New Glarus Thumbprint Series Chocolate Abbey

This decadent Chocolate Abbey Ale is a lovely trifle for your senses. Brewed with a proprietary Belgian yeast and English Maris Otter Malt it is smooth and rich. Inspired by a recent tour of Europe and brewed with chocolate we enjoyed there. Subtle Segal Ranch hops promote the rich dark chocolate flavors of this rather strong Dubbel. Best served at 48 °F. An elegant excuse to linger after dinner. -Your Friends at New Glarus Brewing Company

3.5

152 reviews

New Glarus, United States

Community reviews

3.2 Name: Chocolate Abbey Date: October 12, 2012 Mode: Bottle Source: Tasting Appearance: clear brown, fine beige head, streaks of drippy lace Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, fruity esters, caramel sweetness Overall: sweet chocolate flavor, rich and fruity, light earthyness, touch of vanilla adds sweetness to the chocolate Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20 Rating: 3.2/5.0 Drinkability: 7/10 Score: **+ /4

3.8 12oz bottle pours a dark cola brown with ruby highlights and a medium khaki head. Aroma of cocoa powder, tootsie rolls, berries, and slight bubble gum. Taste of chocolate and berries with a punch of Belgian yeast in the middle and finishing a little bitter with a slight roast. I’m not a huge fan of Belgian yeast put it goes very nicely with the chocolate here.

3.3 Ruby red with good clarity and foamy head. Nose powdered chocolate and berries. Taste- more candies berries, some roast, touch boozy and drying. Lively carbonation. Odd beer

3.1 12 oz. bottle served in a Deschutes snifter. A: Pours a seemingly darkish brown color, but is a very dark ruby when held up to the light. Very light tan head forms on the pour and dissipates rather quickly. S: Bubblegum yeast and some chocolate with a little hint of sweet vanilla. Very surprising. T: More of the bubblegum yeast with some toffee malts. When it warms up it has a sweet chocolate middle and a tootsie roll finish. A little too sweet for my liking. M: Medium bodied a prickly carbonation with a very sweet finish on the palate. O: I really missed the dark fruit flavors and the bubblegum yeast sort of threw me for a loop. Not my favorite and didn’t really mesh that well. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-03-2011

3.6 Cola colored beer out of the bottle with very little of a head that fully dissipated. Big warm chocolaty nose. This is a rich, bitter chocolate flavored beer, with some toast, yeast, faint spice, and a faint hop note. Nice, chocolate beer.

4.2 On tap at Uncle Mikes. The tender said they aged it 8 months to smooth it out. Pours very black with a chocolate milk head. Spotty lacing. Aroma has chocolate liquour and sweet caramels. If liquid chocolate were gold! Taste is of chocolate pudding and belgian yeasts. Very light compared to the power of the aroma. Finishes short and sweet-ish. Clean and crisp and chocolatey. A dubbel traditionalist would hate it, but I would have again and again - excellent take off of a style.

3.0 12 oz. bottle, sent from FullObs (thanks Brett), pours a dark mahogany with a medium beige head. Aroma is full of chocolate, Belgian yeast, some cinnamon, and dry powdered cocoa. Flavour of chocolate / cocoa powder, cinnamon and brown sugar. Very thin body, kind of watery, with flavours that become muted on the finish. Decent, but watery and weak.

3.1 Bottle from Discount Liquors. Pours a deep and brooding brown with a quickly faltering head into a Westvleteren chalice. Nose is hershey’s syrup, dark fruity, faint cherry and a clove phenol note. Peppery. Taste is light cocoa, cloves and a hot alcohol note. Quite dry overall. The phenols are too much and kick the cocoa around. Also, the cocoa has a milk chocolate quality to it which lends a bizarre sweetness. Worth trying but not really my bag.

3.6 Bottle-big thanks to ibrew2or3 for this one! Pours deep brown chestnut hue with a nice fizzy tan head that lasted quite a while. very effervescent carbonation. nose is huge chocolate, lite nuts, lite amber grains, but chocolate mostly dominates the nose. didnt think i would like this but i do like the nose. flavors are big chocolate as well with hints of alcohol, toasted malt brains (belgian), however, for a 7% beer, it has alot of alcohol flavor, its main problem. somewhat estringent on the finish mostly from the alcohol. decent yet not great NG. Still very glad i got to try it.

3.1 Bottle. Pours a dark brown. Smell is mellow chocolate. Tastes like Tootsie rolls. Kind of thin.

4.1 12 oz bottle courtesy of Todd. Pours a deep maple coppery color with a medium sized cream colored head. Aroma of baking chocolate, orange peel, chocolate flavored Now n Later candy, and bubble gum powder. Taste of powdery chocolate, cocoa, orange peel, hops, malt and bubble gum. Very good.

3.8 Bottle courtesy of Anthony. Pours a deep brown body with white lacing. Aroma is straight tootsie roll. Mouthfeel is light with sweet chocolate and tootsie rolls.

3.4 Brown beer. There is a nice aroma of cocoa, with yeast. Flavor is lightly sweet and somewhat nutty, more chocolate here, and a light character of an abbey style beer. Very smooth palate, some dried fruit, with a full malt character that almost makes me think Brown Ale. A solid beer, but far from New Glarus’ best work.

3.7 12 oz bottle from arminjewell. Nose is dark chocolate, a hint of vanillin, and malted milk balls the malted milk coming through very strongly after I sniff a while. Dark brown with a medium tan head that laces lightly. Flavor is chocolate, ahint of bitterness, and malt. A nice, very drinkable dubbel.

3.5 355mal thanks to CaptainCougar. Pours clear deep amber. Small beige bubbles. Nose is stickier abbey dubbel esters, milk chocolate, cinnamon dessert. Taste is dry, minerally, sharp, tangy. Mildly anesthetic. Interesting.

2.2 This might as well have been a bottle of melted chocolate. Completely overpowered anything else that might have been there. Not good.

3.6 12oz bottle, thanks CaptainCougar. Small beige head atop clear garnet body. Aroma is moderately sweet, milk chocolate, light belgian yeast. Taste is moderately sweet, milk chocolate, light caramel, Belgian yeast.

3.5 12 ounce bottle pours a dark coca-cola color, with aromas of nuts, light chocolate, light dark fruit, and some light caramel. Flavors follow the aroma, light body overall, doesnt taste like a 7%, decent beer overall.

3.1 12oz bottle-pours dark amber with a disappearing offwhite head. Aroma is chocolate-medium malt, earthy. Taste is chocolate-medium malt, earthy/spice hops, musty. Interesting.

3.6 Bottle from trade. Aroma had some light, distinct Belgian chocolate notes. Flavor had more Belgian notes than chocolate, and they were somewhat separate entities. Very nice mouthfeel yet thinner than expected. Very good beer.

4.0 The aroma seems a bit lacking, but you definitely pick up chocolate. The taste, in my opinion, is amazing. It’s like drinking a dark chocolate milk beer. It finishes with a continuous taste of dark chocolate on your palate with no bitterness. This would be a great desert beer.

3.3 very dark amber, light bodied pour. Milky chocolate aroma. One finger of fluffy white head. This beer tastes like Belgian chocolate milk. Easily one of the most unique beers I’ve had.

3.9 Bottle. Pours a dark brown color, not much head and lace. Aromas of dark chocolate, bread, caramel, maybe some fruit in the back. Taste was similiar with a nicely balance malt profile and rich roasty chocolate flavor. Very rich and delicious.

3.7 Bottle. Pours a medium brown with an auburn hue and creamy khaki head. Rich aroma balancing tootsie roll, dry red wine, and dark fruit with candy sugar in the background. Flavor has more yeast and dark fruit notes with tootsie roll in the background. Thin body with moderately heavy carbonation. Softly lingering tootsie roll. Very nice!

3.6 12 oz. bottle from stevemastny- thanks again, Steve! Pours a somewhat hazed brown-amber color with a beige head. Notes of chocolate, nuts, dusty and musty notes, and figs and other dark fruits from the Belgian yeast. Medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation. Chocolate lingers on the palate. Nice beer.

3.3 Originally reviewed: 1/23/12. Grabbed a single of this when I was visiting family in WI for the holidays. We’ve got some nice cold weather here in NC, so I thought I’d crack this one to warm me up. 12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a very dark amber, mahogany. A small fluffy head tops it off. No retention. The nose is rich and sweet with syrup, yeast, and a fruity quality resembling strawberries. The mouth is bubbly and full of zest. Moderate feel. The bubbles become a bit harsh as I continue to sip this one. Big Belgian yeast at the forefront, rich molasses rounds it out. Dark fruits like raisins and grapes in there as well. I expected some hints of chocolate at least, but can’t find its place in this interesting brew. This was a fairly rich sipper, and it warmed me up as I had hoped. Not one of NG’s best side series beers, but a pleasant treat nonetheless.

4.0 Thanks for the bottle, pfoxyjohn! This one poured a deep brown with a light tan head. The rich cocoa nose has some bananas to balance out. There is also a little note of dough. The strong taste of cocoa is warmed by a little bit of booze. Some banana notes are present with mango. There is a light nutty note in the fruity finish. A smooth beer that is nicely balanced.

2.9 Bottle from Kimber - Thanks! Pours a clear brown with a small off-white head. Smells of candy shop. Quite sweet with a light bitterness. Aromas of light milk chocolate and toffee and some perfume. Medium bodied. Medium carbonation.

3.8 Via trade with Rando7. Nice aroma of chcolate, specifically milk chocolate, banana, other light fruit. The appearance is deep brown, reddish hue, slight translucence. The flavor is like the aroma, milk chocolate, banana, some caramel. The finish has a pepper burn, some piney hops. Medium in body, maybe a tad thin and watery. Well put together. Works better than expected. Of course, this brewery often pulls off beers which others fail miserably at. It has few of the characteristics of a dubbel, but is enjoyable in its own right.

3.8 I don’t have much experience with dubbels but this beer really blew me away. Smell of dark fruits and chocolate hit the nose immediately. Light mouthfeel. Flavor is mild, some of the dark fruit is evident but I really get a tootsie roll type flavor from this beer, not too sweet or overpowering, just damn good.