Siamese Twin Ale - Uncommon Brewers

monkeylovebeer

California

4.3/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Born in the funky beach/college town of Santa Cruz, I wasn't surprised to find that Uncommon's Belgian-style Double had a few tricks up its sleeve. The first thing I noticed, apart from the can, was how thick and opaque this brew pours. Pumpkin-colored with a crazy hop-driven retentive head, the Siamese Twin throws off a nose full of yeast, spices, and a healthy underpinning of hops.

"What we have here is a hoppy Belgian dubbel with Thai spices ... especially coriander," said Nor Cal Bobby Java, without even looking at the can. This tasty treat disappeared from my glass before I could take further notes, always a good sign.

Serving type: can

03-02-2009 04:10:28 | More by monkeylovebeer

Floydster

California

2.75/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

16 ounce can from Ledger's in Berkeley, poured into a pint glass, color is a golden amber color, 3/4 inch foamy white head that leaves lacing on the top of the glass, decent retention, smell was all over the place with lemongrass, raisins, coriander, bubble gum, lime, and booze, flavor starts off slightly spicy, some grassy accents mixed with fruit in the middle, finish has some dark fruit and a syrupy alcohol bite, Belgian yeast is overpowered by the bready malt once it warms, slightly sweet, spicy, chewy, and fruity mouthfeel, medium bodied on the fuller side, taste lingers, needs more carbonation, could not drink more than this serving as I barely got through this, heavy on the stomach, thickness got to me after a while, booze are not hidden either, first beer from this brewery, one of the weirdest dubbels I have ever tasted, not in a rush to drink this again, might be worth trying

Serving type: can

02-06-2009 23:52:33 | More by Floydster

GClarkage

California

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

01/29/09- Purchased at Ledger's in Berkeley, CA.

Presentation- 16oz can, no freshness info found. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

Appearance- Deep golden colored pour with a semi-creamy full one inch head. Light patches and some streaks of lace left behind.

Smell- At first it has a rather unappealing nose. Kind of medicinal and rubbery. As it warms, you can definitely smell the corriander and a bit of lemongrass.

Taste- A must drink headed towards room temperature beer. Not very flavorful cold, but shows it's various spices as it warms towards room temp. Lemongrass, ginger, a good chunk of corriander and a honey like flavor.

Mouthfeel- Not really creamy, but smooth and somewhat thick. Leaves a light mouthcoating.

Drinkability- Not sure if this is a Dubbel. I would lean more towards a Belgian Strong Pale, but at any rate, it is quite different than the rest and worth a try.

Serving type: can

01-30-2009 17:31:17 | More by GClarkage

MasterSki

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Got this as a throw-in from Adam (Nanoslug) - thanks a bunch dude. Poured it into my Darkness goblet.

A - Opaque copper color, with a one-fingered tan foam that dissipates relatively quickly and leaves a bit of lacing. Tiny streams of bubbles make their way up the sides of the glass.

S - There's a fair bit of citrus here, but not in the hoppy kind of way. Lemon peel, spice, coriander. There's also some sweet malt and Belgian-style yeast that pops up as the brew gets a little warmer. There's a lot of bite to it when you get up close. The smell is really unique, but I'm not certain how I feel about it.

T - The citrus and spice take a back seat and I get more of the biscuit-y malt and yeast that I associate with dubbels. There's a touch of booziness but it's not overwhelming. The spice pops up more at the back end and tickles the palate a little - also lingers in the aftertaste.

M - Creamy and refreshing - I'm not a regular with dubbels, so I don't know if they are all this light, but then thinness corresponds with the citrus-y character. Probably a little more carbonation than I like.

D - Not sure if this could be a regular beer. The spice aftertaste, carbonation, and relatively high ABV make this more of an occasional peculiarity.

Glad I got to try this - although it's kind of weird drinking Belgian styles from a can. It's definitely Uncommon, and more successful than a lot of other "crazy" beer experiments (*cough* DFH *cough*). The organic certification combines with the high ABV to give me a warm feeling inside.

Serving type: can

01-21-2009 02:00:19 | More by MasterSki

TheBlackMallard

Michigan

4.15/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I decided to open this to drown my sorrows after FrognutUnl didn't accept my IP Relay call.

Extra from Nanoslug. 16oz can from July 23rd 2008.

Pours light hazy brown with a giant creme colored head. Smells of Lemon, Limes, Bananas, Coriander, and Crystal Malt. Tastes the same but with Chocolate. Nice Citrus finish. Very original and interesting. I'm not a huge fan of Coriander, but I'd still definitely recommend this.

Serving type: can

01-18-2009 01:47:22 | More by TheBlackMallard

hopdog

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap.

Poured a medium and cloudy amber color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of gerneral herbalness, lemongrass, some spices, and limes. Tastes of the same but the herbalness wasnt as strong and some citrus too. I wasn't getting the normal profile I would expect in a dubbel.

Serving type: on-tap

12-09-2008 04:13:47 | More by hopdog

Beerenauslese

California

4.5/5  rDev +23.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is the first double I ever poured from a can. And it is delightful.

A: Good head, with Belgian lacing on the glass. A translucent chocolate brown.

S: Tropical fruits of all kinds, chocolate, spice cake.

T: A light tropical taste, with lime and coriander being the main ingredients and really come through. Stylistically, I'd say it is like a tripel due to the fruitiness and sweetness, but then you have the dark malt and the coffee and chocolate going too. So I'd say it's a hybrid double/tripel. Taking coriander to the heights, now I really get a sense of what coriander can taste like in a beer. As I linger over this, I am getting all kinds of tropical fruit salad, butterscotch, and coffee.

M: Light mouthfeel, coats all areas equally well, and the cilantro really leaves a lingering zip on the top of the tongue, while the chocolate flavors seem to jump around then settle under the tongue.

D: This is really an experience. One will probably do me fine in an evening because of the explosion of flavors as well as the alcohol (8.5% ABV).

This is an exciting, uncommon beer from Uncommon Brewers, certified organic, with locally sourced ingredients from the Santa Cruz, CA area. I look forward to more innovations from this brewer.

Serving type: can

12-09-2008 02:24:50 | More by Beerenauslese

Offa

California

4.38/5  rDev +20%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is a very flavourful and interesting dubbel, if somewhat sweet.

Red brown, it has a big pale tan head, slightly orangish, that shrinks slowly to a foamy ring and leaves a little bit of lace.

The aroma is citrus (with a specific hint of grapefruit), toasted malt-whole wheat bread, pears, a faint hint of banana, yeast. It smells a lot like an abbey, but different, with more citrus and a definitely stronger range of elements than many.

The taste is very nice, very interesting, with caramelly fruit-whole wheat bread, citrus, rum, spices and raisiny spiciness. It's sweet, zesty, and a bit spicey, but very smooth, with the alcohol warming and not harsh or overpowering. It has a definite abbey/dubbel character, but with a lot of flavour and s lightly different quality to it. It's very nice with quite a lot of flavour. My main complaint is that alone it is a bit too sweet although they suggest pairing it with SE Asian food and I can see how this would work really well.

Serving type: can

12-05-2008 19:01:53 | More by Offa

bradybeer

California

3.35/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a dark cloudy copper brown. Thin off white head that disappears quickly. A whiff of malt and no hops in the aroma. Taste is unique-a very very candy sugar sweetness coats your tongue, and you can really get the lemongrass and Thai spices when you taste this beer-and this for me is the saving grace of this beer ad sets it apart from other doubles-however, I find it difficult to drink an entire can because it is so sweet. Mouthfeel is medium and drinkability medium-I like this beer but I wish it were more drinkable.

Serving type: can

12-02-2008 23:05:43 | More by bradybeer

illidurit

California

4.03/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

16 ounce can dated May 27, 2008. Poured into a St Bernardus goblet. Translucent, cloudy amber/caramel color with a light tan, centimeter-tall head. The foam fizzles too quickly for a Belgian style ale, and leaves little lacing.

Nice aroma, lots of chewy sweet malt, dark plummy fruit, obvious coriander, and a bright tart lime note that while being a little strong, is an interesting complement.

Maine maple syrup maltiness provides a basis of flavor with accents of banana pith, grass, and a more subdued kaffir lime note. Great job of hiding the alcohol, but the finish is rather short and the complexity in taste is a little low considering the great aroma.

This beer vanishes from the palate very cleanly, its only remnant a pleasant mild warmth in the chest. Both the carbonation and the body could stand to be a little more substantial. Impressive drinkability.

Overall a nice, creative dubbel that has helped to partially restore my faith in the ability of a Santa Cruz brewery to produce good beer.

Serving type: can

09-01-2008 04:30:12 | More by illidurit

Rzzzzz

California

4.3/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Mission Pizza in Fremont. Served in a chilled pint glass. Great lookin' beer. Amber with a nice sandy colored head which left some impressive lacework down the glass. Aroma is somewhat muted but I'm picking up a little malt, a little banana. Wonderful flavor...big malt, nutty, grainy, nuances of raisin and banana. Medium to full bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Very well done. Tastes a little stronger than the 8.5 listed here. I would definitely recommend this.

Serving type: on-tap

08-23-2008 21:42:34 | More by Rzzzzz