Westmalle Dubbel

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

Serve in Trappist glass

UPDATED: JUL 14, 2005 (Bottled, BBE 01/2006, the last bottle I’ve saved from back when the Finnish monopoly, Alko, still sold this one, from De Koninck glass) Very dark brown color, slightly tanned, small but lasting head. Caramely, lightly roasted malt, hops and chocolate, dried fruit - even some rye-pudding can be found in the sweetish aroma. The flavor is well-balanced: slightly sweet, very malty and hoppy with rhum, raisins, orange-peel and a bitter, quite carbonated finish, some anisey spiciness - even banana. Long, lingering, sticky-hoppy, very enjoyable aftertaste. Quite full-bodied and carbonated, warming palate. An excellent, quite full and complex dubbel, only slightly too carbonated.

UPDATED: NOV 24, 2003 Rerate of slightly aged version: Bready/woody aromas, raisiny esters. Reddish, cappucino head. Taste is spicy, estery, toffee and raisins. Somewhat weaker old than in a fresh version, especially the bananalike flavors and aromas are gone. The body is not as deep as it could be, finish is actually a bit weak.

From the bottle, 2/26/06: Opaque maroon-brown with a fortress-like crown of foam. Sweet and fruity aroma. Incredibly complex combination of flavors with some spice, toasty malt, sugar, cherry, and light caramel. Beautiful.

Aroma includes bread, orange-citrus, dark pit fruits, notes of alcohol. Opaque dark orange-brown with huge, pillowy tan head that lasts nicely and recedes to cover with no lacing. Initially sweet, joined by dough-like yeast flavours and round dark fruit flavours with a nice balancing earthy bitterness. Bittersweet chocolate and a touch of alcohol in the finish. Soft in the mouth with gentle but effervescent fine-bubbled carbonation. Very enjoyable. Bottle.

Biggish beige head. Black opaque body, as far as I can tell. Sweet banana aroma with notes of licorice, spice, and soft metallic hops. Deep, intensely spicy (paradise seeds, coriander, pepper, and cinnamon), licorice, and chocolate taste with strong banana notes. Aftertaste is chocolatey spice, quite bitter. Harmonic. A fantastic beer, one of the best Belgians. (0.33l bottle.)

Bottle sampled in 2001 (no bottling date but prob 2000-01). Deep red-brown color with medium-thickness head; strong grapy aroma with I think a hint of cloves. Flavor very wine-like but with enough malt and hops so you know its beer; I personally loved it. Goes down very smooth; one of the most drinkable, ’quaffable’ Belgians, if not the most complex.

Wonderful beer, with the kind of complexity you tend to forget with the more extreme stuff. Very dark red, lowely glow through the darkenss. Compact, Lot of dark berries. Cherries, prunes. Dryness from the hops, but they are not easy to distinguish. Dry finish. Should appeal to most peaople, shoudl be available in every beer bar that is to be taken seriously.

330 mL bottle. Brown with a fizzy head. Aroma of dark fruit and yeast. Taste of dark fruit, spices, and a slightly alcoholic warmth to the finish.