Dubbel Klok

Bottled 330ml (from BBF)
Deep ruby color, small off-white head. Spicey fruit cake aroma, caramel. Medium-bodied. Weird spiceyness, candy sugar and caramalt. Weird dry yeasty notes. Meh.

Zwart bier met weinig schuim. Smaak is licht zoet en iets zuur met iets van fruit. Aparte smaak voor een Abbey Dubbel, maar zeker niet slecht.

330 ml. bottle sampled. Purchased @ ALBO. Faint reddish dark furniture brown, big tanned head. Nose is faintly sour, coffee grounds, candy sugar, caramel, touch plastic, this odd sourness. Taste is oddly sour, plastic, furniture, coffee grounds, dark fruits, herbal, odd plastic, odd powdery chocolate, odd sourness. Body is a bit empty, almost touch watery. The sourness is odd, beer is a bit empty, really messy. Quite meh.

Pours a fairly clear dark brown with an inch of foam with great lacing.

Smells sweet with some spice, I get cinnamon, but lots of caramel and some candi sugar.

Very sweet malty without going overboard, not much if any bitterness. Some light bread.

Near perfect mouthfeel.

Such a smooth drinking Dubbel. It may not be the highest rated Dubbel but I enjoyed every drop.

Bottle: Started to gush as soon as the cap was popped. Poured a dark malted brown with huge beige head. Sweet sugars and fruit aroma. Taste is fermented dark fruit and brown candy sugar.

Bottle from Special Brews in Lynwood, WA. Pours dark ruddy copper with an off-white head. Aroma is malty fruits de bois. Med body. Flavor is malty, mixed fruit esters, and something making me think of a sweet cake. Not spectacular, but it’s a nice drink. Not finishing dry, but there’s a little bitter in it.

0,33L bottle (from Wines of Galilee). Pours brown with light tan head. The head stays for some moments. Aroma is herbal, sour, dark fruits, caramel Flavor is sour, malt, fruits, caramel, yeast, some dirty water. Overall: ok-ish.

Bottle from Kiya. First impression is peanuts in the nose! Salted peanuts, some chocolate and caramel, bit of stone fruit and grass. Almost black, with a medium, airy head. Somewht astingent flavor, light coffee, dark chocolate. Very bitter. Not much hop flavor, but big dry bitterness. Rather thin. Not my kind of dubbel. Too bitter, not nice body, too little malt character. The astrongency does not seem to come from hops, rather there seem to be other problems.

New addition to the Boelens range, because a tripel needs a dubbel brother, apparently. Pours a very dark ruby red, clear but hazy with deposit, under a thin, light beige, finely structured head without much lacing. Aroma of caramel, chocolate liqueur, candied dates, fresh orange peel, overripe blue plums, fresh redcurrant, bourbon, candi syrup, liquorice, peppermint, sherry, cardboard and something phenolic (I’m thinking fresh paint...). Sweet onset of candied fruits and candi syrup, bit ’fatty’ and smooth mouthfeel, soft carbo, some citrus refreshment, then turning very caramelly malt sweet, somewhat nutty and chocolatey as well, under a spicy yeastiness which leads to a finish of grassy and leafy hop bitterishness, gin-like alcohol (though in all relatively well hidden) and sweet chocolatey maltiness lingering on. Tasty, decent and in my opinion more interesting than the original tripel version. More a classic ’massieve ale’ (abt) than a true dubbel, though.

Clear mahogany brown. Thin lacy head. Aroma of sweet malts and dried red fruits. Flavour is on the sweet side with the dried fruits although it’s certainly very drinkable and not cloying.