Bornem Dubbel

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Ertvelde, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

Deep amber-reddish-brown with a puffy off-white head that laces thickly. Aroma of caramel and nuts with some faint fruit and yeast. The taste is malty sweet with slight fruitiness and yeastiness and a detectable, but not prominent, hop presence. Medium-full body and heavy carbonation. Not bad, decent in most areas, but I’m not a fan of overly carbonated beers, whatever the style.

The beer pours with a hazy, but sparkling, deep, dark ruby color with a very full, beige, fluffy head which settles somewhat quickly to a rocky foam and leaves some patchy, Belgian lace. The nose is nice but somewhat subdued for an 8% Belgian; light roast, dusty yeast, spicy warmth, faint banana, lots of date, and some toasted caramel. The flavor is similar with still date, faint banana, toasted caramel, faint roast, and some herbs from the hops moving into the finish. The palate is medium, nearly lively, and round but thin in mouthfeel. The beer finishes average in length with a slight but balancing bitterness from the herb notes, still dates, faint banana, and an underlying roast. Actually quite pleasant to drink, a little different from most dubbels I have had, but nice. The different complexities make up for some of the deficiencies, like the thin mouthfeel and lack of richness. The bitterness is subtle and late but complementary. Not great, but surprisingly nice.

Bottle. Pours deep amber red with a beige head. Dark fruity malty aroma with light toasty notes. The flavor has toasty malts, sweet caramel, light dark fruits, and spicy belgian yeast. Nice.

11.2 oz. brown bottle. A dark reddish brown beer with a big expanding head. The aroma is lightly fruity but overall is fairly neutral. The taste is very smooth, moderatley refreshing, some yeast and tastes of pepper. The mouthfeel is slightly slick and is clean tasting. I could just drink many of these.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy medium brown with decent light tan foam.Smells lightly sweet with hints of beets, alcohol and coriander. Tastes alcoholic with sweet notes of beets and brown sugar, and light bitter notes from bittering hops.

(Bottle, Monk’s Café Wallingatan, Stockholm) Reddish brown colour with a lasting, firm, beige head. Malty, slightly roasted nose with notes of dark bread, raisins, prunes and caramel. Malty, fruity taste with dark bread, dried fruit, raisins, prunes, caramel, chocolate, brown sugar and a mild, bitter-sweet finish. More than medium body, fairly sweet, smooth and rounded mouthfeel. Well balanced and quite nice.

33 cL bottle from the LCBO, served in a Trappist glass. Pours clear reddish brown with a tall, dense tan head and intense carbonation. The head remains and leaves a moderate amount of fine lace on the glass. The nose has big notes of fruit, caramel and flowers, along with a touch of spice. The flavour is moderately sweet with roasted malts balanced against herbal hops. The finish is relatively short, with sweet roasted malts. On the palate, it is medium in body with a milky texture. Overall, this is not a bad dubbel; the malts could be more complex though. 2011-04-02

Alcohol 7%.caramel, bread, toast, brown-golden, clear, white foam, light sweetness, lightly bitter, medium body, creamy, soft carbonation.