Hello everyone.  For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be sipping on a Westmalle Trappist Ale Dubbel produced by Brouwerij Westmalle (Adbij der Trappisten van Westmalle) located in Malle, Belgium. 

This beer has long been a classic in the craft beer world and I figured it was about time to give it a proper review. 

Let’s see if we can find some information about this beer on the website, trappistwestmalle.be.

Westmalle Dubbel is a dark, reddish-brown Trappist beer with a secondary fermentation in the bottle.  The creamy head has the fragrance of special malt and leaves an attractive lace pattern in the glass.  The flavour is rich and complex, herby and fruity with a fresh-bitter finish.  It is a balanced quality beer with a soft feel in the mouth and a long, dry aftertaste.  The Dubbel contains 7% alcohol.  

Sounds good to me.

The Westmalle Trappist Dubbel has an ABV of 7.0% and comes in a 25.4 oz. bottle.

It poured a very deep burgundy to brown color with a light tan, tight, small head.  It was somewhat creamy and smooth, however the retention time was only average.  The lacing seemed to really cling to the sides of the tulip glass making for a very appealing and enticing looking beer. 

The aroma was a beautiful and delectable combination of dark fruit (figs, dates, plums and raisins) along with subtle hints of banana and spices of nutmeg.  Mild, but noticeable, tones of chocolate (chocolate covered raisins) added some very pleasing sugary sweetness to the overall aroma.  Further hints of yeast and sour dough goodness only reiterated my eagerness to take a sip.  The bouquet was very well balanced and delightful.

The taste continued the theme of dark fruits and chocolate.  More of the Belgian yeast, spices of nutmeg and cloves sat deep in the taste to hold true to the style.  Savors of toasted grain and alcohol added a smidgen of warmth and pulled some of the sweetness off the top.  The bitterness was duly noted, although I never thought that it was a defining factor to the profile.  The taste, like the aroma, was well balanced and good, however I didn’t think it was quite as rich and robust as some of the other Dubbels I’ve had in the past.  Oh well, it still tasted very good.

The mouthfeel was medium to slightly medium/thin.  It was very soft, smooth and only somewhat dry.  This thing is nearly crisp and refreshing.  It left a light warming effect after the swallow, which coincided with an average amount of flavor remaining on the palate.

Well, we have another very good beer right here.  It’s unbelievably easy to drink.  It has an outstanding aroma and a very good taste.  The mouthfeel was a little weak, but that’s quite alright.  It didn’t deter too much from the overall enjoyment of this brew.  The Westmalle Trappist Dubbel is a certified classic and it’s one to try if for some reason you have not sampled it yet.  I do believe that I could drink this at most anytime of the year and at anytime during the day.  If you have tried it…. be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this Dubbel.

Thanks for reading and commenting guys.  Until next time.

Cheers.

Score:  4.05 out of 5
Grade:  A-