Abbey, New Belgium Brewing, Ft. Collins

Style: Belgian Style Ale

ABV: 7 percent

Serving Type: 12-ounce bottle

Malty? Hoppy? Malty, but the Belgian notes come through nicely.

Reviewed: January 2013

If you were asked to start naming New Belgium beers, which ones would you come up with? Fat Tire, of course. Then there’s Sunshine Wheat, Ranger IPA, and maybe the relatively new pale lager, Shift. Or perhaps you’re a fan of New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series, and the sour brown ale, La Folie, comes to mind. Whatever pops into your head, we’re willing to bet New Belgium’s Abbey ale isn’t high on the list. But it should be.

This Belgian style dubbel ale (one of the first two Belgian homebrews concocted by the brewery’s founder) has garnered four medals at the World Beer Cup and eight medals at the Great American Beer Festival. So why doesn’t this brew seem to be at the front of the minds of more New Belgium beer drinkers? Abbey isn’t as approachable as some of New Belgium’s more popular beers. The Belgian yeast imparts strong banana, clove, and dark fruit notes and flavors, which are complimented by rich caramel malts. Simply stated: It’s a solid take on the style, but Abbey isn’t for everyone.

Would we buy it again? Yes, we often turn to Abbey because it can be tough to find a sixer of a good Belgian style dubbel ale at a reasonable price.