Affligem Dubbel

Brewed by Brouwerij Affligem / De Smedt (Heineken)
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Opwijk, Belgium

Nice belgian hazy dark amber redish beer. Little fruity and sweet in aroma. Comes with a little bitter and nutty aftertaste. This one is good but far from my best Belgian.

Typical dubbel appearance, perhaps a little darker than most. Bananas, chocolate, celery, horse, and plum in the aroma. Sweetish musty flavor, continuation of the celery theme, overall it weighs quite heavily. Strident carbonation spreads a final tingling bitterness. Creamy and a little funkier than most dubbels. Re-rate: comments are spot-on, but overall, this is better than I gave it credit for.

330 mL bottle from LCBO gift pack. Translucent cinnamon brown with very little head - not very appealing-looking. Aroma of brown sugar, spice, and perhaps a little alcohol. Flavour is more restrained than expected, although it’s nicely balanced and has an appealing "feel" to it. Some malty sweetness, but there’s also a tart fruitiness, and a short hoppy finish. Much more subtle than their Blonde and Trippel.

Super frothy, nearly too frothy of a head, off white color. Translucent amber color, with fruity aromas including raisin with caramel and spice. Flavor dissipates too quickly, no lingering, with an almost a metallic taste throughout. Not good. Harsh and stingy palate. I wont buy this one again.

02/01 Bottle: Pours a nice, dark ruby red color with a big, off-white lingering head. The aroma is strongly minty from the hops and mildly alcoholic. The palate is smooth, with a slightly thin body and medium carbonation. The flavor is mildly malty with a good, tangy/minty hop finish with notes of fruit and yeast. A decent Dubbel.

Pours a deep amber-brown with a thick tan head that fades quickly to a thin layer of tiny bubbles that remain to the end of the beer. The beer would be beautiful were it not for the yeast - which clumps together into opaque clods, never dissolving but instead settling to the bottom of the glass, waiting for your last sip. The aroma is interesting - some strong fruitiness (citrus, banana), some strong sweet malt aromas with caramel and toffee, and a distinct solvent-like smell of alcohol. The more you sniff the glass, the more these many distinct aromas blend into one - into one rich, fruity, and exotic smell. It is actually quite reminiscent of a manzanilla sherry. There are also hints of chocolate and of spice (nutmeg). The flavor starts bittersweet with hints of tartness - strong malt flavors with hints of roasted grain and chocolate combined with a good bit of soft fruit and yeast. The middle of the tongue definitely begins to detect the warming sensation of alcohol, along with malts, more caramel, yeast, and fruit. The back of the tongue picks up some sweet malts and some sour/bitter fruity notes. There is a strange character to the beer that is detectable from front all the way to back of the tongue: it tastes a little dusty. The beer finishes slightly dry with some bitter cocoa and fruit - as well as a healthy dose of alcohol warming the throat as you swallow. After several swallows, a distinct impression of sherry and brandy comes through the flavor. The after-taste is fruity, spicey, malty, and distinctly Belgian. There is also some cocoa in the after-taste. The mouthfeel is quite light and a bit over-carbonated (even after agitating the liquid with a spoon in an attempt to release some of the excess carbon dioxide).

Pours clear amber with a large light brown head. Aroma of strong caramel, light spice and fruit, as well as a musky old yeast. Way overcarbonated, but after some time to settle, the beer comes through as overly metallic, with sweet candy and caramel, perhaps peach too. The finish is sweet and warming.

BOTTLE: brownish red pour, cloudy, with a huge beige head. Aroma of raisin/grape and caramel, mouthfeel is medium & smooth, taste is malt/yeast with a touch of bitter. Very good.