70/100) Ovila

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Abbey Saison, Abbey Quad, Barrel Aged Dubbel

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, better known for their IPAs, pale ales, and other american-style craft beers, is behind the Ovila line of Abbey style ales. All are made through collaboration with the the Abbey of New Clairvoux in California. They are better known for their wines so they tend to supply the occasional ingredients, barrels, and space from what I understand.

Abbey Saison) had a brown sugar syrupy like background. The first time I had this the finish was a bit a more peppery, but my guess is that age subdues that over time. I really liked the funk that came out. The saison aspects, probably because of the added mandarin, smacked more of light citrus and orange. ☆☆☆☆

Abbey Quad) First of all, this belgian style had the appropriate thick mouth feel. I got the dark fruits more in the middle as it warmed up, and the subtle plum remained in the finish's backdrop even before that. It wasn't all harsh, but it wasn't polished smooth. The booziness peeked out of the backdrop, but didn't stick around as my taste buds adjusted. This Ovila quad was a rather enjoyable US made Quad. ☆☆☆☆

Barrel Aged Dubbel) This beer had a pretty hefty price tag on it. However, it was worth it. The malts balanced out nicely with the two barrel types used. The bourbon barrels gave this dubbel's finish just a tinge of vanilla, but the red wine barrels effects were more strongly felt. The molasses of the dubbel converged with the after effects of wine resulting in an unusual sweetened dark fruits combination. Usually these barrel-aged types come across as hot which means the alcohol dominates the linger, but this one avoided that. I consider it a winner. ☆☆☆☆☆