Maredsous 8 - Brune
Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV

When it comes to Belgians, I always come back to Maredsous 8; Dubbel is my favorite Belgian style, and Maredsous 8 is my favorite Dubbel.

Appearance: Champagne-style bottle, corked, with a label design that I personally find to be quite cool. Pours a warm brown color with a fluffy cloud of nigh-indestructable light brown foam. The head trails the glass like a milkshake. Bubbles of carbonation are visible, clinging to the side of the glass.

Smell: Rich, fruity and yeasty, hinting at the complexities that are to come.

Taste: Wild stuff. There is a lot going on here. Starts with a powerful, complicated sweetness, with raisins dominant in the taste. A moment later, I note the curious balance between the sugars and the staple, bottle-conditioned yeasty character; there's great balance here. I really don't like phenolic flavors in lighter-bodied beers, but they intertwine very well here; I can appreciate some aspects of it and ignore the phenolic off-flavors that would ruin a wheat beer for me.

Mouthfeel: A big, bubbly beer for which the glorious, natural carbonation works well.

Drinkability: About as drinkable as a richly-flavored Dubbel can get, I suppose. These aren't session beers, after all. Great on a clean palate, but this is the kind of beer to which you don't want to get too accustomed, but rather surprise yourself with every now and then.

Tobacco,Dried fruits and a small hint of chocolate. This beer has an ABV that will give you a small buzz, lovely medium mouthfeel and nice medium flavour. Bought this on a journey from North Wales to Belgium in a small Del Haize supermarket, if you like Belgian dubbel then be sure to try this, it’s a super example of what a double should taste like although not as good as Westmalle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drank 6/2/21 @ Hopleaf.

Semi-opaque brown/purple appearance.

Nice white head; minimal lace.

Candlewax, pipe tobacco, tart cherry & faint allspice notes in the nose.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

Clove & mild tart cherry flavors up front; allspice & faint dry oak notes on the finish. No booze heat.

Smelled better than it tasted; good, not great.

 

 

750 ml corked and wired bottle, bought at Systembolaget, Sweden. ABV is 8%. Deep brown colour, big and lasting cream-coloured head. Nice aroma of malts, caramel, brown sugar, mild spices and Belgian ale yeast. The flavour is malty with notes of toast and brown candi sugar, the finish is mildly spicy.

De color marrón, con una dedo espumoso de buena retención. Cuerpo ligero y de textura oleosa. Con carbonatación media. Aroma a malta y frutos rojos. En boca predomina el dulce haciéndose presente la miel.

Clouded burgundy appearance with a large, dense, beige head and very good lacing. Yeasty, dark fruit, sweet malt aroma. Soft, almost lush, caramel malt taste; low keyed hop flavor; some woody/nutty traits. Rich, full bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel, alcohol that is well hidden, and a mildly spiced, long lasting finish. While maybe not as complex as the Westy 8, this one still has a lot going for it.

delicious complex belgian, spicy, easy to drink.

 

330ml bottle marked best before 02/2020. It's 08/2020 now, for reference

I crack it and it's boozy and fruity smelling, with a hit of wood and red wine butt-funk. Looks like root beer, not much head. Taste is stiff and wooden, but with a backend filled with a depth of flavor: root beer, cola, chocolate is hinted at, dark fruits, booze.

This one is a ripper, I think a little underrated on here

 

 

11.2oz bottle poured into a goblet.

A: Mahogany color with red/orange hues. One finger of beige head settles a but, but retains at an eighth of an inch. Pencil thin ring of lacing.

S: Crusty brown bread, molasses, thin ribbon of caramel, dates, figs, and raisins. Lots of phenol action in the form of clove and black pepper. Whiff of alcohol.

T: Crusty and bready. Nutty. Big brown molasses impression, and flavors reminiscent of spiced rum too. Bit of caramel and cola. Stewed fruits. Dates, figs, and even some plum and red fruit. Dry spicy, with tastes of black pepper, big clove, and all spice being pretty prominent. Spicy alcohol is quite apparent too, though not hot. Lots of cola and spice on the finish.

M: Big, rich feel. Sense of weight is immediately lifted by stiffly scrubbing carbonation. A slight sense of stickiness is similarly sandblasted away. Round and chewy. Warming alcohol.

O: Quite good. A big and brawny dubbel with great dimension and complexity. Well worth seeking this one out if you’re jonesing for the style.

 

Bottle conditioned.
L- Pours with very slight haze, with minor sediment left in the bottle. 2mm ultra-fine off-white head, holds well.
S- Slightly spicy, but something potentially sour there as well.
T- The flavour is quite pungent with some sourness, I get some coffee notes too.
F- When I see Belgium /Benedictine Tradition/8% I associated with something rich, perhaps a 'winter warmer' type of beer. But this comes with some moderate sourness. The ABV% is well camouflaged.
O- I don't need a sour note in my beer of choice, something I wouldn't expect from a Belgian brown. The lable says it's 'refermented in the bottle'. Something I really can't figure out, it also states it's brewed in the 'Benedictine tradition', yet the ingredients include glucose syrup.
330ml bottle. BB: 08/2020

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 and 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.

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!

 

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

N28