Maredsous 8 - Brune
Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV

4.03/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Leffe chalice from the bottle. Opaque brown with thick tan head that looks mesmerizing and won’t quit. A bit of chocolate in the nose it there’s the familiar dubbel smell. The first taste reveals caramel notes. A very drinkable beer considering the high abv. Feels full but not overly so. A bit of bitterness in the aftertaste. Overall the best beer of this style I’ve had.

 394 characters

4.29/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

From a bottle dated best before 9/2018. Deep brown color with a finger of tan head. Lovely caramel malt and raisin smell. Medium feel. Rich bready malt flavors with boozy raisins on the finish. Excellent!

 204 characters

4.04/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

330ml bottle at Zhilam Hostel, Kangding, Eastern Tibet.
L: Hazy, red/brown with a massive, lumpy, long-lasting, khaki coloured head.
S: Big dose of sweet malt.
T: Robust, dark toffee & spiced fruit flavours. Gentle bitterness. Very sweet.
F: Rich, full-bodied & mouth-coating.
O: Lovely, smooth, Belgian bruin. A surprising, pleasant find in the back of beyond.

 361 characters

4.38/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Burgundy/Brown Colour and pours a very strong creamy head.
Sweet fruity and caramel aroma, fig in particular.
Bitter twist but with lots of malty notes.
Beautiful smooth carbonation and mouthfeel.

Really delicious brune definitely worth a try

 244 characters

4.1/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle poured into a Chimay chalice, leaving a solid 2 inches head after an aggressive pour.

Look: red, no lacing, the foam fades quickly enough. Certainly looks good all around. Let’s see how this smell...

Smell: raisins and hints of caramel, not unusual of many Dubbels. What does it taste?

Taste: caramel-sweetened bread, spice, dark fruits. Very tasty and thick.

Overall: I definitely love this one, Maredsous other offerings have never disappointed me. While it doesn’t reach the excellence of - said Westmalle Dubbel (#1 in the style in my book) it’s still is a delicious beer and worthy of your bucks, euros or pounds.

 641 characters

4.2/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

This beer looks awesome, in fact probably best looking beer I have sampled. Chestnut body, creamy head, pure velvet. Lacing is absolutely sublime, head all the way to the end.

Aroma is slightly sweet n sour. Sweet fig mixed with a sour yeast...can't wait to taste.

Taste is lovely, slight bitter twist, but mainly coffee and malt, a treat.

Feel is a touch effervescent for a bruin, but not in any way detrimental, and aftertaste is just lovely.

Overall, head and shoulders the best in class for me. Can't think of another dubbel or bruin which even comes close....8% of pure magic. A must try beer.

 604 characters

3.84/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

25.4-oz bottle into Stella Artois chalice

A - 3 fingers khaki foam over transparent body of copper, high visible carbonation, very nice lace

S - nutty and grainy, hint of dark fruit; not doing much for me

T - caramel-sweetened bread, spice, dark fruits

M - creamy medium body, high carbonation

O - I'm not particularly familiar with the style. This one is a bit dry for me, but the complexity of the taste is enjoyable.

 425 characters

3.16/5  rDev -22%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

L - Dark red-brown, clear, with solid beige foamy head.
S & T - light brown bready malts, candi sugar sweetness. Not much else. Quite disappointing considering the 'world class' score on here...
F - nothing off.

O - a very forgettable beer. Very little to no complexity. Quite flat in terms of flavor tones. Just a lot of malt and candi sugar. There's nothing really 'off' about it, but it's just so generic and commercial-tasting I think I'm gonna pass on Maredsous beers from now on.

Wouldn't recommend this one.

 516 characters

3.48/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Brilliant and foamy dark beer. Walnut-like smell.
The taste is more cocoa-like. There is a good balance between the bitterness, the sweetness and the ABV.
Nice beer.

 165 characters

4.18/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I really liked this one. A lot on the chocolate and the caramel. Good balance. The hop presence is quite nice. It's a bit estery but not as some other belgian dar ales. Very nice

 178 characters

3.78/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Pours dark ruby red with solid lasting Head into bottle. Taste is of bready malts, a slight hint of caramel and clove. Also a touch of tart wood and cherry in the background. Feels refreshing and a touch heavy. Not bad but not too memorable.

 245 characters

4.1/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy, dull brown that becomes deep amber with red highlights when held to the light. Produces 2 fingers of creamy, tan, moderately lasting head that leaves clumpy rings & strings of lacing. Aroma is sweet, bready dark roast, dark fruits, Belgian yeast & a hint of spice. Taste is sweet brown bread, dark cherries, nuts & a little wet hay hit. Dark fruits & spice pop up in the latter half of the sip which finishes faintly bitter. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium plus carbonation, creamy & smooth.

 512 characters

3.71/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance - A dark mahogany red.

Smell - Dark malts and raisin.

Taste - A breadyness with hints of caramel.

Mouthfeel - Thick and coats the mouth with a medium body.

Overall - A decent dubbel. Some interesting flavours but nothing memorable.

 246 characters

3.73/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

On tap at Victoire in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a moderately dark brown, clear, with a small head, and no lacing.

Smells kinda weak, but what's there is nice, caramel, raisin, and breadiness.

This is definitely a tiny bit watery, which is unfortunate. There's no booziness, which is nice, but I'd wish for a bit more rich maltiness here. There's light caramel, a definite fruitiness, and a good breadiness, but it all seems a little reticent to me.

This is medium bodied, with a watery finish and a decent level of carbonation for the style.

This certainly isn't bad, but it doesn't do a whole lot to actually stand out.

 629 characters

4.12/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

330 ml bottle poured into a snifter. Reddish brown and hazy. Nice off-white, frothy head. Lasting with excellent lacing. Malty notes upfront and plenty of berries. Some chocolate notes. Medium sweet malty notes and bit of sugar sweetness. Light bitterness. Medium bodied and creamy. Soft carbonation. Spicy phenols. Long lasting, medium dry finish.

Too much of berries for a dubbel...

 388 characters

4.07/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from 33cl bottle. Darkish brown with a fluffy beige head that settles down to a thick lacing. Aroma is of burnt sugar, cherries and plums and fresh-baked bread. Quite sweet and malty, Warm aftertaste, but surprisingly low alcohol taste for the ABV. Medium-full body. Nice beer.

 284 characters

4.46/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Nice tan cream head that dissipated to a thin creamy surface. Mostly a darker brown with perhaps some copper highlights when held to light; carbonation present. Good head retention when shaken back and forth. Smelled of burnt brown sugar, nuts, some brown bread, figs, and cherries. The taste is somewhat similar to the nose, with some variations: burnt brown sugar, spiced bread, slight sweetness going in and a dry slight alcohol taste in the backend; the most dominant flavor throughout was cordial cherries; a medium bodied brew that was easy to drink; smooth. A nice holiday sipper! Cheers

 594 characters

4.6/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I had the tall boy bottle and really enjoyed this one. My favorite dubbel so far, small sampling, but I'd buy this one again. I was looking for a sweet finish and this did not disappoint. A dried plum or raisin flavor, a good amount of caramel, and a warm boozy finish, and who doesn't like a warm boozy finish? On to 4 more dubbels, not sure which ones yet.

 362 characters

3.97/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is a murky, muddy brown with minimal off white foam cap. Aroma is raisin, clove, wood, whiskey, vanilla, and chocolate. Taste is cherry, caramel, raisin, with woody notes on the backside. Bitterness is just enough to balance the rich malt. Mouthfeel is medium with slight creaminess and a high carbonation and noticeable alcohol warmth. Finishes with some lingering dark fruit and caramel maltiness.

 410 characters

4.83/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

I like Belgian dark and strong dark ales very much. This beer is near the top of the category for me. Maredsous Brune pours a lovey rich brown/red, mysteriously murky and inviting with a thick chunky off white head and aromas of fig and artisan bread. The taste echos the aroma with crusty bread and dark fruits with some yeast driven esters that mimic gentle citrus fruits with little to none of the clove flavors that are in some Belgian abbey ales. The taste evolves in your mouth and improves as it slowly warms. This is one of my favorites along with Rochefort 6 and 8 and Chimay Red.

 596 characters

4.04/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Dark reddish brown color with a light tan head that recede to remain just covering the top of the beer. Nice lacing remains.
The smell is of dark cereal malts; the taste is of dark plum, raisin and malt, with a peppery yeast finish.
The beer is medium to full bodied thanks in part to the high carbonation that releases with each sip.
Overall, an very enjoyable Belgian ale.

 376 characters

4.3/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A- huge head on this, dark amber colour on the beer.head sticks around too.

S- dark fruits and booze but pretty subdued nose overall.

T- as it smells but much bolder on the taste. This is a borderline quad on the taste, the usual suspects for a fine belgian, dark fruits, booze and caramel .superb

F- rich, thick and coats the mouth

O- the best dubbel ive tried to date.absolutely superb.

 393 characters

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Best before 2/ 2016

The official Maredsous chalice is made of porcelain, a big chalice of a pale bone color with the Maredsous name on it.
I'll give up the look of this beer in exchange for orthodoxy within this brewery mindset.
It developed a very big, ultra foamy head, creamy, with decent retention.
Seen from above after the head has gone, it is a dark brown beer with patches of brown yeast on top of the remnant light brown foam.

Not much on the nose. Caramel, slight spiciness, malty sweetness, lots of cherry, slight butterscotch, and the very distinctive hoppy spiciness after swirling energetically.

What an assertive flavor, slightly unbalanced, tilting towards sweetness. Caramel, steely malts, strong phenolic medicine-like flavor, yeast spiciness. Just a hint of dark fruits as in raisins, dates, figs and prunes, but, most predominantly, cherry.
This is an oxidized beer, although not to the point of loosing every other original trait of the style, as some other oxidized beers I have encountered. Still, the oxidized flavors are the strongest ones. Lots of nut as in hazelnut or almond, vinous, wine-like booze, wood, wet paper, and again lots of cherry.
The aftertaste is the same flavor, but waning, and it is predominantly sweet although the sensation in your mouth at the end is that of dryness.
Medium to full body, very smooth, nice carbonation .

Interesting beer, the oxidation was in tune with it, although I would love to have one fresher.

 1,476 characters

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Picked up a .75L bottle. Poured into a snifter.

A: Dark brown with hints of red. Thick, fluffy foam with incredible retention and strong lacing. A really good looking beer.

S: Not too strong. Very subtle hints of fruit and yeast.

T: Much stronger than the smell. Dark fruit flavors up front but not overpowering at all. Balanced with caramel and malt flavors at the end. Somewhat sweet. Alcohol is dangerously masked.

M: A bit thinner than I expected given the thick foam that stuck around pretty much the entire time. Refreshing.

O: A really enjoyable, drinkable dubbel. Beautiful appearance and taste. Definitely worth picking up if you have the opportunity.

 667 characters

4.01/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Serving Type: 330 mL Bottle

A- Pours a clear dark brown that is a beautiful ruby colour when held up to a light source. Topped with a fluffy cream 2 finger head. Incredible retention. Thick rings of lacing.

S- Sweet caramel malts and dark fruit (prune, raisin mainly)

T- Definitive flavour of dark fruits, caramel malt, and a slight spice (I'm thinking coriander). Little bit of a metallic taste on the finish.

M- Creamy medium body and moderate carbonation.

O- Maredsous Brune is a beautiful beer: gorgeous appearance, great aroma, good flavour and a creamy yet refreshing body.

 589 characters