Westmalle Dubbel

Tonight:
Westmalle Dubbel
Brouwerij Westmalle
Belgian Trappist
7.0% ABV

Westmalle is another of my beloved Belgian Trappist breweries. If you're thinking 'Ugh! I've had so many Belgian Dubbels! Do I really need to try another one?' The answer is: yes, you do. At the very least, you need to try this Dubbel, even if you give up on the others. I'll be the first to admit that, at a certain point, one dubbel can start to taste like another. The Westmalle Dubbel, however, has a flavor that stands out. In short, it tastes kind of grapey. More distinguished palettes will probably say things about 'dark fruit.' I'm not sure what makes dark fruit so much fancier than grapes in the beer world -- I'm not sure if we're afraid of comparing ourselves to wine or to Welch's grape juice. Either way, I think it's a fear we should get over. This beer is delicious, and there's no shame in saying there's a bit of grape in there.

That also means it's a touch on the sweet side. Not mouth-puckeringly sweet, but certainly not a beer you could dismiss as a high-ABV session beer. You definitely need to give this beer its due when drinking it. Though I could imagine plenty of fine dinner courses it would pair with as well. I'm going to go ahead and put this beer in the #1 spot. I'm not saying I want to drink it every night (that might be too much of a good thing). But given that I've been getting a bit of ennui about Belgian beer, I think it says something special about this beer that it jumps out of the bottle to me.

Tomorrow: Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier

The Beers So Far:

1. Westmalle Dubbel
2. Golden Draak
3. Piraat
4. Leffe Blonde
5. Primator Double Bock
6. Delirium Tremens
7. Rochefort 8
8. Weihenstephaner Korbinian
9. Rochefort 6
10. Chimay Premiere (Red)
11. Big Butte Porter
12. Chimay Cinq Cents (White)
13. Trois Pistoles
14. Krusovice Imperial
15. Hobgoblin
16. Orval
17. La Fin Du Monde
18. Belzebuth
19. 1349
20. J.W. Lees
21. London Velvet
22. Lost Abbey Track #8