La Trappe Dubbel (Koningshoeven / Dominus) - Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V.

GilGarp

Colorado

4.38/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Served into a branded snifter at the Cheeky Monk, La Trappe Dubbel is a chestnut brown color with good clarity. The head settles fairly quickly but leaves some nice lacing.

The aroma is sweet and malty with a nice Belgian yeast character. Some dark fruits and mulling spice comes through.

The flavor is just about perfect for the style with a nice mild sweetness that supports a broad spectrum of subtle nuances. There is the usual dark/dried fruit like raisins and figs. Over that comes some mild clove from the yeast.

Mouthfeel is smooth and perfectly carbonated. The alcohol is barely noticible.

Overall a very solid dubbel and one that is probably just a little better on tap.

Serving type: on-tap

02-08-2011 00:15:55 | More by GilGarp

pinkano

Czech Republic

2.7/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - little hazy very dark orange and amber
S - dark fruits - raisins, plums, light rum and syrupy malt
T - I got some perfume and oil taste, maybe badly stored before bought. However dark fruits in the body and winy and little dry end
M - medium to hight carbonation with medium body
D - not much drinkable since the perfume and oil taste, but I can bet other bottles or tap beer will be lot more better

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2011 20:28:12 | More by pinkano

77ships

Belgium

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Impressive, atypical blood/ruby red, the head retains quite well.

S: Raisins, prunes and caramel.

T: Redcurrant berries, liquorish and syrup. Slightly bitter with moderate sweetness, that clearly wasn't the result of added sugars.

M: Smooth, somehow the alcohol seems more noticeable here than it did with the La Trappe Quadrupel that I tried.

D: The added sweetness, increased sweetness and the taste of redcurrant berries made this beer something distinct as opposed to a lesser version of the Quadrupel. Very refreshing and bit of a summer beer even if it is a serious beer altogether.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2011 10:31:44 | More by 77ships

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from 750ml bottle into chalice glass. Golden orange colour with a foamy white head. Malty aroma with notes of spices, fruits and alcohol. The flavour is malts, spices, alcohol and some fruitiness with a bitter finish. Medium-bodied and smooth mouthfeel. Pretty decent dubbel but not the best.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2011 04:59:06 | More by CuriousMonk

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

pours a nice chestnut color with about an average foamy head. The head itself is rather dense just not very tall. Nicely carbonated.
Foam fades but the carbonation always keeps a wispy ring floating on top.
Iget a rich malt aroma topped by cnadied sugar.
Rich and malty tasting with candied sugar yeast and fruitty essence, maybe candied plumes. Alcohol taste is bold and in your face. Luckily the ABV's are at a more moderate level for this light weight.
A medium to full bodied beer with a drier finish. Good for Christmas

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2010 13:11:40 | More by micromaniac129

CHickman

New York

2.8/5  rDev -28.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours opaque brown in color with a foamy 2 finger tan head that dissipated quickly; lacing didn't last long either and slid down the glass fast.

Smells like sweet malt, yeast, wheat bread, syrup, caramel, rum, and other spices, but has an overall sweet aroma.

Tastes of brown sugar, yeast, sweet malt, grains, wheat bread, coriander, spices, syrup, caramel, rum, raisin, plum or slight sour apple, maybe some licorice and/or cinnamon. Pretty sweet flavor overall, and almost too sweet; there are some sweet complex tastes like the brown sugar and syrup, but the balance is not there to make this worth drinking more than one in a session. The alcohol peeks through, giving off some heat like a rum or bourbon.

Mouthfeel is smooth with very little carbonation and a medium body that's almost chewy.

Drinkability was low as this beer was just too sweet for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2010 03:05:41 | More by CHickman

jibbyvonjibb

California

3.48/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Brown color. Head bubbly but falls fast.
S: Dried fruits, like prunes. Toasty malt.
T: Same prune-like fruitiness. Chocolate. Caramel. Finishes a bit too sweet for the style (and my liking).
M: A bit flat, so no creamy carbonation I like in my Belgians.
O: I like the fruity and chocolaty flavors. However, a bit too sweet to be very drinkable (see Westmalle) and not complex enough to make for a good Strong Dark (see Maudite, Chimay Blue).

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2010 06:33:35 | More by jibbyvonjibb

ElGrecoVerde

Michigan

3.85/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Look:
Dark red with a bubbly light brown head. You can tell this is full bodied before taking a sip.

Smell:
Aromas of alcohol distract from otherwise pleasant smells of fruit and coffee.

Taste:
Dark fruits and semisweet chocolate. Faint hint of espresso. Black pepper and wood flavors add to the complexity.

Feel:
Very nice. It's a heavy beer, but there's enough carbonation to cut through it making it easier to drink.

The warming feel from the alcohol and spectrum of flavors hurt drinkability a bit, but overall a pleasant brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2010 05:22:01 | More by ElGrecoVerde

eric5bellies

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Drank from my La Trappe chalice.

A - Pours a redish copper colour with an off white head that dies quickly.

S - Bits of malt and dark fruits.

T - Too boozy for me and not hidden well enough. A little dark fruit but not much else.

M - Fullish carbonation with a medium body.

D - A little one dimensional likme other La Trappe beers.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 15:13:38 | More by eric5bellies

cpanossian

New York

4.15/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from bottle into goblet. Nice fizz and small 1/4" head that clears out quickly. Nice dark amber color with red hue/glow when held up to a light source, hazy with floaties.

Very delicious sweet and fruity bouquet - very inviting. Sweet malty taste to match, booze is masked very nicely by nicely balanced flavors.

Medium bodied - not heavy - so you can definitely enjoy a lot of this. Strong carbonation bite with each mouthful too.

Very nice - worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 22:24:01 | More by cpanossian

BobZ

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

11.2 Oz. bottle. Poured into a Weihenstephaner Vitus Chalice.

Appearance: Very nice reddish-brown, with a small (1/4" to 1/2") head and decent lacing.

Smell: Very nice, and frankly surprisingly complex, malty, with hints of dark fruit.

Taste: Good, like the quad the alcohol is not really masked but does add some nice warmth. Again, malt is present, dark fruit, but not very deep or complex. Just some good flavors with warmth from the alcohol.

Mouth feel: Well carbonated, not really creamy, decent but not great.

Drinkability: Good flavorful beer. Lower ABV (than a quad or tripel) makes it easy to down a few.

A really solid dubbel, but for the price there are better to be had (Achel Bruin is far better).

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 04:17:36 | More by BobZ

jrallen34

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

11.2oz bottle poured into my Gouden glass...A medium brown, amber in the light. a boring tan head of only about a finger, falls quickly, bad lacing...A really light aroma, plums, sugar and alcohol, not complex enough for me...The taste is really boring, a watered down cherry coke, dark fruits, and alcohol...An amazingly light feel.

This is just lacking all respects.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2010 01:41:31 | More by jrallen34

jhtipton

Spain

4.28/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The bottle is similar to the tripel label and not like what the picture shows here. It also states 7.0 ABV not 6.5. But, let's not get wrapped up in petty details. It pours a wonderful deep amber brown color with approx 1 inch of head and some mild lacing. Smell is wonderful, the banana bread laced with rum jumps out of my chalice and punches me lightly.Taste is sweet, fruity, bready, some cherry and banana taste, and the alcohol is somewhat present. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied. Almost like eating a banana nut bran muffin laced with rum. Drinkability is fine; I will hunt these down again. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2010 17:15:31 | More by jhtipton

rapidsequence

Virginia

3.98/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml corked bottle, $7.99. My bottle says 7% abv, this website says 6.5%. No date I can find.

Appearance: This is a very dark ruby red, almost brown. Clear. Pours with a nice head, but has too brief retention. Not much lacing either. I have to grade it down for the suboptimal head and lacing-- cmon, its a Trappist.

Smell: Dark and tart fruit. Cherry is slightly medicinal. Raisins and some apple. A little caramel and toast. Good, but not the most exciting dubbel.

Taste: Raisin and cherry, sweet and a little tart. There's a little bitterness which I think is from alcohol more than hops. There's just a little yeasty flavor-- more would probably make this more flavorful.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth feeling, the right amount of body for this beer. Despite the sorry head, the carbonation is well done.

Drinkability: Its a very easy drinking beer. Good, but not the most complex or interesting.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2010 01:37:09 | More by rapidsequence

sfprint

Germany

3.55/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Very beautiful, deep, syrupy red. One of the most beautiful colors of a beer I've seen. Much smooth carbonation with good retention. Slow lacing

S: sweet fruity alcohol, fruity yeast, creamy. Too much alcohol. cherry cream soda.

T: Bready, alcohol is not so pronounced, fresh, black cherry, though slightly bland. creamy. Good, almost a 4.

M: Mild and soft carbonation.

D: It's a fine beer, good but not great. I would drink it but wouldn't seek it out.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2010 01:21:02 | More by sfprint

yapi

Belgium

4.05/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I'm not really into Dubbels, but this one rather satisfied me. It has that typical La trappe sweet dark malty caramel toffee taste I like. You can find it in the quadrupel (oak aged) as well. But you have to like it... Went down really well, fresh and warmed up, would drink this again for sure!

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2010 13:23:34 | More by yapi

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had this on tap at Smokeless Joe's in Toronto in branded glassware. Pours a mahogany brown with a finger or two of off-white head. Nice lacing in the glass. Smells of strong brown sugar and candied cherries. I cannot overstate how sugary this smelled. Flavour is incredibly sweet. My friend wasn't a huge fan of the style so I basically had 2 glasses of this in a row. I enjoyeded it, but prefer a bit less of the sweetness.

Serving type: on-tap

10-28-2010 20:00:34 | More by kwjd

DelMontiac

Oklahoma

3.35/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: 11.2 oz. bottle poured into a thinwalled goblet creating a short-lived creamy tan two-finger head atop a murky red-brown body. No lacing noted.

Aroma: Rum-raison bread and a lovely sweet pipe tobacco smell. Very nice.

Flavor: Not as good as the smell. Cinnamon, carmel, and raison. A bit of dry wine on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, but seems a bit watery on the finish, therefore lacking good carbonation.

Drinkability: An easy drinker, but I think this would be better with a hard or smokey cheese rather than all by itself.

Overall: Not the best Dubbel I've had by a long shot. I would buy it again if it were at a discount price, but I'd buy some nice cheese to go with it of course.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2010 23:30:00 | More by DelMontiac

impending

California

2.93/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

750ml into a tulip. Pours a deep dark mahogany, when an inch remains it is a gorgeous reddish golden bronze. Medium sized bubbles produced a medium head that was short lived, unexceptional lacing.

The dark caramel malts are obvious in the aroma. Phenols of cloves round out the scent. Some aromas have a quality of weight, this is heavy.

Mostly typical dubbel taste but the phenols are strong in the flavor as well and the alcohol while not strong is surprisingly obvious. The aftertaste has a slight metallic echo.

As a trappist brew I'm always biased in favor but the blessings of the monks are not enough to raise this beyond upper mediocrity.
cheers
jd

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 23:21:26 | More by impending

jjanega08

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A= The pour is a nice hazy brown color with a huge brown head on it that holds nice retention and excellent lacing.

S= The first thing I notice is a significant amount of sweet candy cherries in it. There's a bit of a Belgian yeast spiciness to it as well. Super sweet malts in it. There is also a little bit of that dark fruit note but not much.

T= The taste is really nice. Great sweet cherries that are sort of blended with some sweet malts. The dark fruits don't really ever make an appearance in it. Loads of sweet toffee in it as well as some caramel to it. Very candy like.

M= Good for a dubbel. High carbonation that tickles the tongue. Sometimes I wish they would make these a little less carbonated but it's to style.

D= Great dubbel. I don't find myself diggin dubbels as much as I like this one. Really a winner.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2010 04:47:50 | More by jjanega08

BBP

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Note: The bottle design is different, and the ABV is 7% rather than 6.5. I suspect this is a newer version.

A- Dark chestnut with notes of cherry when exposed to light. Thick. Impressive carbonation and head. Pretty good lacing as well.

S- Caramel, grape/raisin aromas somewhere in between a red and a white wine, some belgian spices and yeast, fruitiness, dark malts, and syrup. Good smell, but a little faint.

T- Sweet apple and pear notes in the beginning, and then spice and yeast gain a little bit of ground. Caramel plays a part in a very non-intrusive way as it just adds a constant little hint that it's there. Background of raisin and figs. Perhaps prunes. I like how this one isn't all too sweet. Perhaps they avoided that by using some of the less sweet fruits. Some chocolate is apparent as the drink warms up. I didn't notice any when it was cold.

M- Medium body that feels light. Fairly creamy and good carbonation that makes it seem larger than it is. Sticky finish.

D- A very nice Dubbel, and not overwhelmingly sweet. I found it had a very good balance to it. Very drinkable at a medium to slow pace. Has a warming effect on the stomach which gets a bit coarse if you drink it to fast. A good example of the style, but it really didn't excite me much. Would drink it again though.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2010 21:51:24 | More by BBP

mexikrainian

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750ml poured into a Piraat tulip.

Appearance: chocolate amber with tan head and scant lacing.

Aroma: caramel, malts, brown sugar and belgian yeasts.

Taste: subtle sweetness, dark fruit, caramel malt and dry finish.

Mouthfeel: medium body with light carbonation.

Overall impression: classic dubbel but not overly exciting. watered down and lacking appropriate carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2010 00:24:11 | More by mexikrainian

megahurts4

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

La Trappe Dubbel

Appearance: Dark brown, medium head that dissipates, and great lacing.

Smell: Raisins, dates, brown sugar, and apple.

Taste: Raisins, dates, other dark fruits, and good malts.

Mouthfeel: Medium.

Overall:
It's a very nice Belgian. Smooth and good flavor. The flavor seems to drop off, leaving very little aftertaste. There is a syrup-like coating felt after drinking.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2010 03:53:07 | More by megahurts4

catrone

Italy

4.55/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark brown beer with a thick, persistent head.
The smell is sweet and very fruity, mainly grape, similar to sweet wine.
The taste is very round and fruity with a faint alcoholic note that doesn't overwhelm the sweetness at all and lasts long after you sip it.

The aftertaste is sweet too, with the alcoholic note now more noticeable

Definitely one of my favourite belgian.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2010 13:28:00 | More by catrone

whoneeds8

Texas

3.35/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Koningshoeven Chalice a ruby black with a one finger white head. No lacing and little retention. The scent is strong of carmeled raisins and grapefruit. The taste is a malt bomb, with more raisin flavors and a little hop bite at the end. The mouthfeel give a little bit of dryness.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2010 01:10:51 | More by whoneeds8