Corsendonk Pater / Abbey Brown Ale

This Corsendonk ("best enjoyed before 14/04/00") was something I've had around in my "cellar" for a few years. Now, has the wait been worth it? Have my taste buds matured enough to relish this beer, or has the cellaring process turned this beer into malt vinegar? To paraphrase "Iron Chefs": "Does this cellared beer reign supreme?!?"

I have to give this beer a thumbs up! A resounding pop of the cork is always a nice start, and the fruity plumness of the initial aroma wafting out of the bottle was very, very nice. Made the mistake of first pouring this into a less-than-perfectly-clean Orval glass, and it was no wonder that I was tasting the dust that was inside the glass. So I went to my backup glass (an Augustijn chalice), and was able to sample the beer at hand in a much more appropriate setting and manner!

Very nice and mature raisin-and-plum aroma from the get-go, with perhaps hints of sherry and port wine in the mix, too. Mature is the word of the day, as this represents perhaps the near-pinnacle of what this beer can attain, with only more austere cellaring being able to improve this beer's aroma any further.

As is often the case with my reviews, I feel that the aroma and flavor profile go hand-in-hand. There is little point in having a beer smell wonderful and yet (somehow) taste like ass, and certainly the reverse is true, too. So along with the sherry-like notes underlying the fruity plumness of the beer, there are attractive notes of raisins, port wine, and perhaps even some Biscuit Malt (what a shock, eh...?).

Just as the aroma and flavor are hand-in-hand in my mind's eye, the mouthfeel and drinkability are also closely bonded together. As such, while the dryness of the mouthfeel means that this isn't a beer that you would want to quench a thirst at the end of a long and hot Summer day (e.g. here in San Diego), it more than satisfying -- and, as such, entirely too drinkable for it's own good. While "only" 7.5%ABV, this is perhaps something that you should slow down and savor, me'thinks.

Overall, a truly marvelous beer, that only reinforces my thinking that even if you don't have a "perfect" cellar for the beers you want to lay down, it pays to set aside some special beers for tasting one, two, four, eight years down the road. But even fresh, I suspect that beer would more than meet your needs for a tasty Belgian Dubbel. Highly recommended.
//TB