“This Belgian style Dubbel has caramel and cocoa notes with subtle fruity esters. Mahogany in colour with medium malty sweetness. Perle and Mittelfruh hops give this beer a mellow but spicy aroma.”

Glassware: Trappist chalice.

Appearance: Somewhat deep rusted orange to amber with a finger of khaki head perched on top. Steady reduction and healthy lacing as we go.

Aroma: No where near as layered and intense as a Belgian-brewed Dubbel but it still offers a hearty caramel base, light chocolate and woodiness with the delicate old world hop additions of earthy spice, herbals, pine forest and wet grass. Well tempered yeast esters bring that classic banana and caramelised pear/apple scent as well. Picking up strong coriander as it settles in. Pretty good.

Flavour: One of the things we hate about non-Belgian brewed Trappist ales is the overload of sweetness. Thankfully, this interpretation doesn’t have that. It’s got a good base of earthy caramel malt and it’s nicely balanced by the spicy, herbaceous and woody/piney hops. A touch of dried cocoa and clove develops late and shifts into a mostly malt-driven finish with piney and herbal notes drawing out.

Mouthfeel: Nice and thick, chewy, gelatinous. Medium bodied, nicely carbed. The 7.6% ABV is pretty well concealed.

Overall: This is our first crack at this brewery. We’ve had our eye on them for some time now and we’re pleased to say we’re liking what we’re seeing so far. Trappist style beers aren’t easy to perfect so they’ve done quite a decent job here.