Westmalle Dubbel

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Malle, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

One of the best balanced beers I know and probably the best Abbey Dubbel I’ve had (so far (1178 now)). Brown colored. Nice smell, good taste. Very good carbonation. Very balanced, lovely beer.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown/red with a large beige creamy head. Aroma is malty, dark fruit, raisin, anise, brown sugar, spicy and sweet. Taste is complex and lasting with notes of dried fruit. Sweet and slightly dry bitter after-taste.

Very good beer, very good Dubbel. As compared with Chimay, Westmalle is less fruity, but more hop bitter and this is what I like. Depends on your taste, but everyone will like it.

Pours deep brown, reddish notes with an enormous cream coloured head leaving good lace as it subsides. Spicy, bready gingerloaf and dry chocolate aromas. Nutty roastiness, dates and raisins as well. And then there’s licorice and butter, cloves and plum sauce. Lots going on. Initially there sourness and then a rush of ’all that tastes brown’. Chocolate sponge cake and astringent wine. Light sweetness going on along with generous bubbly mouthfeel. A lot to love about this beer.

Pours dark brown with rusty colored highlights and a beige head that fades more than I thought it would. Aroma of raisin, wheat, red wine, dust, mushrooms, cinnamon, and maybe toast. Complex aroma, wonderful yeast. Flavor is significantly drier than expected with some raisin and caramel, wood, earthy hops, dust, and light red wine. Finishes with a surprisingly assertive bitterness and earthy, dusty flavor, like nearly burned toast. Medium bodied, high carbonation, the mouthfeel just doesn’t seem to have the creaminess it should. Good, but it’s just too dry for me. I wonder if the bottle is old.

Bottle in trappist glass. Rich and dark in color with persistent, yeasty head. Aroma of raisins, vanilla, bananas, fresh bread, nail polish remover. Flavor very bready, a little sour; teabag flavor and puckering tongue makes me believe flavorwise, it’s a little off, unfortunately; the bitterness is almost overwhelming, and while I’m not an expert in dubbels, I haven’t had one quite like this. Great aroma, but ultimately disappointing. What does one have to do these days to ensure that the beer he buys is going to be in good condition? I’m getting very frustrated.

Very nice, still left me a little underwhelmed compared to their excellent Tripel. Pours a reddish brown with a big slightly off white head. Looks great. Aroma is a touch of malt, lots of brown sugar and raisins and dark dried fruit. Taste is very balanced, with roasted malt, lots of spices, obviously brown sugar and raisins. Good level of carbonation and a full body, long and enjoyable aftertaste.

33cl bottle. A rusty red. Red wine like aroma. Subtle chocolate with some dark fruit esters. Has a small spicy and dry finish.