of. I was kind of worried that it was over-carbonated. The color of this beer is a nice medium brown with a hint of red. The beer smells kind of yeasty and bread like. The flavor is much the same. I'm not getting much fruit or any other flavors you would come to expect from this style of beer. The finish does have an ever so slight bitterness to it. However its so very slight and subtle as in barely there. There isn't much carbonation to this beer. So overall mouth feel is rater bland.

This beer is okay. I was expecting something with a little more flavor than what this has. I hate to end up ranking this as one of the lowest scoring beers since I started writing these but I have to be true. I still encourage you to pick one up and try. If you don't like it either just say to yourself that is was for a good cause.

Serving type: on-tap

04-26-2011 06:16:38 | More by broken22

ZenAgnostic

Texas

2.55/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appearance - Surprisingly light brown body but very hazy, dark, and opaque. Then again I was poured the bottom of the bottle so it's probably just sediment lightening it up.

Smell - Light banana. A bit floral. Not much spend for a dubbel.

Taste - Clear and light bodied. The Bud Light of dubbels.

Mouthfeel - Clean body with alcohol finish. Dry aftertaste.

Overall Drinkability - Pretty boring.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2011 00:32:12 | More by ZenAgnostic

SolomonGrundy

California

2.53/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

oor VCU, ran outta fire...Gotta still love Butler, though!!!

The basics: $8.99/750ml bottle and nobody knows the ABV apparently...

I'm loving the direction Sierra Nevada has been going: still trying to push the envelope even though they long ago ceased being a "craft brewer", per se. Gotta flip over the High on Fire record so I'm gonna blaze through this (pun fully intended)...

Gorgeous beer. Nice reddish, orange-ish amber. Creamy, big fluffy head. Nice carbonation...

Aromas are faint, which is a bummer given how nice it looks. I get some orange extract, maybe some sour apple. It's very muted...bummer.

Flavor is weird. Not sure what's going on with it. Carbonation gives an excellent mouthfeel to it upfront, but it gets painfully thin in the middle...There isn't a lot going on here, to be damn honest...It's suprising how little flavor is captured in this. It's malty to be sure, and I like the texture, but overall I guess I expected more "oomph" to it...There's little to no heft in the flavor profile, which parallels the aroma profile in as much as it, too, lacked any kind of heft. Surprisingly poor beer, I'm afraid to say, but maybe others will love it's "sophistication" (that seems to be a buzz word among the beer bourgoisie for beer that lacks any robustness of any kind...us layman aren't good enough to understand the subtleness, right? Piss off, wankers)...

What I like most: The beautiful appearance

What I like least: The unbelieveably "subtle" aspects of teh rest of it...

Verdict: SN makes so many other great beers, you'd be remiss plunking your hard earned ducats down on a bottle of this...avoid.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2011 01:23:31 | More by SolomonGrundy

claspada

New Jersey

2.53/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Aromas of grainy/ bready malts, with very very very light fruitiness (plum and raisin), some earthy/mineral aromas. Really not that pleasant or exciting or inviting.
The taste follows the nose with brown sugar and dominant bready maltiness. Really can't taste much as far as dark fruits, If you stretch you can barely get plum or date but you have to stretch and focus on it to find it.
Mouthfeel is borderline watery with below average carbonation for the style, despite the huge pop I got when I opened this.
Overall this is one of the worst Dubbels I have ever had. I have made and had numerous homebrewed Belgian browns/dubbels which exponentially more aroma and flavor. The pleasant spicy yeast flavors are completely masked by waves and waves or bready and grainy malts. It's almost like they stripped the flavors by using some German/Belgian hybrid lager yeast. Don't waste your $8 on this flavorless "Belgian Dubbel;" also for the record I didn't even drink the second half of the bottle because, why drink average beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 22:35:25 | More by claspada

generalnotsew

Tennessee

2.28/5  rDev -40.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Snakes! This cork took me 10 minutes to pop. The pour produced a nice 1 finger off white head and the body is dark mahogany. Downside is the body does seem a bit thin.
Smell is burnt brown sugar and hints of plum mixed with some earthy notes.
Taste is a bit tart and tangy. Ok it is mostly tart and tangy. Reminds me a lot of apple juice. Also a bit watery and I am not picking up much more flavor at all. It is a far cry from most Dubbels I have had. I am usually not too critical of beers but if AB were to brew a Dubbel I could imagine it tasting like this. Or lack of taste rather.
The heat is quite burning. Surprising for something fairly low in abv. Actually most Belgians seem to have a bit of a burn but this is beyond normal.
Overall this is a disappointment. It is severly lacking in flavor. The only time I pick up anything is on the swallow. I don't even get an aftertaste out of this.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2011 23:25:46 | More by generalnotsew

gfreed

Massachusetts

2.23/5  rDev -41.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

On tap at Cambridge Common.

Sierra Nevada is weird. They're wildly inconsistent. They make one of the worst porters I've ever had, yet they make one of the finest stouts in the world; they make some of the ickiest crap as well as some of the most refined beer there is to drink. This Ovila thing unfortunately fits into the below-the-five category. Most dubbels get better as they warm; this one got worse. Way, way worse, in fact. Right out of the tap it was rich and toasty and leathery; after about five minutes all the aroma and taste went flat. Not just flat, but FLAAAT. No more honeyed aroma, no more dense malt, no more nothing. Well, I detected some lemon furniture polish, but that's about all. Ultimately one of the blandest beers of the evening. Pass.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2011 00:03:25 | More by gfreed

jjchristiano

New Jersey

2.2/5  rDev -42.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A= carbonation was so active that the bubbles made the glass murky.
S= a little subdued for a belgian
T= even though only 7.5% alcohol that is all I tasted. bubbly carbonated alcohol not much else. A little dry on the back side but not the depth of a dubbel.
M= can't get past the feeling this has seltzer water in it.
O= Overpriced, overcarbonated, nothing special to the palate.

It is nice that some of the proceeds from sales go to the restoration of the Abbey. Consider this when you pay $10 for a 22 oz. bottle. It's a donation.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 01:11:53 | More by jjchristiano

aasher

Indiana

2/5  rDev -47.5%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

This beer poured a very dirty, creek water brown in color with a slight lacing around the edges of the glass. It looked up to par. The aromas are non existant. Why? All I got was alcohol, alcohol, alcohol. What the hell? This beer is only 7.5% yet it features nothing, especially after it warmed. The flavors were bland bland bland. There was nothing going on in terms of flavor. It was a potpourri of nothingness. It was light and even kind of watery. I respect Sierra Nevada. I like what they do. If this is how their Ovila series is going to be then count me out. This was an awful Dubbel, especially if I compare this to ACTUAL Dubbels.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 04:29:27 | More by aasher