Midnight Sun La Mâitresse du Moine

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Anchorage, Alaska USA

22 oz. bottle courtesy of CelticBrew - thanks for this beauty, Jim! Gorgeous looking with a brown/black opaque pour and a large, billowing, creamy light brown head with astounding durability and a ropy lace. Complex aroma with chocolate, figs, spice, wood, leather. Smooth, medium body and carboantion, lightly astringent, and a lingering dryness. Flavor matches the complexity of the aroma, starting with some brown sugar sweetness quickly followed by a spicy bitterness. This is certainly one that desrves some time to warm up, allowing a full appreciation of its aroma and flavor.

22oz bottle. Dark Belgian Strong Ale. Dark, coca-cola colored. Aroma of a teenage girls vagina. Super Über. Spicy, woody, alcohol in nose.

Holy shazam! The top dubbel?!?!?! Served up by none other than the main man of the all the mainest men, Yaniv! Mad props! Dark dark brown with a healthy tan head. Sour vinegar nose. Lightly sweet with some dark fruit intermingled. Full small bubbles leave the mouth creamy. Sweet dark fruit over light vinegar. Fruity, dry with some fruity roast in the back. Dry finish. Cherries. Small diacetyl, but no buttery finish. I’m entirely confused. Yaniv claims this tastes oxidized, and I think I may just agree. Very acidic.

Dark, with white foamy head. Good aroma,licorice in the taste.Crossover to stout

This beauty pours a very dark, inky looking mahogany that is very nearly black in color. A large, foamy tan head settles rather quickly to a thin layer with a disproportionately large edge. Each swirl of the viscous liquid yields sudsy lacing that slowly oozes its way back to the body. The aroma shows a bevy of dark fruits, particularly plums and dates. There is a good dose of scorched caramel and baker’s chocolate, as well as a large serving of darkly toasted grains. Sweet molasses and stewed raisons round out the deep, inviting nose. The flavor is a seamless continuation of the theme, further proving that this one defies the traditional definition of a dubbel. The rich, malty chocolate and caramel are again accompanied by various dark fruits, this time with some dry woodsy notes and a light floral hoppiness as well. Finishes somewhat spicy, adding yet another layer of depth. Easily the best dubbel I’ve encountered to date. Excellent.

Courtesy Beerlando. Black. Black/brown. Small, creamy, tan head. Aroma of densely rich chocolate and caramel, roasted malt, and some doughy, fragrant, lightly spicy yeast. Flavor is somewhere between a dubbel, scotch ale, and stout- rich caramello, roasted malt, and doughy, estery yeast. Full/medium body, just a bit more carbonated than balanced- keeps it drinkable. Excellent. Easily one of the best dubbels around.

Bottle. Wow -- this is very dark, pouring reddish black with a massive head. The aroma is big and full of dark rich fruits. Alas, this drinks like a dark, rich beer ... dates, raisins, roasted apples. Very nice, as is the case with all of Midnight Sun’s creations. (#3309, 1/21/2008)

This was once my favorite style but I could never find much outside of the trappists that I liked. Wow was this an outstanding dubbel! Aroma was nice-vinous with hints of dark fruit, yeast and malt. Pour was perfect. A deep dark brown with a 3 finger white head in my Duvel glass. Taste was very big and pronounced. Strong raising, fig and plum with an underlying yeastiness. Gets more vinuous as it warms. Nice malty backbone and sweet aftertaste. Never thought I’d find an American dubbel I would like as much as this. Great job!