Westmalle Dubbel

Brewery: The Monks of Westmalle Abbey (Belgium)

Type: (A Trappist) Dubbel

ABV: 7%

Trappist Beers: This is a Trappist beer.  Westmalle is one of only 11 monasteries in the world who have authority to call themselves Trappist brewers.   A Trappist Beer:

• Must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision.
• The brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life
• The brewery is not intended to be a profit-making venture. The income covers the living expenses of the monks and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. Whatever remains is donated to charity for social work and to help persons in need.
• Trappist breweries are constantly monitored to assure the irreproachable quality of their beers.

Dubbel:  It’s Belgian for double.  You probably figured that out.  Basically the monks had table beer in the abbey, which was an ale/lager.  It was low alcohol and light and refreshing.  This however was double the beer.  Double the alcohol, flavour, and colour.  Pretty strait-forward.

Appearance / Aroma / Body:  Head settled into a gentle thin cream coloured edge at the top, which laced the sides.  It’s not as thick as I expected.  It’s medium bodied and tastes like it has a tiny bit of carbonation hidden in there.  No smell.

Taste / Feel:  A dark beer at 7% alcohol.  Deep breath.  You can do this Mike.

My only other Trappist beer experience was in Amsterdam, our hostel had Puur beer, one of the most impactful beers I’ve ever had.  Probably the most.  But that was a light, bright, organic piece of cake.  This is another story.

It’s peppery, I got a bit of apples in there, especially on your exhale trick.   It’s a simple beer at first, but then it just unfolds really delicately.  The aftertaste is complex, soft, smooth, and gorgeous.  Simply delightful.  The best dark beer I’ve ever had.  Not even close.  This is special.