Brouwerij De Halve Maan ‘Brugze Zot’ Dubbel

Rating:

27067198_806476446203169_7033801945690186160_n“Brugse Zot Dubbel is a dark brown beer, leaning towards ruby ​​red. Brewed with six special malts, the beer has a unique and rich aroma in which the scent of honey, almond, chocolate and even brown sugar can be discovered.”

Glassware: Trappist goblet.

Appearance: Big and billowing four finger head that surges up and over the rim of the glass. It sits atop a very deep chestnut/brown body with crazy amounts of lace as it ebbs. Very attractive beer.

Aroma: Oh wow, unexpectedly sweet and fruity with a heady scent of either blackcurrant or blackberry leading out. More dark fruits and candied berries as it warms. Sticky toffee and caramel, syrup, spicy phenols, subtle chocolate and timber also coming through. So juicy and sweet but it’s no way cloying. Superb aroma.

Flavour: It’s not coming on as strong as we’d like. Some dark fruit sweetness, brown sugar and faint yeasty notes that impart adjunct spices, Christmas cake and prunes. It starts to fall away mid-palate and finishes somewhat weak, bitter and slightly spicy.

Mouth feel: Creamy texture, nice and vibrant co2 with medium weight. Well masked 7.5% ABV.

Overall: A fairly decent dubbel but it has nothing on the Trappist breweries like La Trappe or Rochefort – it seems to lack that depth and complexity in flavour. Not bad but not great either.