New Belgium will be adding their Abbey Grand Cru Ale into, you guessed it, 16oz cans.
16 Ounce Abbey
Distance Christmas Beer # 14 – From Nova Scotia from Harpoon
Today we have a cross country Christmas collaboration a super Harpoon Brewery has made an Abbey Ale to honor Nova Scotia. Our standings in the world is slowly improving now. The snow covered tree has a bit of an ice cream feel to it.
Review – Ovila Abbey Quad with plums
Sierra Nevada didn’t have to do the Ovila line of beers. They continue to hold a stellar reputation, they are building on the east coast and they grow some of their beers ingredients. But we are blessed (pun intended) with this group of Belgian Abbey style ales.
This beer comes in a small but heavy bottle that is caged and corked. The aroma is slightly plummy with a sharp medicinal note. It pours a cola brown with a touch of red to it. The taste is very dry and those plums really come through. There is a slight warming to it but it really hits that strong set of Quad notes. I’m glad it is in the size of bottle it is!
This is how the brewery describes it, “Ovila Abbey Quad is heady with aromas of caramel, rich malt, and dark fruit balanced by the spiciness and delicate fruity notes of a traditional Belgian yeast. This complex beer is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and the monks of the Abbey of New Clairvaux. It features sugar plums grown on the grounds of the Abbey and harvested by the monks in Vina. We hope you enjoy this collaboration ale.”
Hopworks goes Belgian
Some interesting developments from Portland’s organic HUB, “Hopworks is introducing a new series of bottle conditioned beers featuring classic European styles through our own Northwest perspective. The first in this series is an Abbey Ale. The second in the series is a Belgian Pale Ale, launching in July.
Hopworks Organic Belgian-Style Abbey Ale is made with this year’s Portland’s Cheers to Belgian Beers yeast, Abbey is made with five different organic malts and organic dark brown sugar, resulting in a complex multi-layered aroma. The flavor is equally rich with a caramel malty sweet, fruity flavor finished with effervescent carbonation and a smooth, warming alcohol finish.”