Ølfabrikken Abbey Ale
Editor's note: Brewed by Ølfabrikken at Het Anker, Mechelen, Belgium.
Ølfabrikken Abbey Ale is our interpretation of the dark and strong ales brewed in the Belgian monasteries. A more than hundred year old yeast strain provides the beer with notes of raisins and prunes supplemented by a discrete spicy aroma from coriander. The flavor is big and vinous and dominated by caramel. Enjoy it with braised meat, game and ripe cheese. Of course unpasteurized, unfiltered and refermented in the bottle.
Ølfabrikken Abbey Ale is our interpretation of the dark and strong ales brewed in the Belgian monasteries. A more than hundred year old yeast strain provides the beer with notes of raisins and prunes supplemented by a discrete spicy aroma from coriander. The flavor is big and vinous and dominated by caramel. Enjoy it with braised meat, game and ripe cheese. Of course unpasteurized, unfiltered and refermented in the bottle.
3.8
263 reviews
Roskilde, Denmark
Community reviews
I was very surprised to find an imported Belgian beer not made by a Belgian brewer but by a Danish one... But definitely worth tasting.
75 cl bottle. Dark red beer with a brown head and some sediments. Malt & caramel aroma. Flavor of sweet malt with alcohol, some caramel, spices, molasses and yeast.
Bottle 2006 shared with Andrease and Mikkels at home - Party i provinsen!!
It pours clear mahogany brown colour with a creamy tan head. Very appetizing.
The aroma reminds me of HotD Adam. Lovely caramel, raisins, sherry and warming alcohol.
The flavour is sweet, complex and very smooth, with strong notes of caramel, rock candy, sherry, raisins, dates and figs. Fantastic brew!
Reddish-mahogany, huge off white head. Great overripe fruit, banana, prune, raisin, big malt backbone. Flavor has all the fruit, plus some caramel like sweetness, light roast. Warming alcohol in finsh. Alcohol detracts a little but overall well done.
From notes:
2006 vintage that my wife surprised me with for my birthday! Pours a dark ruby red/chestnut brown color that has dark amber edges and golden orange hues when held to a light source. Massive frothy off-white head that has incredible lacing, hardly fading at all throughout the entire glass. Large patches of soapy lacing left behind.
Earthy and spicy aroma with lots of peppery cinnamon, peppermint and clove along with some dark and citrus fruit character. Hints of plum, raisin, fig and date. Slightly medicinal smelling with slight cough syrup notes.
Full bodied with slight carbonation up front with plenty of sweet chocolate maltiness as well as hints of dark fruit, citrus, nut and spice. Hints of dark cherry, raisin, plum, fig and orange peel. Peppery with some clove and peppermint as well as some candy sugar and alcohol sweetness. Complex and well balanced with a well masked high ABV making this beer extremely quaffable. Recommended!
Bottle... Poured a hazy honey hue, sort of burnt orange/brown with a khaki head. Very smooth, light in mouthfeel. Raisin, yeast and esters, lots of malt sweetness, dark fruits, and a slight floral, spiced balance.
Medium yellowish beige head. Hazy red body with floaties. Milky resiny honeyish aroma with herbal cinnamon notes, as well as some alcohol. Dry-sweet milky raisiny honeyish taste with wild berry and herbal cinnamon notes. Mild, smooth mouthfeel. Dryish wild berry and honey aftertaste with resiny milky raisiny notes. Nice, but perhaps faintly over-aged. (0.75l bottle, Kihoskh, Copenhagen. 2006 vintage.)
Into my big ass Tripel Karmeliet glass it goes...Cloudy brown, huge head, puffy, ...lookin’ good!
Aroma: sweet, fresh, yeasty...spice, dark fruit, ...right on for the style so far...very good.
Let’s taste ’er...hmmm, mmm,....yum...dark, luscious, nutty, cocoa, bright flavors meets dark fruit and spice, dates, raisins...smooth, tasty...well-rounded...right on for a dubbel, better than average...damn, this is really nice...
Let’s just say hooray for Danish Belgian dubbels....
75cl bottle graciously sent by Papsoe. Tak Henrik! This was really tasty and I’m pretty sure I thought this was Belgian at several points. This seemed like you took a dubbel and a quad and served them together. Does that make sense? Big and flavorful.
Bottle.
Coca cola color, low carbonation.
Bittersweet, dark fruit, malt. Fine balance, a little alcohol warming.
Pours a magnificent dark ruby-brown body, filled with floaties and crowned with a massive off-white head. Nose is dark malts, raisins, candy sugar and hints of caramel and coriander. Taste follows suit with caramel malts, boozy notes and hints of raisins. Very well rounded taste, integration is smooth and seamless. Full bodied and solidly crafted, this is a fine specimen of the dubbel tradition.
Opened bottle with a big "pop". Poured with a voluminous foamy frothy light tan head with flecks of sediment on fop and within the liquid. Color is lightly cloudy medium amber. Aroma is hugely caramel malt with some spice fruit and yeast. Flavor is very like aroma and not as sweet as I was supposing. Very nice. Very good body and carbonation. Finsih is at first a little sweet and then tapers to slightly bitter. Easy drinking. As close to a Belgian abbey as I’ve ever had.
Brown pour with a creamy off white head. Aroma has raisins, sherry, ripe bananas, yeast and some oatmeal cookie. Flavor is sweet and delicious. Some light boozy notes, sherry, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, yeast, dates and figs. This is solid. Really solid.
Bottle. Pours clear amber brown coloured with a nice small off white head. Aromas of caramel, dried fruit, banana and spices. Flavours of chocolate, raisins, caramel, coriander and a lovely hoppy bitter aftertaste. Tasty beer.
750 mL bottle. Pours a brilliant orange brown with fluffy offwhite head and good lacing. The aroma is sweet and malty with some bread, a bit of peppery spice, and a little bit of alcohol. The flavor is clove, caramel, tea, distant banana, and cherry. I pick up some slight vanilla also. The finish is smooth with a little bit of wood, raisin, and alcohol. It leaves a sweet, raisiny aftertaste. Pretty good.
Caged/corked. Poured a deep, muddy brown with towering head. The aroma is equally muddy -- full of moist, almost rotting dark fruits. Drinks with a wicked conglomeration of yeast, over-ripe bananas, and super-sweet European hard candy. This is a kick in the pants. (#3767, 12/9/2009)
1st September 2008. Cloudy brown ale. Soft and creamy. Sweet with a dry spicy finish. Decent take on the Abbey Dubbel style.
11-NOV-2009, bottle @home.
Bottle says produced november 2006, that is three years ago!
My 14th anniversary with Marianne, and we are having duck from the Weber. I guess this beer can be a good choice for an occassion like this?
It pours brown with everlasting beige head. -good start.
Some sediments can be seen, but hey it is three years old. I can live with that.
Nose is very vinouos and malty.
Taste is loads of dried frut, apricots, prunes, charamel and so on.
Very creamy, nice mouthfeel, high carbonation, alcohol can be detected but is very well integrated.
Very long lasting aftertaste.
Lovey experience somewhat like a good old tawny.
Perfect beer for a perfect setting. Sometimes the rating could be 5 because of the setting.
I am not quite rating the beer 5, but one of the best in some time, and a perfect match for grilled duck and 14th anniversary:-)
Deep mahagony in colour, long lasting beige head, light lacing.
Aroma of caramel, chocolate, yeast, lemons and some light alcohol.
Flavour of caramel and chocolate again, plums and other dark fruits, sugary sweet, some alcohol.
Smooth mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation.
Finished long, sweet, some citrus and alcohol.
Quite nice, rather smooth despite the alcohol percentage, good balance.
750ml bottle purchased from Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York.
Opened on January 1, 2009.
Best before January 2012.
Pours rusty brown with burnt orange highlights and a large fluffy beige head that bubbles down to a ring fairly quickly. Aroma of brown sugar, cinnemon, pie crust, key lime pie, leaves, dirt, and tobacco (good stuff). Really nice nose. Tastes spicy at first with caramel, brown sugar, lime, pear, cinnemon, and pie crust. Finishes like spiced dessert with cinnemon, dried fruit, cloves, earth, and brown sugar. Spritzy carbonation lightens the mouthfeel which could be a little heavy otherwise. Fairly creamy and low heat presence (but I can tell it’s lurking). I’m enjoying this!
brownish color with great beige head. tons o yeast in this one, nose is sweet with Belgian spices, flavor hits the same notes kinda fruity dried and sweet malts yummy. alcohol is well hidden
Unclear brown of color with a beige head. An aroma of sweets, prunes, port, spice and bubblegum. A flavor of port, sweets and spice.
This corked and caged bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a very large sized head of foamy fine to medium sized tan colored bubbles that were mostly lasting and left behind an extremely hazy semi-opaque body with lots of fine particulate and yeast floaties no visible carbonation and a thick foamy lacing. The aroma was mild brown malt and nut. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish with a thick vinous dark malt aftertaste. The flavor contained notes of hops and vinous brown malt. Delicious and one I would certainly buy again.
Pours dark brown with a touch of red. Big nose and flavor of molasses, brown sugar and dried fruit. Smooth on the palate.
LIght brown with a cream head. Aroma is belgian yeast, and some dried fruit. Flavour is sweet caramel, dried fruit and heavy alcohol.
12/15/2007: Ølfabrikken Abbey Ale Special Reserve pours a deep amber color and has fine sediment suspended in it. It also has a foamy and lasting beige head. The aroma is the much like the typical Dubbel since is has that Belgian fruitiness and dark candi sugar. The flavor has a rich caramelized malt base with hints of bubblegum and chocoalte throughout. The alcohol is well-blended in with the other flavors. This medium-bodied beer is smooth and pretty solid overall.
750 ML bottle (8.5% ALC/VOL). Rating #219 for this beer.
750ml bottle, caged & corked. Medium brown color. Aroma of yeast. Some floaties bouncing around in the liquid. Yum. Nice. Flavor of dried fruit. Lots of alcohol burn. A very nice dubbel. 03 may 08
Bottle 06. Poured a red/brown. Murky. Nose is raisins, slight alcohol, sweet malts, fruity belgian yeasts. Flavor is candy sugar, dark fruits with some bread notes. Spicy and candy flavors pop out as well. Fuller mouthfeel. Great Dubbel.
2006 bottle.
pours dark brown with reddish hue, off white head.
Aroma lots of dark fruits, and candi sugar, caramel malts.
Taste, well rounded beer, aged very well, lots of dark fruits goodness, cherries, prunes, candi sugar, and malts.
Smooth to the palate, easy to drink, not too boozy.
Almost 3 years old.
Nice ruby amber pour with a creamy white head that never fully disappears and comes back on command with a little swirl. Very nice.
The aging has treated this beer well. Extremely mellow with a nice creaminess in the mouthfeel (once some of the high carbonation has worn off). Very pleasant integration of raisins, caramel, brown sugar and spices going on. Virtually no alcohol presence. Very, very drinkable.
Wish I had picked up a few more of these. Highly recommended - a very nice, aged dubbel.
Bottle many thanks to jrob21. Pours a deep reddish brown with frothy light tan head. Lots of dark fruit and brown sugar. Raisins, berries, caramel, plums, and a little bit of vanilla. Pretty tasty, but a little to carbonated for my taste.