Grimbergen Double (Dubbel)

Brewed by Brasserie Union (Alken-Maes / Heineken)
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Jumet, Belgium

I have always liked this one. Pours a nutty brown color. Round balanced flavor of malt, caramel, and spice. Quite a bit of carbonation with low bitterness. Complex flavor but still relatively mild. Great dubbel.

Pours a dark brown with little to no head. Aromas are of dark fruit, raisins licorice and a malty sweetness. Flavor is bready with a sour note on the mid palate. A little roast on the palate but mostly over shadowed by this sour taste.

On tap. A dark brown with an off white head. Aroma of fruit and chocolate. Thick. Flavor is chocolate at the front with apple like fruitiness at the finish. Better than its rating.

APPEARANCE: Pours a clear dark copper color with a huge rocky off-white head that dissipates slowly. Lots of foamy lacing. AROMA: Cherry, raisins and a touch of vinegar. Also a little malty caramel and molasses. FLAVOR: Toffee, raisins and malt. Slight sour vinegar finish. This reminds me a bit of a Red-Flanders Ale. MOUTHFEEL: Medium body with a slightly syrupy texture. Soft carbonation. DRINKABILITY: Goes down easy. Though I wouldn’t drink too much due to the sweetness and vinegar flavor. NOTES: BBCSD-0901-Sean

bottled, dark clear amber with medium light brown head, noticeable carbonation, aroma of toast with no hops or alcohol notes, very smooth taste of lightly roasted malt/caramel with very little hops, no true lingering flavors on palate, very smooth brew, incredibly easy to drink

Bottled. I hadn’t had this for years, so thought it was long overdue a try and, of course, a rating. Looks reasonably impressive, deep brown-red, but that’s pretty much where the impressiveness ends. Flavour of ripe fruitiness, with a small hint of sourness, but not a great deal else. As the review a couple of lines below says, a bit thin, and nothing like you’d expect from a 7% ale.

On tap at Lucky Baldwin’s Belgian fest. It’s a very nice looking pour, but it lacks the body/depth I’d expect in a dubbel. It’s a bit on the thin side.

On tap at west side B. Café, NYC. Translucent brown (a tad lighter than a Coke) with thick head. Caramel and malty nose. Flavor was caramel and with slight undertones of chocolate. Palate was a bit thin but this beer finished clean.