Thumbprint Chocolate Abbey - New Glarus Brewing Company

Dope

Massachusetts

3.64/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a deep reddish brown. Big fluffy light brown head. Fades slowly but leaves barely any trace behind. Just little splotches here and there at best. Decent retention.

S: Fudgey chocolate. Decent amount of cream too. Quite sweet. Pretty much what you'd expect from the name.

T: Hmph. Not as much chocolate here but it still hangs around a little. Strong typical dubbel toffee and raisin character up front. A little bit toasty. Some strong earthiness and spiciness that starts up front and really peaks in the middle. Majority of the chocolate lingers in the aftertaste but honestly there's not as much as the smell would lead you to believe. Surprisingly dry in the finish.

M: Medium bodied, fairly plain with a drying finish.

O: Hmph, I really enjoyed the smell but honestly it tastes totally different. In the end it's kind of a bland dubbel with a tiny bit of chocolate thrown in.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 05:52:35 | More by Dope

Photekut

Azerbaijan

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

05-19-2013 01:07:19 | More by Photekut

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.96/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured out a brown, cocoa colored liquid. 1/4" tan head, spotty lacing around the glass as the liquid was consumed.

A chocolate aroma first and foremost. Actually that was all there was, which is fine.

Taste, mmm, more chocolate and cocao. For a dubbel, I like far more than the average one. Dry, like cocao powder was used moreso than sweet chocolate. Not sugary. Smooth experience. Dark fruit aspect is minimal, yet not overwhelmed by the cocoa. The minimal yeast contribution is very mild, nothing in terms of clove or banana are on it, which is a good thing. It has a very mild chocolate bubble gum contribution. Mild toasted grains.

I'd consider myself a fan, and would drink again.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 18:58:06 | More by Beerandraiderfan

egrace84

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

03-24-2013 21:37:59 | More by egrace84

wmobley

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +4.4%

03-13-2013 20:31:55 | More by wmobley

Zachtheporter

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +11%

03-13-2013 05:06:15 | More by Zachtheporter

kojevergas

California

3.73/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

12 fl oz brown glass bottle with foiled over branded pressure cap and stylish label acquired from the very generous very gracious Duff27 in a trade and served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are through the roof; I love this brewery.

Served straight from the fridge and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a 5+ finger smooth khaki colour head of nice soft cream, good thickness, and good (5+ minute) retention. Light thin lacing clings to the sides of the glass as the head recedes. I wouldn't call it frothy, but dubbels oughtn't be. Body colour is a refined rich caramel-amber; transparent and translucent, if dark. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Really looking forward to this one.

Sm: Fuck me, that's lovely. Gorgeous milk chocolate, soft cream, impeccable soft malts, biscuit malt, and yeast. Truffle. That's sinfully good. Sweet Jesus good. Chocolate covered cherries. Maybe a bit bready. White pepper. Bubblegum, taffy. Incredibly balanced, subtle, and evocative. The aroma alone is sending expectations for the flavour sky-high. A mild strength, soft aroma. Incredibly inviting. No alcohol is detectable.

T: Chocolate and bubble-gum, with buried cherry. I want more of the cherry I got on the aroma. Taffy. Buried caramalt. Biscuit malt. Chocolate malt. Biscuity yeast. A touch of bitterness. Light candi sugar. It's actually a bit too candy-like for me; the bubblegum/taffy is too strong - and frankly weird for the style. But I dig that subtle chocolate; there's no bitterness from the chocolate at all. Truffle. It balances its notes well. Subtle and evocative. A fine dubbel. They're really pushing flavours on this one; it's not at all traditional but I like it. No alcohol comes through. Full of flavour.

Mf: Sinfully soft. Smooth and wet. Silky, yet lightly coarse to aid flavour delivery. Feels great on the palate; not too heavy or too light. Perfect carbonation. Near ideal thickness; maybe a bit more thickness would help. Full-bodied. Full depth of flavour is allowed to come through. Complements the flavour profile well.

Dr: Definitely the strangest dubbel I've ever had. The bubblegum gets on my nerves a bit, but overall it's a tasty beer. The chocolate is very well integrated. I'd have this again; it's very interesting. A very drinkable. The ABV is quite well hidden here; I'll enjoy finishing this bottle. Thanks again Duff27; I quite enjoyed this one! And as it warms, I like it more and more.

Serve chilled.

High B

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 04:21:52 | More by kojevergas

drummermattie02

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

03-03-2013 15:19:21 | More by drummermattie02

TheSSG

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

2011 Vintage: Pours a light, soft, off-white head that is quite resilient. Soft, yeast aroma with notes of milk chocolate. Deep, burnt umber color. Starts a bit sweet, almost tart. There is a mild booziness to it all, as it mellows, there is a nice yeasty quality and then the chocolate REALLY comes through in the finish.

This is pretty interesting. It's very much a dubbel in the front, but has a FABULOUS chocolate finish.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 22:55:50 | More by TheSSG

Evan

Maryland

4/5  rDev +4.4%

02-23-2013 02:46:13 | More by Evan

Klimm

Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +4.4%

02-10-2013 01:21:29 | More by Klimm

josephwa

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

02-05-2013 21:36:02 | More by josephwa

Hopsiam14

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +4.4%

02-04-2013 23:08:20 | More by Hopsiam14

gatornation

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

02-03-2013 22:11:04 | More by gatornation

CJS

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

01-30-2013 20:20:02 | More by CJS

DrJoe82

Illinois

5/5  rDev +30.5%

01-24-2013 01:16:02 | More by DrJoe82

MordorMongo

Indiana

4/5  rDev +4.4%

01-13-2013 23:55:25 | More by MordorMongo

AlexFields

Tennessee

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

01-08-2013 02:04:11 | More by AlexFields

Hopstout

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -21.7%

12-30-2012 07:46:29 | More by Hopstout

archi348

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +4.4%

12-09-2012 06:03:17 | More by archi348

drewone

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

12-05-2012 09:05:44 | More by drewone

UCLABrewN84

California

4.05/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to robL for sharing this one at drewone's tasting.

Pours a clear dark orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, spices, cocoa, chocolate syrup, and bananas. Taste is much the same with a nice chocolate covered banana finish. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer with a great smell and a solid flavor.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 22:07:07 | More by UCLABrewN84

GRG1313

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

12-03-2012 06:36:57 | More by GRG1313

t0rin0

California

4.25/5  rDev +11%

11-23-2012 00:22:08 | More by t0rin0

johnkale

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a snifter

A - dark dark brown with a nice two fingers of head that lingers for a while at about a quarter inch, moderate lacing

S - tootsie roll, as mentioned in numerous other reviews. bakers chocolate/cocoa, spicy phenols (clove, cinnamon, cardomom), brown bread, just a touch of char

T - follows the nose fairly closely but with a lot more going on. earthy and roasty, with some banana but fairly dry and bitter on the finish. There are some raisin and port notes in there as well. I get just a touch of alcohol warmth out of it. chocolate notes are not nearly as dominant as in the nose (nor as pronounced as I recall them being when fresh).

M - pretty lively carbonation, tingly on the tip of the tongue, medium body

O - I like this a lot. The nose is somewhat offputting, the phenols and the chocolate don't immediately lend themselves to each other, but once it hits the tongue things come together nicely. I like that the chocolate subsided a bit with age and the classic dubbel characteristics became more noticeable in the taste. Wish this wasn't my last bottle but my curiosity got the better of me tonight

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 23:16:11 | More by johnkale