New Glarus - Chocolate Abbey

Not to be made into a liar, my journey through Wisconsin continues with an extended stay in New Glarus.  This review for their Chocolate Abbey may have been inspired as much by my wife as myself.  I am always excited to get my hands on a few flavor of New Glarus, but when my wife saw the word "chocolate" on the label I knew that this review would be written sooner than later.  Besides, let's be honest, how amazing does a Chocolate Abbey beer sound?  I know.  I thought so too.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Label art used without permission for educational purposes.

Aroma 12/12
There is not a lot here to balance out all the sweetness, but with an aroma this good you might not want it.  It starts out with an amazing cocoa powder and banana blend, almost like a bananas Foster without the alcohol.  Amazing!  As the beer settles, a bubble gun aroma overtakes the nose and does not let go until a cream and chocolate pair dance into the scene and steal your attention.  As the beer warms a cherry aroma develops and its origins are a mystery.

Appearance 3/3
What initially appears as a matte brown ale, actually turns out to be a wonderful dark copper when it catches the light.  Ruby highlights abound and are capped by a pale tan head.  The head's retention is excellent but slides down the glass easily and leaves no lacing.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 18/20
This is a much more subtle beer than the aroma would imply.  First in the mouth is a brief cherry like tartness before mellowing into a backbone more true to the Dubbel style.  It is uncertain how cherries came out in the flavor (and aroma) as no cherries are mentioned anywhere on the bottle, but their presence is unmistakable.  The backbone is a muffled, dark cocoa, a balancing amount of earthiness, those mysterious dark cherries, a hop bitter on the back on the tongue, a taste of alcohol (but not the true "warmth"), and Belgian yeasts struggling to be heard in the background.  The finish returns us a bit more to the aroma with a moderately dark chocolate, a slightly sour bite perhaps from our hop friends, and a bitter that combines with the chocolate note to make a lovely coffee bitter several seconds after the beer has left your mouth.  Just let that flavor develop and pay attention to it!  It's very tasty.  You may also catch the revival of the Belgian "bubble gum" aroma on the occasional exhale.  Not much to speak of in the finish, just more of the cocoa and a light hop bitter which leaves the mouth neither dry nor watering.  A slurp reveals the warmth that has remained all but hidden.

Mouthfeel 4/5
The carbonation in this beer is perfect right down to the very end.  It is never out of character and its smooth nature only enhances the drinking experience.  Full bodied and thick, it is never syrupy, but fairly filling for just on 12 oz bottle.  It does remain a bit slick in the mouth.

Overall Impression 9/10
So much of this beer is excellent without being over the top - most notably the chocolate.  It provides an amazing aroma, but truly allows other ingredients to shine throughout the rest of the beer.  In fact, the chocolate was quite modest; it could have stood to stand out a little more.  However, this mature use of ingredients that are often heavily leaned upon by lesser beers is another fine example of the brewers' skills at New Glarus.   Excellently crafted while reigning in some traditional large flavors, this beer is an exercise in discipline.

Total 46/50

This score just goes to show that not just big beers can earn high marks.  Sure, this beer could be bigger!  They could blast us with chocolate and mocha flavors while making the Belgian aroma strong enough to think our noses are septum-deep in a freshly picked bunch of bananas.  The alcohol could be more apparent and strong in presence.  But you know what?  Not all music is a rock concert.  Not everything needs to be played at ear drum shattering levels.  Sometimes some Frank Sinatra is required.  This is a beer that has tamed all of these ingredients and whose nuance has apparently even added mysterious "overtones" in the form of cherries.  I still have no idea how those got there other than a possible combination of sweet yeast flavors, a slight hop sour, and dark chocolate notes.  I swear there are chocolate-covered cherries in this.  This is a technically superior beer that happens to be pretty darn tasty too.  I'd probably choose some of their other Thumbprint series over this one (Hello, Imperial Weizen!), but this is definitely worth trying.

St. Martin - Tripel

I love Belgian beers, especially Abbey Ales.  They were one of the first "expensive" beers (as I called them) that I got into when exploring craft beer.  Today, I am in luck as I will be reviewing an official "Certified Belgian Abbey Beer."  This is often indicated somewhere on the label and often looks like a stained glass window (picture included at end of post).  This is not to be confused with the seal that indicates an authentic Trappist brew.  Before I get too distracted I should mention that this beer was bottled in February of 2010.  I'm not sure if that will effect the flavors or not (I kept in refrigerated, but I obviously cannot attest to the retailer), with the high ABV, I'm hoping any effect would be negligible.  St. Martin has a great presence on Twitter (@AbbeyStMartin ) and I can't believe I have not yet reviewed one of their beers.  Thanks St. Martin for the great conversation with your customers.  We really appreciate it.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 12/12
This is an incredibly complex aroma.  Be prepared to smell everything a Belgian beer could possibly include.  As the head settles from a somewhat vigorous pour, a strong malt comes to the nose and smells like rich, baking bread.  The head settles marvelously into place and allows a understated banana to take over.  It is not the overly sweet, candied, "laffy taffy" variety that we find in many belgian-style ales, but a simple, natural, mouth-watering banana.  The warmth can be felt in the nose at this point, but does not truly add itself to the aroma.  Subtle spices soon make their way to you, consisting mostly of a dusting of clove and coriander.  Wait a minute or two longer and a few lemony citrus notes poke out their head along with a clearer malt aroma than in the initial sniffs, and even a touch of honey.  None of these ingredients smack you in the face.  They are presented simply, earnestly, and in balance.  Very complex and extremely well done.

Appearance 3/3
Initially pouring light, but growing darker with more sediment, the Tripel pours a dusty golden peach color with an ample white cloud of head.  Moderate lacing on my glass and a wonderful, hazy brew that seems to catch the light and create new facets with every twist of the glass.

Picture is my own.  Look at all the sticky lace!

Flavor 18/20
The first touch on the tongue is a combination of the bready and light malts from the aroma.  This transitions beautifully into a light citrus, then a very spiced banana and quite a bit of alcohol warmth that is definitely not as camouflaged in the flavor as in the aroma.  The alcohol with the spices and sweetness are nearly reminiscent of a spiced rum.  Almost simultaneously is a dark caramel sweetness, but is largely overshadowed by the alcohol and banana.  To let this sit in the mouth lets the banana+alcohol mix mellow, the citrus grow a bit, gives the whole lot a bit of a sour/tart tinge, and a light bitter to develop.  The finish is more of the spiced banana and strong alcohol warmth.  The aftertaste is oddly a good portion of the bready malt, but also some peppery hop flavor without much hop bitter.

Mouthfeel 5/5
The first thing to mind, of course, is the strong warmth of the brew.  Its body is a nice medium-full and the carbonation, though incredibly tiny, appears in ample amounts even through the bottom of the 750ml bottle.  The creaminess is relatively low for what one normally finds in the style.  Is that a bad thing?  No.  This is already a big beer and it does not need any creaminess to prove or improve it.


Overall Impression 8/10
Nirvana-esque aroma, but the flavor did not quite play at the same level.  The alcohol largely overwhelmed some of the cornucopia of flavors originally found in the aroma.  This is still a damn tasty beer.  Non-candy banana, lots of spices, big flavors, technical brewing, and even a peppery hop at the end all make this beer a winner.


Total 46/50
I am very impressed by this beer and would definitely buy it again, but I cannot help shake the feeling of disappointment that I wish the flavor lived up to that intoxicating aroma.  It was complex, beautiful, comlimentary, and.... wow.  A lot of that was lost when the alcohol was introduced to the palate and overwhelmed a lot of the give and take that was happening.  Long story short, I was thinking that this might be the first beer that I give a perfect rating to, but it got lost in the warmth.  Does that make this a bad beer?  Hell no.  If someone offered me this, whether I knew what it was or not when I sipped it, I would probably give them a hug (in a very masculine way).  Big Belgian authentic taste, alcohol laden, spicy, bananas, and amazing technical specs all make this beer worth every penny.  I just cannot help but think... "what if."

Marty himself.

The seal of "Certified Belgian Abbey Beer."