Westmalle Dubbel

For those of you who have never had a Belgian before. I pity you. You are truly missing out on some of the greatest style of beer in the world. There are several tiers of Belgian beers. You have your average run of the mill Belgians, your awesome tier Abbeys, and finally the god tier trappist beers. There are only 7 breweries that have the official "trappist" title. Today, I will be reviewing one of them.

Brewery: Westmalle
Beer: Dubbel
Style: Abbey Dubbel
ABV: 7.0%
IBU: ?
Price: ~$10 for 750mL

I happen to find a 4 year old bottle of this. (IM SO EXCITED!). Anyways, once the cork is popped up, a very dark sweet aroma fills the room. Plums come to mind. When poured, a beautiful dark copper color is present with a big tan head. The aroma changes to notes of caramel, pears, and plums. The first sip revealed dark belgian candy sugar, raisins, caramel, and cherries. A nice yeast presence is also there, but not overpowering. The alcohol is perfectly masked behind the bold fruity flavors. It took me a lot of self control to let this one warm up. (its that damn good). Once warmed, the yeast really came through, along with some esters and a touch of alcohol.

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 18/20

Final Score: 43/50