Westmalle Dubbel

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

Serve in Trappist glass

330 ml bottle bb 09/05. Dark brown with a reddish tint and a large fading beige head. Delicious yeasty and malty aroma. Cherry, raspberry, dates, vanilla, and brown sugar. As it warms more raspberry and some chocolate comes out. Flavour is also nicely complex, malt and fruit are followed by a bit of herbal hops. Finish is warming with some spice and some cocoa notes.

Pours a rich dark brown color with a huge fizzing head. Floral clover and watermelon aroma supported by mellow oaky malts. Crisp toasty malt flavor has a good yeast profile. Body is bready with a touch of rye. Overall, one of the best Belgian dubbels I've had.

A clear reddish brown ale with an extra thick lacing light moka head. Aroma of warming scotch alcohol, chocolate and orange peels. In mouth, woody malt with long alcohol warmth, not sweet as expected, but loads of coriander and light hopping. A bit thinner than other classics. Still, a classy beer. Bought at LCBO for 2.95$.

Das Dubbel beginnt mild malzig, wobei sich dieser Ton mit der Zeit deutlich verstärken wird. Sehr voluminös breitet sich ein süß und rauchig wirkender Ton aus, deutlich würzig, aber nicht sehr stark. Das Bier scheint sich bewusst auf diese Töne zu konzentrieren, ohne überladen zu wirken, was zweifelsohne gelingt. Die nun stärker gewordene Malzigkeit ist nun der Mittelpunkt des Bieres, kräftig, dennoch weich, das Bier bleibt süffig. Wieder ist das Bier kurz alkoholisch, aber keinesfalls störend. Gelungenes und empfehlenswertes Bier. Test vom 7.10.2007, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 11,12,13,13,12,13 - 12,60

Bottle. Brown colour with a massive beige head.. Aroma is spices and sweet malt and yeast. The flavour is spices alcohol and some cellar notes. Beutiful

UPDATED: FEB 17, 2005 Vertical comparison between fresh dubbel and an old one, BBd 13.07.94 Above points for the fresh version. Old ones’ points between brackets. Colour: (Y) gushing to thick yellow-brown head, going down lacey; dark brown, mahogany shine. (O) also slight gushing to thick yellow-brown head, still lacey; very dark amber beer, quite clear at first [4]. Nose: (Y) dark malts, perfumed, alcohol. (O) vinous, malty, walnuts & raisins - a whole fruit-and-nuts cake. Complex with a lot of esters.[8] Taste (Y)Subdued bitter from fine dark malts. Ever so slight brown candi-sugar, raising with warming up. Perfumey, grassy and peppery flavour, increasing in intensity with warming towards unfermented worts. There is a retronasal hopimpression as from English hops. I have a fleeting sub-treshold of diacetyl as well, and of marzipan. (O) Nutty, oxydised flavour - a bit wild-mushroom flavour. Oxydised malt too, a bit too much roasted in character [7] Mouthfeel: (Y) well-bodied, very highly saturated. (O) Alcohol-burn, quite full-bodied. [4] Aftertaste: (Y) faint liquorice, more with warming up, slight bittering effect. (O) long prolonging of the former tastes [4] Overall: (Y) This is the surprise. This beer is actually BETTER than I remember it. Trappist ales rule indeed. (O) Somewhere the taste of the old beer derails on the overly roasted malts, whilst the nice madeirisation in the nose was promessing better. [14] I seem to have to come to the inevitable conclusion that the beer has been bettered in recent times. I know some people who are going to disagree with me...

UPDATED: MAY 14, 2011 Looks like a dream in the glass (used an Orval glass). However no lace. Tastes clean and dark-fruity with hints of banana. Should be interested in tasting an aged bottle. Score 4.0
Subsequent rating scored 3.5. Average becomes 3.8

UPDATED: JUL 23, 2006 Deep brown and cloudy with a huge head. Musty and old aroma of plums and cardboard. Good palate, with the usual alcohol-like trappist flavor, and also some plum and woody characteristics.