So this week I was on a mission of sorts...I was out to get a bottle of the new Sierra Nevada Ovila Abbey Dubbel. I'd been wanting to try the first beer in this series since I found out they were going to be released (a Saison & Quad will be following throughout the rest of this year). Sierra Nevada has been doing some really adventurous and creative things recently, and I really enjoyed their 30th Anniversary Series that they released in 2010; so I have been anxiously awaiting the chance to get my hands on this brew.
I had stopped by ValuMarket in the Mid City Mall last week to check and see if it was available yet with no success; so I rolled by again this week since I was in the neighborhood and there it was!! I chilled the bottle overnight to let my anticipation grow and popped it open yesterday. The aroma was very nice and the color was a dark amber as I poured it; a foamy, tan head emerged but dissipated quickly, which I did not think was a good sign. As I took a sip the first thought that popped in my head was simply "this is ok"...not the thought I wanted to have based on my anticipation. I held on to the notion that as it warmed up slightly that it would become more tasty since that is generally the case with these types of quality brews. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for me. To me the dark fruits used dominated this beer and I kept getting the taste of cherries combined with a watery mouth feel that left an odd aftertaste.
Obviously these things are somewhat open to interpretation since Beeradvocate.com scores it a B+ and Ratebeer.com gives it a score of 96. To make sure I wasn't crazy I did read through some of the reviews and there were some folks who were not impressed either. I'd love to hear from some others that have tried it to see what their opinions are; so please feel free to comment either here or on my Facebook page. I'm still a big fan of Sierra Nevada and look forward to trying the Saison and Quad later on in the year.
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