White Birch Dubbel - White Birch Brewing

jlindros

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +27%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got this with a big booty of White Birch on my way up to visit Bill at the Brewery. It's a great experience to go visit him if you can. Poured this right into my White Birch tulip glass.

A: A fizzy frothy 2 finger head fades super fast like its going out of style. It's the light airy big bubbles you get from some bottled conditioned ales. There are quite a few bubbles rising up to replace the dead ones though, so it retains a light head covering. It's semi clear with a slight hazy to its golden orange color.

N: Yeast comes right out. It has that aroma of opening a fresh wet yeast packet for you homebrewers. Below that comes some Belgian malts, sweet malts, and a touch of sugar. Some thick malt aromas, like a heavy red ale, come out as well with a sweet thickness. It has that thick sweet malt aroma that makes my brain want to think that it has a nice boozy aroma, but it never really hits.

T: Taste is also pretty yeasty. I get a lot of that strong fresh yeast flavors on first hit. Luckily they start to fade. A sweet Belgian malt taste starts to come out a little. Some interesting grassy like malts also touch the taste. It also has some light almost spices, but not quite. It maintains a pretty good dryness for how sweet the malts want to be, but never get there. Then a slight fruity taste also makes its way out. It also adds a slight earthy dirty rustic taste that one would get from a farmhouse style beer.

M: Light airy body with lots of carbonation.

F: Finishes pretty dry still. Once that yeasty flavor fades it has a light airy crispness to it with a touch of fruit that hits late. It finishes pretty quickly and then leaves your entire palate fresh and ready for another sip. A very slight metallic taste starts to hint at the back of your tongue but never comes out front. I think I'll leave my other bottle for a while and see how it ages, hopefully that yeasty quality will settle down. This might be my least favorite of all the White Birch beers.

UPDATE: New batch from Feb 4, 2010. A lot less yeast!!! Light sweet Belgian malts come on the nose and taste. A hint of Belgian candi sugar and some brown sugar, a very slight bit of tart fruit on teh taste. Some light bitterness with a nice dry finish. Much better this time around.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2009 02:32:30 | More by jlindros

spycow

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -20.6%

05-01-2013 03:37:12 | More by spycow

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev +3.2%

04-23-2013 05:34:06 | More by Kelp

Wally1912

Massachusetts

2/5  rDev -36.5%

11-24-2012 00:34:05 | More by Wally1912

HEADYdb

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +19%

06-02-2012 13:28:54 | More by HEADYdb

illidurit

California

2.5/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle 116 shared at the May 2012 iteration of the Santa Cruz tasting series. The brewer’s description invokes toffee, caramel and ripe fruit. What I get is toffee and caramel left in your pocket after your pants went through the laundry, and unripe fruit -- mainly scuzzy apple juice notes. Tastes old, and like it wasn’t too good in the beginning either.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 20:59:39 | More by illidurit

Diomede

California

3/5  rDev -4.8%

05-19-2012 17:12:49 | More by Diomede

wizo

Quebec (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev +3.2%

04-04-2012 02:12:29 | More by wizo

BigCheese

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +27%

01-21-2012 02:52:21 | More by BigCheese

mvanaskie13

Pennsylvania

2.58/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an orval glass, color is amber, with light tan head tht presents somewhat thinly but lingers on top

Smell is very is mainly some brown, toasty malt with hint of caramel. no phenols or yeasty notes.

Taste is sugary, touch of toasted type flavors hint of caramel, no phenols or yeast.

Mouthfeel is pretty clean, not too carbonated, flavors come in and linger lightly, little bitter finish.

Overall, a very sub par dubbel, something mixed between a brown ale splashed with some notes of something that might be a dubbel but never lives up to it.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2012 00:21:26 | More by mvanaskie13

AgentZero

Illinois

2.78/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

A - Brown bodied beer with some orange in it. Bit of tan head that left a bit of stick on the glass.

S - Smells sweet, a little sugary. Maybe some spices. Doesn't smell like any Dubbel I've tasted.

T - Tastes more like a brown ale than anything else. Kind of reminds me of Moose Drool or whatever that brown ale is, or at least, a poorer version of it. Really tastes a bit like a cheap cola, think RC.

M - Too fizzy for the style, but perfect along the lines of trying to make a cola/beer hybrid. Medium bodied.

O - It's a pretty unoffensive beer, but it's not good, and it's not a dubbel. Guessing they misprinted some labels and then just used them anyway. Oh well, for them, this isn't a bad beer. Fails as a dubbel, but whatever.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 03:47:34 | More by AgentZero

Sean9689

Illinois

2.85/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks, Alex! Good beer/bad beer tasting. 22oz bomber poured into Bell's tulip.

A - Pours a mirkey orange/brown color, white head, thin collar.

S - Light spice, generic sweetness, malts. The spice is subtle and nice, the sweetness smells a little "fake" (think Nutrisweet) to me, and the malts help hide the sweetness a bit. Not offending, which is good.

T - Watery spice, light malts, touch of caramel sweetness, pretty generic and un-Dubbel-like. Almost reminds me of an American Brown Ale. The alcohol is barley noticeable, and for 9%, that's damn impressive. Again, not offending...go WB!

M - Too thin, light body, good carbonation, watery clean finish.

O - Well, it's not a good Dubbel, but the beer doesn't smell or taste bad, which is a step forward from my previous White Birch experiences. I cannot recommend this to those who are looking to try a Dubbel, but if you want to try a drinkable WB beer, this is all you!

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2012 16:32:27 | More by Sean9689

MasterSki

Illinois

2.45/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Thanks Ethan! Batch Four, consisting of 1536 bottles. Bottled December 10th, 2010. Served in a Captain Lawrence tulip.

A - A dime of tan foam settles to a thin ring, wispy patches, and a few tiny lace spots. Hazy brown body.

S - Reminds me of corn starch and off-brand cola. Perhaps a hint of tobacco and anise in there too. Reminds me quite a bit of adjunct-brewed Guinness from the tropics.

T - The taste is a bit better, but it mostly tastes like fizzy sugar water. There's a hint of chocolate, and some seltzer flavors as well.

M - Zesty carbonation, surprisingly medium-light body, dry texture, well-hidden alcohol, and a sticky finish.

D - Congratulations! You've just brewed the worlds first 9% cola! Fairly easy to drink actually, but horribly off-target for a dubbel.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 17:37:04 | More by MasterSki

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +11.1%

01-02-2012 01:04:23 | More by InspectorBob

jophish17

Georgia

1.5/5  rDev -52.4%

12-24-2011 07:53:45 | More by jophish17

nathanjohnson

Vermont

2/5  rDev -36.5%

12-18-2011 00:17:01 | More by nathanjohnson

atlason

New York

2.83/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

750ml bottle into tulip. Serving temperature from 48 to 55F. Batch 4.

A: Light brown, ample head dissipating fairly rapidly. No lacing.

S: Roasted and toasted malts dominate. Smells like a dry stout.

T: Metallic, not much Belgian yeast character. Strong roasted flavors with a touch of dark sugar.

M: Thin, lightly carbonated.

Overall this doesn't seem like a dubbel at all ? Somewhere between a stout and a Belgian strong dark ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2011 03:06:19 | More by atlason

Rochefort10nh

New Hampshire

3/5  rDev -4.8%

11-25-2011 23:12:12 | More by Rochefort10nh

KGarrett

New York

4/5  rDev +27%

11-19-2011 00:55:29 | More by KGarrett

Ryan011235

Ohio

1.3/5  rDev -58.7%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Poured into a Rochefort chalice on 8/9/11

Bottled Feb 4, 2010; Batch One

Thanks(?) to MbpBugeye for sharing

Ugly, murky brown. Muddy pond water - with bubbles! One finger head crackles out quickly to a thin layer of popping bubbles. The head holds fairly well, I guess. No lace.

Smells terrible - rotten tomato paste, garbage, yeast, biscuit, spoiled banana and a cluster of other disgustingly over-ripe fruit. Cherry air freshener aromas as it warms. I don't want to taste it. And yep, it tastes terrible; nay, pathetic. Dead and withered fruit... notes, I suppose. Tea leaves and earth. Vapid implosions of cocoa dust on the finish. Thin body with way too much carbonation. Meddled, dirty finish. Dry erase marker.

This beer is very unpleasant; though a little less so as it warms. Regardless, it's atrocious.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2011 22:17:13 | More by Ryan011235

gfreed

Massachusetts

2.83/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I'd like to teach the world to sing...

Oh... sorry.

If you like Coke, this is your beer: cola in the aroma, in the taste, on the sides of buses... it's the dominant flavor. You'll find some leathery smells and some raisins, and loads of brown sugar in the taste, but otherwise this is Coke with fewer bubbles. Not terrible, but overly sweet and not very good. You'll easily do better in American dubbles by buying just about any other bottle from the shelf.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2011 11:01:39 | More by gfreed

MbpBugeye

Ohio

1.68/5  rDev -46.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Shared with Ryan011235. Split into two Rochefort Chali.
Feb 4, 2010 Bottle 239 of 315. Ho-hum.

Appearance
This beer is thin looking right out of the gate. Its ruddy and murky. Very thin looking on the edges with a muddy looking core. A fizzy, coarse head dissipates quickly.

Aroma
There is a low level of tartness coming from an artificial cherry aroma. A light hint of malt vinegar and some tobacco. I don't think this is infected, as the vinegar and tart aromas are merely subtle off notes.

Taste
There is a noticable level of rotten cherries and apples. This taste is very watered down and weakened. Artificial cherry cola. A strange cocoa and sweet tobacco finish. There is a salty/minerally essence to the whole thing.

Mouthfeel
Thin, watery and painfully carbonated.

Overall
Not good. Watery, rotted tasting.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 22:16:16 | More by MbpBugeye

Naugled

New York

3.68/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I found a bottle of Dubbel Batch #4 in a local store.

Served in goblet at 45F

Nice color, chestnut brown and clear. The head was ok but a bit fizzy.

Smelled wonderful, like flowers, hints of lilac and rose. Not sure where that came from. I was expecting more malt and sugar notes.

Tastes goods, sweet like a dubbel, good malt base, the floweriness didn't come out in the taste.

Mouth feel was a bit thin, I was expecting a bit more body and was let down.

A very drinkable beer, I'd reccomend trying it.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 19:10:10 | More by Naugled

Gmann

New York

3.6/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dirty dark brown color with some ruby highlights around the edges. The tan head is fairly small but its dense; settles into a light ring.

The aroma is fruity and not very strong. Dark fruits, perhaps plum or cherry, get things going. This transitions into an earthy carob like aroma. Some alcohol vapors and metallic notes pop through.

The taste starts off with a red grape fruitiness but quickly turns earthy and slightly bitter. Metallic notes and some stale chocolate give the dubbel an earthy edge. A touch woody. It doesn't have the sweetness that a typical dubbel has and I am not picking up much fruitiness or spiciness from the yeast.

The feel is light to moderate with very fizzy carbonation. This is quite a dry and bitter dubbel.

I feel that a good amount of dubbels get lost in what they are trying to be. The White Birch Dubbel isn't one of those. They went with an earthy, dry, and bitter dubbel and I found that to be a refreshing change of pace. I think it could use a touch more candi sugar sweetness but the earthiness is good.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 02:42:40 | More by Gmann

ToasterChef

Maine

3.15/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I pulled this bottle out of my cellar this afternoon. It's the first beer this season that I am enjoying outside. This bottle is from batch 1, bottled 2.4.2010, and is number 59 of 315. I pour it into a tulip glass.

Pouring into the center of the glass causes the beer to foam up a lot. It is slowly receding, but at it's height, there were seven inches of egg shell foam in my glass. The liquid is clear and ruby colored. There is a lot of carbonation rising within. Swirling the glass causes the foam to build back up a bit (it has settled on a finger/finger and a half height). Plenty of film is left behind, but no lacing.

The beer has a malty sweet aroma. There are dark fruits, like plum, but there is also a strong Belgian yeast scent. It is a tad musty. Lastly, some candi sugars are present, rounding out the sweet smells.

I initially taste brown sugar, then raisin. Noticeable diacetyl makes up the back end of the taste. There is some of the Belgian yeast, but it is all too slick and buttery at this point. Some bitterness, but nothing of note.

The beer feels slick and leaves a big, watery coat. There is some flavor left in the coating. Some stickiness is present, but not too much.

After a year in the cellar, I have to give this beer an overall rating of 3. It probably didn't have the slickness issues when it was fresh. For now, I'll finish this bottle but age no more. I would try it again fresh, if I see a bottle for sale.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2011 18:24:18 | More by ToasterChef