Trappist Dubbel
Brouwerij Westmalle

Trappist DubbelTrappist Dubbel
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From:
Brouwerij Westmalle
 
Belgium
Style:
Dubbel
Ranked #3
ABV:
7%
Score:
93
Ranked #3,393
Avg:
4.18 | pDev: 10.05%
Reviews:
1,338
Ratings:
3,078
Status:
Active
Rated:
Yesterday at 11:33 PM
Added:
Nov 25, 2000
Wants:
  250
Gots:
  621
Westmalle Dubbel (7%) is a dark red-brown beer with a rich, complex taste thanks to re-fermentation in the bottle. You pick up touches of caramel, malt and fruity esters reminiscent of ripe banana. The beer pearls beneath a covering of dense, cream-coloured froth. A lovely lace pattern forms on the inside of the glass once emptied. The long, dry finish of this balanced, mild Trappist beer will stay with you.
Trappist or Dubbel?

In 1865 the monks of Westmalle started brewing a dark Trappist beer in addition to their table beer. They adjusted the recipe in 1926, doubling the amounts of raw ingredients to produce a new, stronger beer. Dubbel is a logical name for this doubled beer, though it is more often simply called ‘Trappist’. To this day, the 1926 recipe is the basis for Westmalle Dubbel.
Westmalle Dubbel: bottle and tap

We are all familiar with Westmalle Dubbel in 33 cl bottles. But around 150 carefully selected Belgian cafés and restaurants serve this beer on tap from barrels containing 20, 30 and 50 litres. In the barrel, this living beer evolves differently to emerge with a slightly sweeter taste.

Westmalle Dubbel can also be purchased in 75 cl bottles. The beer matures in a different way in a larger bottle to produce a noticeably milder finish.
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Ratings by GCBrewingCo:
Photo of GCBrewingCo
Reviewed by GCBrewingCo from North Carolina

4.12/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The beer poured into the chalice clear deep amber brown and when a slight bit of sediment entered the glass it made slight chunky shimmers in the beer. The head was small and fine bubbled and retreated quickly to the edges of the surface, but lasted to lace the glass.

The aroma was deep dark fruits, raisins, prunes and also cherries, like dark dried sweet cherries. Also present were other fruity esters enhanced by alcohol. A slight spice lay in the background and added complexity to the darkened caramel malty aromas.

The flavor was malty with a spicy dark caramel flavor and dark fruits, cherries, prunes and raisins. The alcohol was present in the flavor and let to the cherry flavors and enhanced the spice.

The finish was just dry with a lasting spice and deep caramel flavor long into the aftertaste. The body was medium, but seemed less due to alcohol and carbonation. The alcohol warming was huge and lasting and made you wish for more to put out the fire below.

11.2 ounce bottle. Label says Alc. 7% Vol and has a date of 27/03/03 on it. The label is different than that pictured. Not the most complex of the trappist dubbels. More alcoholic than most, yet still maintaining a nice complexity of flavors. A nice dubbel, but not the best.
Nov 07, 2004
More User Ratings:
Photo of tdm168
Reviewed by tdm168 from Pennsylvania

4.01/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a purplish amber with a short-lived off white head. The nose is full of fruit; plum, apple, figs. The flavor also has dark fruit notes with plum and fig present. There's a hint of cocoa and a faint bitterness underneath. It's a very dry beer with a heavy amount of carbonation. The carbonation detracts from the flavor because the bubbles take over the palate blocking flavor.
Yesterday at 11:33 PM
 
Rated: 4.68 by MeIquiades from Illinois

Mar 19, 2024
Photo of jjamadorphd
Reviewed by jjamadorphd from Florida

3.7/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.75
This was a very interesting beer to down...

On the one hand, it looked great and tasted great, but on the other, it's scent was somewhat meh to me and the mouthfeel was super carbonated. It was so carbonated that it essentially detracted from the overall experience, even after I let it warm a bit. Overall, it's still a good beer, just not one that "tingled" my toes...
Feb 11, 2024
 
Rated: 3.98 by arjanm from Netherlands

Feb 09, 2024
 
Rated: 4.11 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

Feb 06, 2024
Photo of Mr_Brown
Reviewed by Mr_Brown from Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
forgot to rate it as I drank it. This review might be not very accurate.
L: beautiful brown color, nice foam.
S: nutty, sweet.
T: sweet nutty taste. A bit like sweet wines. Caramelized malt.
F: thin body, easy to drink, some linger in the aftertaste, port like feeling.
O: I can feel it's a superior dubbel, but not a big fan of nuttiness, caramelized malts and sweetness.
Feb 04, 2024
 
Rated: 4.34 by Supper1

Jan 30, 2024
Photo of KomodoDragon
Reviewed by KomodoDragon from Virginia

4.14/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.25
beautiful copper color, so darn clean. small head, efficient lacing.

So many rich scents, banana, clove, toast, caramel, herbal hops.

Many rich flavors. robust sweet caramel malt. Breadiness, some fruit, dried figs or even apricots. Hefty carbonation hides the transition flavors to the finish, which is long and lingering, accompanied with some more sticky sweetness. Almost port like sweetness.

Nice and complex, and super well crafted. A lot going on, and more to explore with each sip.
Jan 18, 2024
 
Rated: 4.81 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Jan 16, 2024
 
Rated: 4.5 by saymike32 from New Jersey

Dec 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.18 by TrueMetalJake from Oregon

Dec 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.5 by Happyyb from New Hampshire

Dec 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.18 by ShadowVolt from Japan

Nov 29, 2023
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

4.29/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Very frothy ruby-brown brew with beige foam in the big Duvel tulip. Aroma of dark fruit and raisins in the nose. Rich and lively on the tongue. The taste is warm and dark with a woody fragrance. Deeply malty with a delicious roasted flavor enhanced by the yeast. The sweet candy note is restrained but essential along with the dates and figs. A great historic brew to sip and savor. These Belgian brews are seeming like bargains given the quality and the silly prices of even average U.S. craft brews. From the 330 ml bottle purchased on the West Coast. Apparently bottled Feb 08 2023.
Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by Nyoder

Nov 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.69 by MakerMachiav from England

Nov 17, 2023
 
Rated: 4.26 by Jcreason569 from Washington

Nov 11, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by Dethark from England

Oct 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.02 by al_al1357 from Canada (ON)

Oct 25, 2023
Trappist Dubbel from Brouwerij Westmalle
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 3078 ratings