Westmalle Dubbel

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

Bottle dated 27/03/03: Ruby brownish hue; mostly clear. About a fingers worth of foamy pale tan head. Banana, sweet, candy, fruit nose. Seductively sweet, dark fruit, cocoa, vanilla, cherry, licorice, nice body, finishing with pleasant estery goodness.

When you open the bottle start pouring, or the beer will start foaming out on the table! Nice brown lasting head. Dark brown color with quite a few bubbles of gas in it. A clear 5 on apperance! First impressions: bitter chocolate, yet sweet and fruity. Lasting not over complex taste but smooth as velvet! My favorite dubbel!

Ruby-brown body with moderate carbonation and very fine particulates. Thick, rippled and very persistent frothy beige head. Aroma is malty with elements of dark fruits such as plums and poached cherries, plus dark rum, mild esters, dark candy sugar and cloves. Nice leathery flavor with a warm cherry character and elements of toffee, maple syrup and cognac. Medium organic sweetness and some stealthy bitterness. Mouthfeel screams "sugar", but is not so thin as to detract from the flavor, and creates some silky smoothness. This one grew on me with repeated samples, especially from fresh bottles. At the right moment, this beer can be downright sublime.

Pours with a large head and a dark brown color. Aroma is chocolate and raisins. Slight alcohol taste followed by some chocolate covered raisins and caramel. Fairly crisp taste and not alot of sweetness. All hail the trappist monks!

This bottle brew poured an extremely large head of foamy finely sized very long lasting light brown colored bubbles that left behind a very good lacing. The wonderful aroma can be smelled from a distance of over 2 feet. It has notes of mild caramel malts brown malts some vinuousness and mild spices. The mouth feel is vinuois initially smooth and has an alcohol bite followed by a brown beer lingering taste. Very potent tasting. The flavor is a bit overpowered by the vinuousness of the alcoholic mouth feel. Notes of caramel dark malt roasted malts and port come to mind. A very interesting beer. A must try.

Very nice dubbel. Light, understated aroma of malt and granny smith apple. This beer is "light" compared to some of the abt monsters I’ve had recently, but I think more akin to an abt than a trippel, due to its darker appearance and smoother mouthfeel.

11.2 fluid ounce brown European bottle. Freshness date is of 25/11/05. Very fresh sample then. Same glass donut ringed bottle as it’s big brother, the triple. Poured out a deep mahogany brown color, with a huge tan colored head. The head held on for dear life all the way to the bottom of the glass. Aromas are of spiced raisins, mascerated cherries, sweet Jewish rye bread, and malts galore. Spicy aromas lead to spicy flavors. Spiced dark fruits, along with sweet malts make up the bulk of the flavors. Thick mouthfeel coats the tongue with spicy, malty, fruity goodness. Finishes a little on the sweet side, but a very balanced beer. Hides it’s alcohol very well also. A more than decent Belgian double.

Bottle – Poured a red/brown quite opaque brew with a huge head with standard retention. Great carbonation with strong body. Aroma is very spicy with no alcohol noticeable. Taste is great with the usual Belgian style mix of malts and hops with some added roastiness to that one. The spice mix is a bit stronger then expected but overall very enjoyable. Overall, this is a good beer but I was expecting something greater from this well known Trappist. Re-rate 2008: Creamy texture, no alcohol, bubblegum-like taste. Very well balance from a very fresh bottle. Wow