De Ryck Arend Dubbel

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ryck
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Herzele, Belgium

Bottled sample via lubiere. Hazy amber in colour with fairly strong carbonation. Aromas are of cooked sugar, dates, and licorice. Caramel malts and pitted fruit dominate the palate, with some balance being offered by some floral and peppery spice notes. Medium bodied and somewhat quick finishing. A bit too fruity overall for my taste, but drinkable nonetheless.

bottle @ Brugsch Beertje, Brugge, Nice dark reddish colour with foamy white head. Smell: very fruity. Taste: fruity without being too sweet, a bit yeasty and some bitterness within the taste. nice beer!

33 cl.Bottle. Poured a deep brown color, with a small off-white foamy head with small lacings. Aroma has caramel malts, some dark fruits/raisin and sweet belgian malt with some notes of light spices. Taste is creamy, malty with hints of candi sugar, raisin, caramel, dry fruits and belgian yeast.

A 0.33L bottle tasted at OPP. Pale beige head. Malty nose. Brown reddish colour. Slight hints of coffee in the taste. Not sweet and not sour. Well balanced. Some hoppiness. Slightly metallic taste.

This dark brown beer poured with a fluffy beige head and a stringent aroma. There is a somewhat watery dark malt flavor that is nondescript.

Bottle at ’t Brugs Beertje. Pours dark reddish brown with a foamy, sturdy beige head. Really nice lacing. Aroma is dusty and acrid. Medium body with foamy, near creamy, carbonation. Flavor is slightly sour red wine. About 50% of Dissident. Though with a disturbing brown undertone. Would do justice to a big chunk of beef.

33cl bottle from Dranken Geers. Very deep ruby colour with thick lasting rocky beige head. Perfumed strong Belgian ale aroma. Quite interesting and tasty and makes you want to try it again. Reminds me of a few of the really good dark beers, more of an abt than a dubbel. Good malts hold it up but this spicyness is really very good. Finished it in just a few minutes. Something like a toned down Rochefort 8 is my best analogy

In short: A peppery nutty dubbel style beer. Interesting twist on the style. Good.
How: Bottle 330ml. Consumed when about 1+ year old
The look: Cloudy mahogany body topped by a beige ring of foam
In long: Nose roasted almonds and black pepper. Acceptable body and mouthfeel although a bit below average for a Belgium abbey style beer that are usually fuller and livelier. Taste is almonds in caramel, liquorice, black pepper, other unidentified spices. Surprisingly low on the fruity side. The peppery spicy finish brings a dryness sensation. I started to drink the bottle pretty quick but I had to slow down because the taste freshly crunched black pepper got too intense. All in all I thought this was a pretty decent beer and would probably get higher marks if it wasn’t brewed by a brewery whose name carries all the prestige of a Wal-Mart employee nametag.