Dark reddish-amber. Dark malt - toffee, cherry, plum, earth and alcohol. Fairly straightforward dubbel. Dryish, slightly peppery finish.

Bottled. An unclear brown beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma is sweet with notes of over ripe fruits, prunes, and metal - somewhat oxidiced. The flavor is sweet with notes of prunes, oxidation, metal, and over ripe fruit as well as a light notes of alcohol, leading to a dry alcoholic finish. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.

2007-11-30, Papsø’s Blind Tasting
Hazy red-amber color; creamy head. A hint of oak and vanilla in the aroma. Medium body, with a fresh caramel flavor, milky, quite sweet, lightly oaked, correct bitterness, warming alcohol in the end; not complex enough. Very pleasant.

(Bottle 75 cl) Courtesy of kmweaver. Slightly hazy, orangey brown with a beige head. Aroma of fruit, a little wood and a whiff of yeast. Full body with rich, sweet, roasted malts. Lightly vinous with a little overripe fruit. Even notes of sherry. Subdued bitterness. Another elegant offering from Captain Lawrence. 301107

Dark brown pour with a thin fleeting tan head. Big malt and alcohol nose. Lots of dried fruits in the flavor, accompanied by malts and alcohol in a complex blend. Nice one.

Bottle: Poured a medium brown color ale with a big foamy head with some good retention and some lacing. Aroma consist of sweet Belgian malt with some dry fruits characteristics such as dry figs and plums. Taste of sweet Belgian malt with some notes of dry fruits characteristics. Body is full with a creamy texture and some pretty good carbonation. I thought this was a bit too boozy overall to really enjoy on a regular basis thought.

Slightly hazy reddish-brown beer with a pastel yellow, fine and thick head. Piney, resiny hops and milk chocolate nose. Spruce or fir tree wood & needles. In the background some bitter chocolate as well, and dark (decidous) leaves. Very Walloon in character: chocolate, just a bit of mild coffee, very leafy, earthy, and still some fir tree, but less resinous than the nose. Maybe a tad more hoppy than its Walloon forebears, as well as bitter almonds extra. Quite bitter aftertaste, becoming dry. Medium to well bodied. Well attenuated, maybe a bit more than a usual Belgian dubbel. Very good Belgian dark strong ale. I wouldn’t call it a double - then I only would call Westmalle and La Trappe as such. White Labs or Wyeast N°...? Many thanks to Brian.

2006 750mL bottle shared by Mkobes or EDA (I think) at BCTC ’06.
Chestnut with some light crimson and maroon tinges on the edges and sediment in the bottle, but decanting with medium to medium low clarity. The head is medium-dark beige, small, but well-formed and stable, providing spotty lacing at points.
Soft clove is painted atop sliced banana bread and then swiftly dunked in cola. But it’s not as disjointed or overt as that sounds, and plenty of caramel and sweetened hazelnut-paste-like malt notes intermingle, soothing the nostrils. Yeast esters enter the mix on the finish, stretching the aroma and adding lively dark fruits to the mix. A dry hazelnut roastiness pervades, perhaps a touch too strongly, all the while and warming produces sweet cinnamon-cookie dough notes that really push the boundaries of how sweet you want your dubbel, but in the end, I don’t expect a massively sweet/underattenuated beer based on the nose. Furthermore, no alcohol is apparent.
And upon first sip, I’m pleasantly surprised to find it even less sweet than expected. Soft, but supportive is the body, with light caramel and raisin sweetness sticking to the sides of the palate initially. As the light phenols slowly creep in, a dry breadiness works hand-in-hand to balance the beer, while plum and dark berry esters keep things lively. Very well extracted is the malt, leading to a wonderful mouthfeel and the carbonation is so fine and engaging that I could hardly ask for more from it. It’s certainly a rock solid rendition and one that any Belgian brewery could be proud of. Alcohol is not a factor. The zesty, lively fruits and dry phenols seem to only go as far as to balance, without adding astringency problems. Nor does heavy clove build up at any point. Hops stay out of the way as they should for a dubbel and are true to style. A touch more attenuation and more musty/funky yeast nuances and this would be near perfect.

[re-rate - there is a lot more complexity than I remember - chocolate and carmel thick in the aroma - flavor of overripe apples and pears covered in caramel - lightly acidic finish, with some more fruity esters - still not the best of dubbels, but quite nice] Hazy amber pour, with somewhat frothy lace - aroma of toffee, raisins, black cherries - spicy and peppery up front, followed by some earthy, nearly tart qualities, quickly cut off by a sugary, caramel sweetness, dark fruit and slight bready malt - a little thin in the finish, with a distinct, alcohol burn which becomes a little unpleasant - not bad for such a young brewery, though.

Cask @ the Hop Devil Grill. Poured into a pint glass with about a 3/4 inch head. The color is a translucent brown color, can only make out shapes through it. Aroma is very unique for a Dubbel. A strong orange-like aroma. Similar orange presence in the flavor, leaves a Clementine sweetness-like aftertaste. I feel this beer is too young. The cask may not be the best way to taste it. I would love to try a bottled version that has sat a bit. 7/3/7/3/14.

Rerate 7/25/06. Got my chance with a 750 ml bottle. Poured into large wine glass. Small head and a deep brown and cannot see through the beer. Aroma is present. I get a lot of pine, not hoppy pine but actual pine tree mixed with a Belgian sweetness. Taste is a lighter dubbel, low sweetness. Medium body. A good stab and very different from the cask version. 7/3/8/3/15.

Rerate: 7/11/07. 750ml bottle (batch 2). Again this is just so underwhelming, too young, too estery, lots of sour tangerine, thin, watery. Oh man, this batch is very similar to the cask version I first tasted in May 2006. 6/3/6/3/13

Re:rate on 5/24/10, almost exactly 4 years after my first taste of this beer. This is a rating for batch 2 750mL bottle that is now 3 years old and wow this has improved. This beer was by far my least favorite bottled beer from CL. However, age has done a wonderful thing. All the weird esters have gone away. This beer is full of plumy, dark, actual dubbel-like characteristics. Plumy-dark-bread with a wonderful full mouthfeel with a slightly subdued carbonation. This was a joy to drink. No sign of oxidation at all. 8/3/8/4/17. Overall rating is a composite of the different versions. Side note: I had batch with 3 years on it as well last summer at BCTC and that was amazing as well.

Bottom Line: Concerning batch 1 & 2, very young and green when fresh, beautiful with 3 years on it.