Westmalle Dubbel

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

Draught, at Rover. Dark brown with light brown head, nice lacings. Unfiltered. Aroma and flavor of malt (roated, resin and caramel) and hops (flowers and pine). Well balanced. Great beer.

Dark brown amber with decent head. Aroma of sharp crystal malts and some burnt caramel. Flavor of burnt carmael, good malt backbone. Medium-bodied, alcohol content merges well in the beer. Improves markedly with warming/aeration. Banana esters and breadiness unwind. Enjoyable and well-crafted, but falls short of extraordinary.

Deep crimsony brown, thick lasting off white head. A rich and complex nose of plum, raisin, fig, brown sugar and faint notes of caramel. Flavor mirrors the aroma with soft malty rich dark fruit tones up front, and a nice light hop backing providing excellent balance. Medium bodied, pillow soft carbonation, dark fruity finish. Why I passed over this a million times is beyond me. Awesome abbey ale. Thanks again for the bottle hopscotch.

Bottle at home, drank with Pieter. Very good flavourful beer. Smooth, not too much kick. Very tasty.

Deep reddish mahogany, bit puffy white head slides downward to form a brownish, creamy film. Great nose, chocolate covered cherries, raisins, and prunes. Quite tasty, chocolate, dark fruit, lots of candy sugars. Richly sweet in the finish, leaves a nice aftertaste hanging about. Almost enough to make me rethink my less-than-spectacular opinion of dubbels.

The smell is dark fruits, chocolate, candi sugar, caramel, and yeast. The look is cloudy, brownish in color, with a very nice foamy light than head. The taste is chocolate, malts, fruits, yeast, some sweetness. Nice soft feel of the beer.

Moderately hazy with a deep ruby-brown color and a perfectly dense, foamy, 1/2" tan head. Light chocolate confectionary powder leads the aroma, also factoring in pepper, copper, sodden leaves and a blunt cinnamon-nutmeg combo. Sleek introduction to the palate. A chocolate muffin motif counterbalances an overall arid mouth feel. Nutty, chocolatey tobacco accents. Complexities arrive late to the scene and are somewhat depleted, but it’s good that they made the effort of being present. Tree bark curtails on the backend. Innocuously creamy, dry and twang infested. Lacks the body and substance I hoped it would showcase. Some subliminal balancing forces are at work here, and complaints aren’t harbored against that particular direction of this Trappist ale. Finishes with a stainless steel semblance met with mild cocoa powder.

Wow. First taste was like someone threw a shot of Kentucky Bourbon in there. Subsequent tastes were a little more subdued possibly due to the Little Debbie Nutty Bar I was eating. Quite complex. A nice caramel nose, bubbly. Quite good.