Dark Abby - Devils Backbone Brewing Company

oberon

North Carolina

3.13/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours into a goblet an amber hued chesnut brown with a thinner slight off white head atop.Maybe the cleanest aroms of any dubbel that I have come across,some light fige and raisin but it's really light.Lightly carbonated and a little thinner than most of the style I have come across.Flavors are on the lighter side with dark fruit and sweet alcohol notes,some phenol spiciness plays a small role.I have really liked the other DB offerings I have had,this not so much.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 21:49:51 | More by oberon

metter98

New York

3.9/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear dark amber in color and poured with a thin ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass and some lacing on the surface.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of sweet malts and brown sugar in the nose.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell and has some notes of raisins and spices towards the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied and very smooth on the palate with a low amount of carbonation.
O: This is a beer that needs to be slowly sipped but is a good representation of the style.

Serving type: on-tap

06-07-2011 00:57:12 | More by metter98

argock

Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Served on-tap in a Shaker pint at Mellow Mushroom (Charlottesville, VA).

A: Beautiful auburn with a short cap of off-white head with a few small scraps of lace.

S: Strong banana aromas but followed by stronger fruity dark maltiness with fig/date and raisin and a light caramel sweetness that mixes well with the fairly intense maltiness.

T: The flavor follows the aroma with dark maltiness that is fruit-tinged with raisin and date flavors mixing with a pretty heavy but enjoyable dose of light and medium caramel sweetness. The yeast character is somewhat stronger than in most abbey ales/dubbels I have had but it is certainly reasonably within style.

M: Very drinkable despite the 7ish% ABV with the smoothness of a doppelbock.

O: A really fine Belgian ale from DB. I thought Azrael was pretty good too, so they are starting to hit their stride in a style besides lagers. If you like a bit more sweetness and yeast character in your dubbel, this is a great beer for you.

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2013 03:48:02 | More by argock

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.63/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance-Pours a chestnut color with ruby highlights when held up to the light and a one finger cream colored head. The head fades quite fast to leave a thin persistent film and only a very small amount of lacing.

Smell – The smell is largely of darker fruits of cherry and fig with a caramel sweetness and hints of a yeasty aroma mixed within.

Taste – The taste begins with sweet fruit flavors of cherry, raisin, apple and fig. Upfront there is also a light roasted malt flavor. The fruity flavors grow more cherry in nature more toward the middle where the sweetness is overall increased by some flavors of brown sugar. Around the time the sweet maximizes a yeasty flavor begins coming to the tongue. With this comes both flavors of a more bitter citrus and tannin like flavor which take the taste to its end. When mixed with a rather strong alcohol flavor (strong for only a 7.5 % abv brew) it leaves a boozy and lightly bittered fruit wine like flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel-The body of the beer is on the average side for the strength of the beer with a carbonation level that was a bit on the lower side for a dubbel . A little more carbonation may have been better for knocking down some of the alcohol flavors as well as complementing some of the sweeter fruit flavors, but overall the feel was pretty good.

Overall – An OK dubbel, although a little to bitter and tanniny in flavor for me.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 02:38:04 | More by Darkmagus82

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

reviewed on 1/10/2011

A: opaque, bright chestnut with a bubbly head. after dying down, fine bubbles begin to sporadically escape to the surface.

S: alcohol, figs, brown sugar reduction. smells sweet enough to pour over some vanilla ice cream.little bit of chalky Belgian yeast towards the end.

T: initially starts with baked apples, peaches, almost like fresh pie. then moves into molasses, caramel, clove, cinnamon with some alcohol heat in thte finish.

M: medium to full body withy some ight lingering carbonation.

with Belgian breweris being the benchmark for this style, this is a great example from the other side of the pond. well done!

Serving type: growler

01-17-2011 14:09:44 | More by Jimmys

Treyliff

West Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- pours a dark chestnut color with a ruby hue, small fizzy head quickly dissapears, leaving no lace

S- dark cherry juice and sugared berry aromas, licorice, slightly phelonic with a bit of cherry coke

T- dark cherry flavors follow aroma and is slightly tart, sugary, Belgian yeast with some spicy notes, alcohol becomes noticeable mid-palate as it finishes light and dry.

M- medium body and carbonation, lively & foamy mouthfeel, alcohol warmth with a dry finish

O- some good flavors going on, but it seems to fall off at the end. I enjoyed the dark cherry notes, but wish they would have stayed to the finish

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 01:15:06 | More by Treyliff

DaveBlack

Virginia

3.31/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

A: Dark brown beer with some reddish hints. What little head there is disappears almost immediately and leaves zero lacing.

S: Big malty aroma, some dark fruit, and the alcohol comes through as well. Not a particularly aromatic brew.

T: The front of the beer comes through with lots of malts, brown sugar, Belgian yeast, some spice. The middle has the alcohol come through, and the end just fades away into nothingness, leaving a malty sweetness in the mouth.

M: Moderate body, creamy, slightly sticky, with a moderate amount of carbonation, but significantly less than I've found in some dubbels.

O: Not a bad beer, but not particularly good. It seems that you can only get so much flavor out of a Belgian style beer without bottle fermenting. The beer is heavily front-loaded, and the end could use some more hop character. That being said, it has some good flavors, is sweet without being cloying, and is quite drinkable

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 00:25:00 | More by DaveBlack