Sterkens Dubbel Ale
Brouwerij Sterkens N.V.

Sterkens Dubbel AleSterkens Dubbel Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Brouwerij Sterkens N.V.
 
Belgium
Style:
Dubbel
Ranked #72
ABV:
6.9%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,769
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 13.21%
Reviews:
129
Ratings:
159
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 09, 2022
Added:
Jul 08, 2001
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bierman2000:
Photo of bierman2000
Reviewed by bierman2000 from Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Cardboard flavor with a hint of fruit. Light body for a dubbel with a dark brown color, nothing exceptional for a Belgian Dubbel. The foam was not there possibly and old case... but the taste was very drab and not exciting. As far as Belgians go not up to their standard.
Jun 21, 2003
More User Ratings:
Photo of maddogruss
Reviewed by maddogruss from New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a bottle.
A: pours dark amber body with white head with nice retention and lacing.
S: sweet, strong toffee and toasted caramel smelling beer; pretty solid smell
T: sweet tasting beer; toasted toffee tasting beer; toasty aftertaste
M: a little overcarbonated, but somewhat smooth; decent
M: nice feel and taste combo; solid beer overall.
May 09, 2022
Photo of johnnnniee
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Old bottle of unknown age gifted by Todd, thanks for the tick. Brilliantly clear deep amber color without much of a head. Mostly sherry on the nose with maybe a hint of fruit. Flavor is dusty sherry and light fruit. Way past its prime, but drinkable.
Jan 15, 2019
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.54/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
time has been nicer to some of these than others, i found a handful of cool belgian bottles i havent seen in ages or forever in a store recently and drank them all in one sitting for comparison. i never have seen this one around before, but it tastes forgotten for too long, like whatever depth and complexity and general appeal may have been there long ago is gone. the beer is reddish brown with a short tan head but relatively unexcited from the little bottle. aroma and flavor show residual grain sugar, a concentrated barleywine sort of density, molasses and maple, and papery oxidation, wet and dusty, like a mop bucket but in a somewhat palatable way. there is trace raisin and fig to this, and the malt is actually more intact than the yeast, which offers little bit some tired esters here, generic in a way it probably wasnt when it was packaged. its hard to really review something like this, more a cultural artifact than a beverage at this point, at least a couple of years old. not amazing now, not by any stretch. i hope to find this fresh someplace one day...
Jul 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by Kips from Texas

Sep 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by LennyBound from Illinois

Dec 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by atrocity from Virginia

Nov 09, 2015
Photo of JerzDevl2000
Reviewed by JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey

3.81/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked this up a while back at Top Hops in New York City, having never had this before. I like Dubbels but as far as this was one concerned, it felt a bit weak from start to finish. The ABV was not printed on the bottle nor did I feel any warming effect as I worked my way through this but thankfully, the taste was great and this went down pretty smoothly for something that normally would be slow sipper!

Nice pour to this as the beer had a dark raisin hue, lots of overflowing carbonation, a nice frothy head, and soapy lacing the covered a good portion of the side of my pint glass. Not a strong aroma to this by any means but there were the typical hints of dark bread and corresponding fruit like plum and fig here. The taste was a bit of a letdown as there wasn't much of those or any alcohol to be found. Not terribly thin, there were just hints of those as well as the malt that gave this just enough body to keep this from being a disappointment. Nice carbonation here and the slick coating that was left on my mouth was proof that this beer had enough going for it to warrant another go.

While not the strongest example of this style, this had enough going for it that it would be easily by my pick for someone who had never had one of these before. Not a bad choice but not the best example of a Dubbel either - more booze, yeast, and fruit flavors would have taken this up another level or two.
Oct 21, 2015
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

2.98/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Normal dubbel type aromas and taste, looks thick but comes off sort of watery. Dark brown, like a cola, with thin skin of a beige head. Aroma is dried fruits and a hint of molasses. Taste is more of the same with a hint wood, eat and bourbon barrel.Very short finish.
Oct 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.14 by StoutBoi from New York

Sep 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.17 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Jun 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.43 by djrn2 from New Jersey

May 25, 2015
Photo of keithmurray
Reviewed by keithmurray from Connecticut

4.12/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Best by date of 4/1/2015

Appearance - dark eggplant color with tan head

Smell -aromas of figs, raisins, plums, grapes

Taste - Grapes are predominant, also in the mix are plums, figs and raisins

Mouthfeel - medium bodied, medium carbonation, sweetness from the grapes upfront and that signature 'mustiness' that is associated with the style on the back end

Overall - good representation of the style, worth a try for lovers of the style

Price Point - $3.50/11.2 oz bottle
Dec 31, 2014
Photo of Stinkypuss
Reviewed by Stinkypuss from Pennsylvania

4.11/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a medium brown color, mostly free from sediment. White head forms and recedes to a ring. The aroma was fruity and malty with plenty of raisin, fig and plum notes. The flavor followed suit with plenty of raisin and plum flavors making for a very tasty drink. Belgian yeast flavor, candi sugar, malts, and fruity alcoholic esters. Damn fine dubbel ale here and at a low price point. Medium bodied well carbonated ale. This could easily win an award in the Belgian style dubbel category. Very, very nice.
Dec 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by zestar from California

Oct 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by StephRai from New York

Sep 27, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by mattfancett from England

Sep 02, 2014
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
330 ml bottle into chalice, bottled on 6/13/2012. Pours moderately murky deep ruby red color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big raisin, prune, cherry, fig, apple, caramel, toast, molasses, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, clove, pepper, herbal, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/earthy yeast and dark/bready malt sweetness; with good strength. Taste of raisin, prune, cherry, fig, apple, caramel, molasses, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, light clove, herbal, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal/earthy spice on the finish; with lingering notes of raisin, prune, cherry, fig, apple, caramel, molasses, toast, brown sugar, bread bread, light chocolate, light clove, herbal, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity and robustness of fruity/earthy yeast and dark/bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/yeast balance and no cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth and fairly creamy/slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with zero warming present after the finish. Overall this was a very nice dubbel style. All around good balance, robustness, and complexity of dark/bready malt and fruity/earthy yeast flavors; and very smooth to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.
Jul 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Jul 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Jun 25, 2014
Sterkens Dubbel Ale from Brouwerij Sterkens N.V.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 159 ratings