t Smisje Dubbel

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Sampled at a blind abbey dubbel tasting hosted by tennisjoel on 4-14-07, along with eight other beers. This was the seventh beer that we tasted. It finished in first place in my rankings, and it was first place in the group rankings. Originally poured from an 11.2 oz. bottle. This beer was the overwhelming winner of the night, with Corsendonk Pater finishing a strong if distant second. <P>Very strong, sharp, surprisingly hoppy smell. Chocolate and lemon scents make their presence felt. Superb aroma! Pours a deep, clear amber with little bubbling and a small amount of beige head. The port-like flavor features chocolate, raisins, and cider. Carmelized malt taste. Alcohol well masked. Delicious! Slightly bitter, even coffee-ish, finish. Medium body. Smooth and soft in the palate. Moderate carbonation. Easy to drink. ’t Smisje Dubbel is really, really good. It paired well with M&M’s, and it presumably would pair well with other chocolates as well. This beer truly blew away the rest in the tasting, including all of the true Trappists that we tried. If you are in the market for an abbey dubbel, you would be hard-pressed to do better than ’t Smisje Dubbel.

Deep caramel, vanilla, oak flavors make their way through the air. t Smisje is not a highly recognized brewery, but I’ll tell you what, this was an overwhelming winner at a recent blind tasting of abbey dubbels. The flavor was the most complex of the 9 beers tried. After tasting, all four participants commented on how they loved this beer. Very nicely done on the sweet and just a touch of bitterness to round out the finish. This beer is better than Westmalle Dubbel, Achel 8, Chimay Red, St. Bernardus Pater 6, to name a few. Try a blind taste test and see for yourself.

Bottle. Poured in to a snifter. Dark amber with a dirty white head that didn’t last very long. Peppery aroma with plenty of cooked sugars. Anise in the flavor, along with those some pepper and sugary flavors from the aroma. There’s also an earthy (dirty) flavor to this. Light on the palate with lots of carbonation. This isn’t really what I think of when I think dubbel though.

Bottle: Has a brown color with a deep orange hue, topped by a consistent light tan head. The aroma is enticing. Nice toasty sweet malt, with loads of dates, caramel and brown sugar. The body is nice and creamy, with the perfect amount of carbonation. Great malt depth to this Dubbel. Gives off some honey-roasted nuts, toasty caramel, lots of dates, which is followed by a toasty dry finish. This Dubbel has a very delicious flavor and is not overly sweet. It has a perfect amount of bitterness in the finish which makes it more drinkable than many other Dubbels. I feel this beer is underrated; as well as this brewery’s other offerings overall.

Draft. Hazy rich caramel-amber color with an off-white head. Light caramel aroma. Light caramel flavor with yeast and some fruity (berry) esters. Medium (possibly slightly lighter) body. Easy drinking.

Dark brown with a moderate head and good lace. The aroma has notes of roasted malt and dark fruits. The flavour has sweetness that is nicely balanced by a hoppy bitterness and a hint of citrus. It has notes of dark fruits like plum and towards the finish also a hint of chocolate. A nice one...

Dark ruby red body, low creamy head. Fruity aroma. Rotty fruity flavour, bubbly palate.

Slightly hazy cherry-amber body with a small frothy white head. Sweet molassas and caramel aroma. slightly tart fruity flavor with a sweet caramel background.