Westmalle Dubbel

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

Serve in Trappist glass

Dark chestnut pour with a very creamy mocha colored head with good thick lacing. Sweet malty aroma, hard to place my finger on what it reminds me of, sherry perhaps. Mouthfeel is just a tad too thin for the style and a bit too much carbonation. Flavor has some essences of sherry again, and not too much else - pretty one dimensional, but not bad. Perhaps a bit of Christmas spices.

( 75cl bottle) Pours extremely dark, lets no light through, has no head, but does coat my glass with some nice lacing. Smell of pumpernickel bread, sweet maltiness, nice yeast profile, and gingerbread. Taste of bready yeast, nice balance of sweetness and bitterness, with a slight bit of undercarbonation with good thickness. Tends towards sweetness versus bitterness.

0.75 l bottle from Alko. Dark reddish brown color. Raisiny aroma with fairly strong clovey spiciness, banana and some solvent. Flavors of raisiny caramel, clove, pepper and plenty of fruity esters (banana). Highly carbonated. Either this brew or my taste has changed but ten years ago I liked this a lot more. Fermentation character (spiciness, fruitiness and solvent) seems to be over the top detracting the dark malt character.

(33cl bottle) Sampled at Beerbistro in Toronto. Pours a medium, beige head and brown body. Nose of brown sugar and plums. Very good.

Dense, reddish brown with a large sandy head that quickly subsides. Savory, oaky and fruity aromas dominate. Very definate grape flavors, as well as some vegatable flaovrs, too - asparagas, maybe? Nice crisp, dry hops throughout the body. Finishes kinda weak, but still a nice brew.

This brown ale pours with a substantial tan head, eliciting a pleasant malty aroma. Starts with a heavy fruit and malt flavor, with a yet stronger candy and citrus finish. Very well balanced with just the right amount of carbonation.

UPDATED: JUN 4, 2004 Bottled. Brown color. Off-white head. Sweet in flavor with notes of dried fruit - apricot and prune. Some juniper berry tone. Candisugary and malty. Dusty, dry finish.

UPDATED: OCT 23, 2003 This beer has the typical dubbel features: its appearance is nice dark and it has sweet taste. I quite like this Westmalle version of our beloved dubbel beers! When i opened the bottle there was a nice top of foam on the bottle, which looked so nice, appearance was worth a 5!