First Dubbel, Had To Share

I'd been constantly wondering what the big deal was with Belgian beers. I'd brewed the Phat Tyre kit from Northern Brewer and enjoyed it, but I knew that wasn't a true Dubbel-type ale. So, I went ahead and ordered the Belgian Dubbel kit from NB, fully expecting it to be like many other Belgian ales I'd tried, not bad but a little exotic for my tastes. I brewed it in late June and bottled it in mid-July. The sample I tasted was pretty much as I expected: Very sweet with lots of esters and a clove-like gravity on the tongue. Oh well, not bad but not spectacular, either. ABV ended up calculated around 7% or so.

Following a lot of the advice on this site, I've been letting this high-gravity kit condition in the bottle in the basement for quite a while, with the "official" opening at eight weeks. At the 5 1/2 week mark, though, I decided to pop open a bottle just to see how it's coming along.

HOLY CRAP!

If this is how it's supposed to taste all the time, sign me up. It's going to be mind-blowing in about three more weeks. I'm just glad I have some Koelsch and IPA to keep me company in the mean time, because I don't know if I could resist the urge to open these bad boys up right now. I've seen the light. I've now included this in my future brew list, where before I doubt I would have done this.

I have seen the light :rockin:

Welcome to Belgian!

I just (like, 5 minutes ago) cultured yeast from a bottle of Westmalle Dubbel. I just dumped the yeast into a flask on my stirplate. I'll use that yeast for my own Belgian.

Of course, I am drinking the rest of the bottle right now. I like Belgian beers. To me, there is always the taste of a "root beer barrel" candy in there. They are severely overpriced, though. Those monks are probably driving around in Aston Martins. Nice gig.

passedpawn said:

Those monks are probably driving around in Aston Martins. Nice gig.

Click to expand...

Just remember, they're not getting laid.

I bottled a Belgian Dubbel in March, probably my 3rd attempt at all grain, and after a month in the bottle it tasted awful. Tried a couple bottles at 2 months and 3 months and I was convinced it was infected....still tasted awful and the bottles kept gushing. Well....ran out of beer one night this week and decided to chill another couple bottles. WELL, the stuff is fabulous. Maybe this one needed some extra time??

Anyway, congrats that yours tastes so good so soon!