Steenbrugge Dubbel Bruin
Brouwerij Palm NV

Copenhagen 45/10 2019. 33 cl bottle from Aldi, Frederikssundsvej, Kbh. NV. Drawing of a Church Window with a priest with a funny hat on the label. Dark brown background. Sporting a World Beer Silver Award.

Pours clear, maroon with a big, off-white head. Crawling up the sides of the beer. Settles as 1,5 cm thick layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Substantial lacing.

Aroma is medium-intense, sweetish, malty with an odd spicy, burnt streak. Burnt caramel, toffee. Lightly roasted , dark malts.

Medium carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, soft, lightly tinging texture.

Flavor is medium sweet followed by a slightly more moderate, herbal bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter with a herbal touch. Lingers for a bit.

Quite good for a beer picked up in Aldi. A bit on the sweet side and unbalanced. But solid.

Really nice flavourful beer - 3/5 - all these spice flavours coming thru… i will finish it this is a great tasting beer!

Darker but has 456 different flavours popping out… real nice! Like it alot, its what leffe aspires to be but more sweet and flavourful

 

 

 

De Hipercor. En copa de Grimbergen. Estudiando. Dubbel correcta, no desata pasiones pero tampoco desagrada, y si uno le presta atención incluso aprecia algunas notas acarameladas destacables

 

L- Deep ruby chestnut and clear. It does not appear to have been bottle-conditioned (zero sediment in glass + the tiniest hint of sediment in the empty bottle). Pours with 2Cm super-fine bubble pale tan head, holding very well (and holds well to the end).
S- Quite rich and puddingy (x-ref British Xmas pudding/rich baked raisons/plums etc),
T- Taking a sip and then holding it with my mouth closed I get a growing bitter note on the palate. As soon as I 'sloosh' it around my mouth and then open it with tongue slapping on my palate, then it really opens up. Toasty and there is a fruity facet perhaps between backed cherry and plum?
F- There is a good balance between bitter hopping and rich body. For a pretty pungent beer it goes down easily. For a 6.5% it seems to punch a somewhat higher weight.
O- Zero out of place to note, very easy drinking. I'd happily buy this again, esp. if in Belgium at their prices, versus in the UK at niche-supplier prices.
Bought from BeersOfEurope (UK) BB:25/06/20 330ml bottle. Front lable includes the symbol reading 'World Beer Awards - Europe/Silver'.

 

 

Really looks the part served in a tulip glass, great deep body, lovely bold head, retention good, lacing solid.

Aroma is quite boozy given its moderate 6.5% abv, a little zesty, a hint of malt.

The taste is a bit of a let down given its introduction to the stage, a little flat on the tongue. A mild malty taste but does not blow your mind.

Feel is very watery like a lot of dubbel's, but rather than drink this brew it just seems to disappear in the mouth, like a hole in your cheek.

Overall, not that great, much better Belgian Dubbels out there......still better than a pint of peroni

 

 

 

L: Pours a deep dark/brown color with a big top of creamy white head,and some really sticky lacings on the glass.

S: Arome is of roasted malt,caramel, brown sugar, nut and dark fruits

T: The taste is sweet with roasted malt profile in the back, and it has a slight bitterness also in the finish.Aftertaste disappear quite fast. would like more to balance it up with and is kind of watery as well. I think it,s a little to onedimentional.

M: Medium carbonated with a medium body with a clean and slightly creamy mouthfeel.

O: Is decent enough, but quite broing and bland compared to other dubbles. I expected more.

 

 

Local beer isn't automatically great. Lagers made according to the Reinheitsgebot aren't guaranteed to taste clean and pure. American brewers souring or adding a ton of hops doesn't necessarily improve on anything. And Belgian ales brewed where there may once have stood an abbey doesn't mean they are noted and time-honored...

True, monks of the Benedictine St. Peter's Abbey in Steenbrugge did produce beer for a short time in the early 20th century. Whether what's in my glass tonight is anything like those ales is highly uncertain but, what's more, irrelevant; this bottle was only recently produced at Palm's giant, modern facility. My point is: let's review this beer on its merits, not its marketing.

Steenbrugge Dubbel adds the word 'Bruin' on the end for some unnecessary reason - they could just as well have added 'ruby', 'garnet' or any number of other synonyms for the colour red because its body is replete with those kinds of highlights. Regardless, it's a spectacularly sharp, clean complexion whatever you call it and is topped with a befitting light russet foam.

The aroma is sweet and shallow, but the lizard part of my brain lights up at the smell of all that dark candi sugar. The dried and figgy fruit nuances that normally accompany this kind of sweetness are hard to find and there's absolutely no depth on the malt front either; the hard toffee candies from grandma's candy bowl are present but there's no sense of nutty toastiness.

The first thing that came to mind was "cola". That impression grows with every sip as the taste becomes more cloying warmth and the bubbles gradually all fade, just like fountain pop. Lacking as much as the malt is the yeast - where are all (any?) of the style's characteristic spicy phenols and fruit esters? This might mix nicely with spiced rum but severely lacks on its own.

In Belgium drinkability is not open for debate - all styles of beer (Lambics excluded) are meant to be digestible and approachable to everyone. Palm, however, has exploited the spirit of this law by a making something weak, watery, superficial and sweet. Let's put it this way: Steenbrugge Bruin says as much about Belgian culture as a Jean Claude Van Damn movie.

 

Poured a clear medium brown with a thin pale tan head. Leaves nice sheets of lacing. The aroma is slightly tart with a hint of sweet. The taste is much the same. It is light bodied with a crisp finish and a hint of carbonation.