Grimbergen Dubbel - Brouwerij Alken-Maes, Opwijk

Grimbergen Ales were relatively unknown to me until about 6 months ago when I noticed kegs of their Dubbel started showing up at finer drinking establishments around town. My first impressions of the draft Grimbergen Dubbel were that it was quite good. I remember it tasting exactly like I was expecting a Belgian Dubbel to taste like. I had a couple more times on tap over the summer and finally saw bottles on shelf at my local liquor store. I remember liking the beer quite a bit so I picked up some Dubbel and looked forward to reviewing it formally.

When I poured this beer into my goblet at home I noticed the aroma was a lot more subdued than I remembered. I could tell it wasn't to let out all the aroma of the figs, raisins and cherries it had inside... but it really just came off as a bit flat. The flavor was similar at first. I think the beer was a little cooler than it should have been because my impressions of the beer changed as it warmed up.

The flavor was a little weaker than I remember. All of the main components were there, the dark fruit, figs, cherries and raisins - along with some stronger malts that gave a hint of chocolate to the beer. The finish was a little stronger in alcohol but it by no means tasted like it was a double digit beer. Actually, this beer clocks in at 6.5%, which isn't all that strong in the grand scheme of things.

That pretty much sums up the Grimbergen, it's a good Dubbel but not one that holds up to the greats of its genre...