Westmalle Dubbel

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

Serve in Trappist glass

Birra molto complessa ultimamente la trovo un po’ peggiorata ma resta sempre tra le mie preferite.

750 mL bottle at home. Red/brown appearance with a nice cream/brown head. Great sweet candy sugar with darkish Belgian ale nose. Great dark malty body whe still retaining a dark candy sugar and Belgian ale flavor. Great beer.

UPDATED: DEC 28, 2010 330 ml, BB date reads 12. November 2010, into 180 ml Chimay chalice. Up until today I’ve been waiting to open this one to enjoy the benefits of maturation. Pours effervescent, deep reddish coppery body with good clarity, topped by medium, beige dense head with good retention that gradually sets to a stable cloth. Nice lacing on the walls. The nose is low maltiness dominated by fruity esters of plum, apple and raisins, light phenolic spiciness and apparent perfumy qualities probably originating from higher alcohols. Occasionally some extra sweetness emerges enhancing the perception of malt. The flavor is surprisingly unsweet, lacking prominent malt perception, estery with fruity tartness of plum, apple and raisins, light bitterness with moderately dry finish and some yeastiness. Light to medium bodied with rather high carbonation. A year of cellaring hasn’t taken away much of the tartness (without diminishing the fruitiness) as I hoped for and which was the case with some previously tasted bottles. In short: a rather dry, tart and estery dubbel with attractive reddish depth. UPDATE 12-28-2010: This bottle has been aged a year over the declared best before date (18.December 2009). A gusher, although once poured exhibits less effervescence than a year younger bottle tasted previous evening. Pour into baby-Chimay chalice (180 ml) gives birth to a deep amber-coppery clear body with some haze, overlain by beige head that completely dissipates in a short time. The aroma is rich and complex yet discrete malty sweetness with faint chocolaty notes, hint of caramel and light toastiness, abundant fruity esters of ripened plum and raisins, port-wine reminiscent qualities, some spicy phenolics and apparent higher alcohol-derived perfuminess. The flavor is complex malty sweetness with light toasty notes, plums & raisins lacking the prominent, almost berry-like tartness of a young Westmalle, light bitterness, some phenolic spiciness and yeasty notes. The malty sensation persists into the semi-dry finish. Nearly medium bodied with rather flat carbonation. A year past its declared BB date, the Westmalle Dubbel is mainly distinguished from his above reviewed younger brother by more pronounced sweetness enhancing the malt-perception, absence of fruity tartness and poorly sustained head with less carbonated body. The scores for this one are 9, 3, 8, 2, 15 = 3,7

Bottle 0,33ltr: Strange that I have not reviewed this beer, after all those years of rating. For the first time a cooked with beer, which incidentally had succeeded wonderfully with this Dubbe. Hazy dark brown brew with an subtle bittersweet taste, and hints of caramel, an true classic.

Tumman ruskean ja punertavan sekoitus on tämän oluen väri. Valkoinen, hieman ruskeaan vivahtava vaahto on suhteellisen niukka. Vaahdon laskeuduttua jää oluen pinnalle erittäin ohut kerros tätä samaista tavaraa. Aromi on tumman hedelmäinen, rusinainen ja maltainen. Maussa on näiden lisäksi pieni vivahde alkoholiin ja mausteisuuskin piipahtaa suussa. Suutuntuma on mukavan runsas. Kyllä tämä minulle maistuu.

33cl bottle from Cask & Kitchen, Pimlico. Pours dark mahogany with bubbly beige head. Nose; Varnish, pear-drops, yeasty. Taste; dark fruits (figs, cherry and plums), varnish, wood, pear with a tart/astringent finish. Complex and enjoyable.

330ml bottle from Auchan Market, Luxembourg City! The beer is dark reddish brown, the monstrous foam shows very fine and slightly creamy-colored. Smells sweet, malty, minimally sourish. The first sip is very malty, roasty minimal and pleasant hoppy-bitter. Later in the Dubbel is somewhat woody and bitter, does an almost smoky flavor to be, especially in the aftertaste! I am truly excited about this Trappist, which I’ve certainly not drunk for the last time!

We probably had a bad bottle. This was a bit of a disappointment. Barely any taste. Whiskey and alcohol.