Westmalle Dubbel

nose is yeast, candy sugar and stone fruits. dynamics of sweetness and bitterness in the aroma alone is staggering. appearance is nearly entirely opaque chestnut brown. flavor is a burst of counterpoints....hop bitterness makes the tongue sizzle but sharp candy sweetness as well as dark molasses all make appearances. the end however is ironically and largely dry, and all the amazement ceases relatively quickly. the palate is really what can take this to its upmost heights as a king amongst princes or down to simply a duke or earl. in the best bottles ive had the carb is large and it translates. in others the carb appears lively but the palate remains a touch dead. in its long travels the yeast can perform some interesting acts, to the delight of the drinkers palate or his dismay.

Pours a dark brown, slightly plum-like color with a huge foamy beige head. Aroma is malty with hints of chocolate, caramel, sugar cane, dark fruit and alcohol. Hoppy up front with a good amount of carbonation, chocolate maltiness, candi sugar and figs with a slightly sour and bitter hop finish.

Bottle. Ruby red beer pours with a moderately small but lasting beige head. Beautiful colour. Smell is alcohol and deep ripened fruit scents with loads of spices. Fruit and light yeasty flavours hit you up front with an explosion of spiciness at the end. Similar to red wine, and warms you up nicely. A beer to sip gingerly on a fall afternoon. Worth the hassle it was to find it! Came with some glasses as well :)

Pours a very murky red/brown with that classic Belgian head and lace. Bottle was a foamer. Smells very nice and complex. Floral and bread qualities over some nice malted goodness. Taste is really great, this is actually probably the closest I have come to the Westy 8. Bread, light clove and booze, fruitiness. Mouth is unusually NOT dry, very bubbly, and medium in body. An excellent dubbel.

Pours hazy dark amber brown with a nice cream colored head. Aroma is caramel, dark fruits, toffee, and hints of candi sugar. Flavor is semisweet caramelized sugars and malts, with some nice dark fruit flavors. Very good.

I don’t have specific tasting notes, but I love abbey dubbels, and Westmalle’s is one of the finest, as are their other beers.

Bottle. A really interesting beer. It pours a dark ruddy brown with a tan head that lasts well and leaves plenty of lacing. The aroma is really complex with pepper, clove, malt, grass with a flowery, minty backbone. It is slightly drier on the palate than expected with flavours of pepper, yeast, mixed spice and even pinot noir. In fact it wouldn’t be too big a stretch to call this the pinot noir of beers. Intriguing and tasty.

Wonderful beer, with the kind of complexity you tend to forget with the more extreme stuff. Very dark red, lowely glow through the darkenss. Compact, Lot of dark berries. Cherries, prunes. Dryness from the hops, but they are not easy to distinguish. Dry finish. Should appeal to most peaople, shoudl be available in every beer bar that is to be taken seriously.