Westmalle Dubbel

Westmalle Dubbel bears the logo of an authentic Trappist product. It comes from Antwerpsesteenweg, Malle, Belgium, where it's crafted by Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle (Wikipedia cleared this up a bit for me--Westmalle, where the brewery is located, is one of two towns in Malle, a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp). This Belgian dubbel contains 7% alcohol and pours a deep reddish brown, beneath a loose cream head. It comes in shapely 330mL bottles.

As expected, Westmalle Dubbel has a yeasty aroma that has lively fruit notes. The nose primarily features notes of raisin, although there is a faint cranberry tartness, too. It's flavour is almost delicate, with soft floral notes mingling with more hearty yeast and malt ones. For a reasonably strong Belgian ale, this stuff is less assertive that might have been expected. Dried fruit flavours are represented, though they are not heavily emphasized. The finish is quite nicely balanced, with malt and a very agreeable dry hops quality sharing the spotlight with equanimity.

This is a very nice dubbel--restrained and mellow, yet still boozy and flavourful. While its not my favourite Belgian ale, I like it very much and I can think of no reason not to recommend this brew.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.