Dubbel Twubbel
The Alchemist

ABV 8% 2024 version

Dubbel Twubbel

The Alchemist Belgian Dubbel

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you can not compete with authentic Belgians in this style. However, this is an excellent American brewed version. Heady tang and fruit esters to the yeast and very bold, dark malt characteristics. Lush & complex with an array of dark fruits, tangy yeast and roasty malts. The jazzy, airy feel does not exists that the Belgians seem to accomplish. Very heady brew.

 

 

It pours a very nice brown-maroon with a slight red hue. The head is thick and tan in color. Nice retention and lacing. The aroma is intensely roast-y, with notes of coffee, burnt bread and some very slight yeasty fruitiness at the end. The taste is hoppy and bitter upfront with the faintest of sweetness near the end, and only once the liquid warms up to near room temperature, coming from the Candi sugar. This an awesome beer which while not a dubbel in the traditional sense it is nonetheless an awesome and very tasty dark beer.

 

 

L- The beer pours a deep, deep brown. The head is a towering 3 fingers of tan foam. Lacing is excellent.
S- Huh....What I'm getting is roasted malts which should not be prominent. I get hints of chocolate, but it seems devoid of the dark fruity esters I associate with Belgian dubbel's.
T- Unfortunately the taste follows the nose here. Roasted malts are at the forefront of the beer and cover up anything else present. Not bad tasting by any means, but not appropriate for the dubbel style. Dark fruit characteristics are again missing as in the nose.
F- Mouthfeel is on the lower side of medium. Carbonation is restrained.
O- Disappointing. I was led to believe I purchased a Dubbel and got a Porter instead. As a porter its a good beer, but it's completely miscategorized as a double since it lacks yeast phenolics and dark fruit characteristics. I feel as if the beer was mislabeled and what i got was Pappy's Porter.

Moderate pour yields a one inch slightly off white head over a brown body with some nice lacing. Nose of malt, caramel, fudge, slight spice, and even slighter dark fruit. Taste of caramel, malt, and some spice. Nice feel and overall a fine take on a Belgian Dubbel. Cheers to the Waterbury crew for this holiday treat!

 

On tap @ The Alchemist (Waterbury, VT) on 2/18/11. Served in a tulip glass.

Pours a deep dark clear ruby, topped with robust 1 ½ finger cap of light mocha colored foam. This retains with a lot of richness on the edges, leaving back thick patchy lacing down the sides of the glass. Very inviting look to this. The aroma smells of candied sweetness, spices, roasted malt, light herbal hops, and a rather prominent ripe dark fruit character. This is very rich yet still very smooth overall here in the nose.

The taste is a silky mix of dark fruit, a strong sugary sweetness, and a pleasant roastiness that really kicks in on the backend. Bitterness levels are relatively low but there is a bit of an earthy and citrusy hop presence here that works well with those dark fruit notes. A festive spiciness runs the whole way through the profile and trails into the finish. The mouthfeel is fuller bodied with a big sharp creaminess to the carbonation. While you can feel some underlying chewy heft underneath, this is stays fairly lively the whole way through. I'm picking up none of that nearly 8% ABV beyond just the general fullness of the body.

I really liked this one. It definitely had a Belgian inspired feel to it at times and brought quite a bit more to the table than your average Winter Warmer does. Quite the robust flavors here as well, yet this drank exceptionally easy for the larger size. This is definitely a winter seasonal that I could get behind. With so many other great beers on tap during this visit to the Alchemist, I'm glad I gave it a try.

Had on tap at the Alchemist in Waterbury, VT. Served in a tulip glass. I should point out that after having a few pints, Double Twubble is one of the most fun things to order...

Anyway, lets get to that beer.

Look: dark red body with a light brown head. The head doesn't retain for very long and there's not a whole lot of lacing. Still, that deep red color is quite nice. Good looking beer.

Smell: heavy on the fruit! Cranberry, figs and grapes really stand out to me. There's a bit of malt in there too and some spices as well.

Taste: follows the nose. Sweet, wintery fruit with some flavors that make me think there's a Belgian yeast at work here, bits of maltiness and some spices.

Feel: medium bodied, a bit sticky, quite sweet and the alcohol is nicely hidden.

Drink: could probably have a few of these if you wanted, but its hard to drink the same thing twice if you only have two nights to drink at the Alchemist.

Overall, this is a very interesting winter warmer. I thought maybe it was a dubbel with the addition of the roasted fruit a bit overdone, but I see what he was going for with this one. Its very good and I would give it a try if you end up at the Alchemist. Cheers!

On tap poured into a 12oz tulip.

Pours a nice dark brown to red, with a big two finger light brown head, it's really nice. The nose is like... Christmas! It's sweet, smells a bit like cherry or cranberry sauce. There's some spices as well that even it out.

Wow, this is velvety smooth, it's rich an creamy and there's so many flavors. The sweet fruits are rich and mellow an well balanced by the yeast and maltiness. Theres a nice dry finish that rounds it out. One of the best "winter warmers" I've had to date.