Westmalle Dubbel

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

A soft fruity and still-baking bread nose with a bit of an oak barrel alcohol aroma. Very complex taste as I expected with a very, very smooth finish. I poured the entire contents into my brandy glass and was surprised at how much the yeast at the bottom resembled tobacco bits. I pledge to have this on tap at least once in my lifetime.

11.2oz, best before 04/01/08 Pours a hazy mahogany with a little bit of garnet and a one finger beige head in my Chimay chalice. Aromas of yeast, dusty powdered sugar, roasty and caramelly malts, a little raisins. Like most dubbels I’ve rated, the aroma isn’t terribly strong, but it is quite nice. Flavor is much more pronounced, with lots of yeast and toffee malts and raisins, and the blunted dusty powdered sugar is also a bit stronger than the aroma. This probably is one of the more bitter dubbels, which might not really be saying much. There may or may not have been a tiny bit of grassy hops--I thought so but I could be making it up. Dry finish, which I wasn’t really expecting after the the creamy mouthfeel. Medium bodied, mod-high carbonation. The head lasted me til the end, so I dunno what cab is talking about. Also, I liked this one quite a bit better than the Rochefort. Very good.

Clear brown appearance, thick head formation. Sweet bubble gum clove combined with dark raisin/prune fruit aroma and some faint dusty spiciness. Sweet syrupy fruit malt palate that doesn’t get thick but is very well subdued by a dry woody balance. Fair hoppiness in the finish lingering soft and dry.

Bottle, pours black with a slight reddishness and a great foamy beige head (I liked the bottle as well). A fruity malt aroma with caramal and raisins and then a whiff of alcohol. Not as heavy or sweet as I was expecting. Light and malty at first, but then a much stronger sourness comes through and alcohol fills the mouth and the nostrils. There are some rich fruity flavours there, but it is the complex nature of the palate that carries me away. Damn good, can’t wait to taste the Tripel....

Sparkling mouthfeel and complex fruity aroma. Nicely balanced between the rich sweet malt and the bitter fruit flavors.

Bottle has no notching on date codes, but best by? date stamp is 04-05-07; maybe 5 years old? Pours cloudy, dark brown. Huge head quickly boils away to nothing. Aroma is toffee and chocolate-covered cherries with slight alcohol. Flavor is yummy caramel chocolate with slight hop bittering at the end to provide great balance. Palate is dry and medium bodied. Great beer.

Pours a dark brown with reddish hues. Deep maroon, with a small, but well retained light tan head. Lots od dark fruits, dark malts, and candy sugar in the aroma. Very sweet smelling. The taste is big and bold, really sweet and fruity. Dark berries, malts, other dark fruits, some candy sugar, and a slight bitterness in the finish. Seems to be aloit going on here. The aftertaste has a hint of alcohol, but fruity on the palate. Nice brew. Good representation of this style in my opinion.

Burgundy. Deep, complex, seemingly endless nose of mixed berries, cherries, chocolate, caramel and mixed nuts. Slightly cloying, deep fruity flavor with notes of plums, cherries and other dark fruits. This is lacking flavor begind the sweet dark fruitiness but more so, this is lacking depth and body.