REVIEW : WESTMALLE TRAPPIST DUBBEL

Not sure why this semi-legendary Belgian Ale & its makers can't get it together and spell "double" correctly, but maybe they're just trying to be cool or something? Weird. It's high time I stepped away from the West Coast USA beers I tend to favor (for obvious reasons) and into the somewhat intimidating world of classic Belgians. I asked the fella at the Plumpjack beer/wine emporium in San Francisco to help me out on this one, and he told me that the "dubbels" were the dark ones and the "trippels" (there they go again!) were the lighter ones. Well pour me a dubbel, then, I said, and he sent me home with this one and a few others. I even busted out the correct glassware instead of my usual pint glass, and savored this one almost like a dessert during a ballgame. WESTMALLE TRAPPIST DUBBEL came on very thick, not a stout-like thick, but full of really contrary flavors like zingy fruits, roast chococate and caramel, I believe. While the aftertaste dissapated quickly, it was incredibly rich in both smell and taste. It poured a dark burgundy/amber, sort of like the label on the bottle of it to your left. And that looks beautiful in a glass, and it smelled as good as it looked. I checked to see if beer critic Michael Jackson had it in his 500 Best Beers book, and sure enough, there it was. I haven't even rated 500 different beers yet, but if I had to rate this one I'd give it a very respectable 7.5/10.