La Trappe Dubbel

Brewed by De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Tilburg, Netherlands

Thanks to ghawener. Drank it at pollo’s house. Pours dark amber, creamy head. Medium bodied, malty, bit sweet like cherries, dry finish.

Mine was the Dominus Double 0.7l bottle in Spain Madrid. Dark brown red with medium head. very good and complex. Sweet cherry and a bit sour. a hint of chocolate and many other things I can’t name...

Ruby with a creamy, off-white head. Cherry and nutty tones. Fruit, malt and caramel in the mouth. Medium to full body with a balanced finish.

Pours an almost opaque dark red with a moderately thick head even after a gentle pour. However, the head quickly dissipates and has very little lacing. The aroma is sweet, with notes of caramel malt and dried fruit. Taste is similar with sweet caramel notes and flavors of dried cherries. Unfortunately, the alcohol doesn’t seem to blend well with the other flavors and it leaves a decidedly alcoholic aftertaste. A good beer overall, but not a great dubbel.

11.2 ounce bottle in generic goblet. Dark reddish brown with lasting flat head and lace. Dark candy sugar, raisin, and bread aroma. Brown sugar, toasted caramel, and raisin sweetness, fruity, medium tobacco bitterness, lingering sweetness. Medium body and carbo. Pretty nice.

0.33 l bottle. Ruby color with fluffy fading head. Sweetish aroma with chocolate, licorice, caramel and hint of dark fruits. Sweetish toasty flavor with chocolate, licorice and caramel. Smooth beer with no depth.

Had tried this before in a bottle and recall being underwhelmed, so thought I’d try this from the crock ! Pours a dark brown with a tan head that completely vanished. Sweet, vaguely spicy aroma. Flavour more of the same with some fruit and nutiness present and a slightly bitter sweet finish. Lacking in any real character though, and again disappointed by this. Not a good dubbel.

Koningshoeven is one of the Trappist Breweries, so you can be assured of a certain critical level of quality and respectability. It certainly brings that, as well as an intangible pleasantness and cerevisial happiness. It’s a quiet Trappist, but that’s a point in its favor as far as I’m concerned. Served in its own goblet. Caramelly brown -- quite pretty to look at. Pleasantly sweet -- never cloying, just the right amount of sweetness for a Dubbel. At 6.5% ABV, it’s not so rigorous on the gullet, although I’ve never tried multiple servings in one go. To sum it all up, a quote from the Missus: "It’s like a hug in a bottle."