Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Hazy dark brown colour with a nice off-white head. Aroma of cherries, raisins, plums and other sugars-all with a malt background. Medium to Light-bodied; Mild sweetness with strong bittering malt. Not much flavour-definately lacking-not what I had expected. Aftertaste is bland as well, not too great-only some malt showing. Overall, a nice treat, but not as good as I had expected. I got this 33 cL bottle courtesy of my sister's fiance which he got from Belgium! I sampled this one on 27-November-2003.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Unclear brown body with a foamy off-white head. The complex aroma has some fresh lemon and fruit; coffee, caramel and chocolate; some earth and oak wood. Dry and caramelly flavour.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Vertical comparison between fresh dubbel and an old one, BBd 13.07.94 Above points for the fresh version. Old ones’ points between brackets. Colour: (Y) gushing to thick yellow-brown head, going down lacey; dark brown, mahogany shine. (O) also slight gushing to thick yellow-brown head, still lacey; very dark amber beer, quite clear at first [4]. Nose: (Y) dark malts, perfumed, alcohol. (O) vinous, malty, walnuts & raisins - a whole fruit-and-nuts cake. Complex with a lot of esters.[8] Taste (Y)Subdued bitter from fine dark malts. Ever so slight brown candi-sugar, raising with warming up. Perfumey, grassy and peppery flavour, increasing in intensity with warming towards unfermented worts. There is a retronasal hopimpression as from English hops. I have a fleeting sub-treshold of diacetyl as well, and of marzipan. (O) Nutty, oxydised flavour - a bit wild-mushroom flavour. Oxydised malt too, a bit too much roasted in character [7] Mouthfeel: (Y) well-bodied, very highly saturated. (O) Alcohol-burn, quite full-bodied. [4] Aftertaste: (Y) faint liquorice, more with warming up, slight bittering effect. (O) long prolonging of the former tastes [4] Overall: (Y) This is the surprise. This beer is actually BETTER than I remember it. Trappist ales rule indeed. (O) Somewhere the taste of the old beer derails on the overly roasted malts, whilst the nice madeirisation in the nose was promessing better. [14] I seem to have to come to the inevitable conclusion that the beer has been bettered in recent times. I know some people who are going to disagree with me...
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Small, off-white head - dark amber/crimson color - nice clarity - highly vinous, with notes of chocolate, brown sugar, raisins - slight sweetness and substantial yeast presence in the finish - very subtle and enjoyable - one of the more subdued trappist ales I've had, which is actually a good thing in this case - medium bodied, yet heavy at the same time - a must try for belgian ale lovers.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Damn, this has a hugh, thick head on it, and the beer has so much carbonantion that the head actually GROWS as the beer is sitting! Citrus, yeast, melon, spices - crisp, dry finish. A very good example of a tripel.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
(33 cl bottle). Enormous lasting head, cloudy brown colour. Lovely aroma of oak, leather and spices. Well balanced spicy flavour, slightly bitter finish. Aftertaste could have lasted a bit longer, but this is still a thoroughly well made beer.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Dark amber color, creamy head. Nice aroma of malt and hop. Very good body, malty, robust bitterness; long final, not enough aromatic; a pleasure for your taste buds!
Keg
It's the only Trappist beer available in kegs (and I don't understand what's the need for that). It's good but not mature nor enough hoppy; it's a bit metallic and doesn't have enough character. [7-5-6-4-13]
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
I didn't fancy to be the 161th of rating this beer. So I collected a brand-new 33cl bottle from the shop (BBd:01/05), a 75cl bottle from '99 (bbd: 12/04), 1 1/2 yr. in my cellar, and the oldest bottle I could find there: a, yet unlabeled, 33cl, bought 8/87 for 30 BEF (1Eur=40.34 BEF). Unless otherwise indicated, the tabel-marks are from the youngest bottle. Colour '02:golden with slight orangey shine. Thick, white-creamy head, lacy, collapsing. '99:much finer head, stable, colour ident. '87: (dark8)amber; fine, small head, larger bubbles. Nose: '02: grain, chaff, chalk, malts - not only pale - candi (?) -by warming: more hops; '99: much more worts, typical brewery-smell- yeasty and grains by warmingup (8p) '87: some grains, but lots of port&madeira notes (9p). taste: '02: first hops, but then unpleasant taste of scorched sugar, disappears to leave sweet taste and bitterness, more hoppy, at mouthsides. English hops? '99: sweeter. definitely some oxidation (biscuit-madeira) but retronasal quite hoppy and dry (8p) '87: very fine port&walnut aroma, more sweet than '02, but sweetness strengthened by portarom. Still a lot of bitterness (9p) Mouthfeel '02: quite chewy, strong hint of alcohol. Aftertaste more bitterness. '99: more creamy, and fine CO2 gives champenoise - Alcohol more masked. Creaminess gives less sharp aftertaste (4p) '87 mouthfeel chewy, syrupy, oily, not cloying. Esters and even higher alcohols give much more balanced finish (5p) Overall : '02 lacks finesse, compared to the other two, but certainly to the '87 ('99:17p '87:19p)
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9.5
2024-08-21, 75cl corked bottle, vintage 1999, 25 years old, 6-4-7-3-12=32
Some carbonation when opening the cork, it doesn't seem too carbonated when pouring though; beautiful colour, clean and bright, amber; small head. Some malt aroma, light honey. It lost most character, it falls flat on the palate, there's some honey, and some oxidation; the alcohol is quite hot; notes of sweet liquorice. Despite 75cl bottles being stronger, this one didn't survive well.
2022-02-01, bottled 08/10/2020, bb 08/10/2022, batch 6 1037, 8-5-8-4-16=41
Hazy blond colour, with majestic head. Gentle aroma of malt, Belgian yeast, fennel, it's sweet. Full bodies, fairly sweet, good malt base, powerful yeast character, it's moderately spicy; the alcohol is a bit too evident, but balanced by the sweetness; correct bitterness. I prefer the first half, without much sediment transfer.
Excellent.
2003-01-16, aged 3 years, 9-5-8-5-19=46
Hazy golden-brownish-amber color; beautiful lace.
Malty, lightly fruity aroma; flowery hop, developing in a wonderful way as the beer gets warmer in the glass; light, fragrant bread. Delicate and complex.
Full body, smooth, warming, a bit alcoholic; not syrupy but almost sweetish Tripel, with a lot of malt, light fudge; harmonious.
Very good, classic final, with fine old hops; equilibrated, persistent.
A wonderful example of Tripel.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Sparkling brown,large off white head. Fruit carmel nose. Malt flavor with slight tart finish. Fizzy