Westmalle Dubbel

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

(Bottle). Fruit and malt aroma. A deep orange brown color with a substantial lacing head. Taste is fruity sweet and complex, not at all cloying. Exquisitely smooth palate with a beautiful long finish. Obviously a labor of love for the monks.

From the second round of my own annual Beer of the Year sweet 16 tourney. This round consisted of Abbey Dubbels and Tripels. What an awesome night. Westmalle Dubbel was the first beer of the round to be rated: In a trappist glass, this ale produces a hazy, brandy-like, medium brown body, with a fuzzy beige head and a small ring of retention. An immediate malty sweet fruitiness fills the aroma. Cloves, passion-fruit, fresh cream, and a little banana drift along, with more spices and molasses following up. The mouthfeel is excellently smooth and velvety, with little carbonation. The appearance leads you to believe this beer is really strong, but the body is relatively light, smooth, and easygoing. Plenty of exotic fruit, cinammon, banana peel, and apricot. The house yeast is noticeable in the taste, leaving lively notes of chestnuts and caramel, and, as the beer warms, a very strong whiskey taste tingles the taste buds and offers up sappy, peated malt. Overall, this has a great long, slight dry finish and is incredibly smooth going down. Very well crafted Trappist Ale. (of course)

A reddish brown trappist ale, malty and fruit, featuring a 3 week secondary fermentation.

Pours dark opaque brown with a reddish tan head which is very full. Nice lacing. The aroma is malty, a slightly fruity note with yeast undertones. The taste delivers on the aromas also with a chocolate hint and hops to boot. Overall a good mouthfeel, lingers a bit too long with a slight bitterness.

Bottle BB Dec 09. Pours dark brown with red highlights. Big frothy head. Clean malty and caramelly aroma with some restrained fruit. Really clean, almost boring. Soft palate with some crystal malt sweetness. Light burnt bitter taste of alcohol and red fruits. Restrained phenolic and fruity aftertaste with yeast bitterness.

#950. 33cl bottle served in a Chimay chalice. Aroma of dark fruit, molasses, white pepper, malt, faint rum. Mouthfeel is massive at first with a fair amount of carbonation and a pretty big and malty beer to boot. Dark red, almost brownish color with a smallish head. Malty, brown sugar, and dark fruits are all present in the taste. The finish is well balanced with lingering spice, alcohol, and complex dark fruit flavors.

Moderate amount of malt and fruity yeast. Brown-amber color with a large white head. Initially sweet then quickly developing a tangy middle with the sweetness coming back in the finish. Palate is creamy in the end.

This is my favorite dubbel. The color is dark with a touch of red and the head is ivory. The aroma is sweet and fresh and the flavor starts out sweet and rich with distinct yeast and a long aftertaste.