Westmalle Trappist Dubbel

I have been blessed by the beer gods as my lovely young sister recently took a trip to Belgium. As you may or may not know, Belgium is an awesome place to find world class brew. Being the saint she is, she volunteered to ship some beers to me, and this is the first I'll be reviewing. On to the beer...

Appearance: 9.5/10

Poured with a nice head (about 2 1/2 fingers) and showed good retention. Nice caramel color which really looked good in the crystal glass (also a gift from lil sis). The lacing was almost non-existent, but that's understandable in such a wide and shallow glass.

Aroma: 7/10

A nice full, malty aroma with more than a faint hint of caramel. I definitely didn't get a hoppy smell from this fine brew. From the initial smell I could tell this would be a very malty beverage.

Taste: 9/10

Delicious. A nice sweet initial taste although I couldn't quite place it right away. I expected to notice a bit of an alcohol-bite from a 7% beer brewed by monks, but I was pleasantly surprised to find nothing of the sort. Completely velvety smooth and almost, dare I say, frothy . In fact, it had a very clean finish with a very malty (think high-class liquid whoppers) taste. I was surprised to notice a shift in flavors as I worked through my first glass; it started malty, became almost chocolatey, and by the end of the glass I was noticing a strong caramel taste.

Mouthfeel: 10/10

A good feel in the mouth - not too thick and not watery by any means. What a good beer is supposed to feel like.

Drinkability: 9/10

This is not a pounding beer by anymeans - in fact, I was feeling a very slight buzz after completing one bottle. However, its nice smooth, malty flavor and high alcohol content make it an awesome beer (or two) to have after a long day of sitting on your ass at work.

Overall: 9.5/10

Awesome beer that I highly recommend to anyone who can find it. Thanks, sis!