Vicaris Generaal - Brouwerij Dilewyns

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml squat bottle, 8.5% ABV, picked up in Cowtown on the way to visit the family unit for a wee spell.

This beer pours a dark, murky bronzed amber hue, with two robust fingers of fizzy, tightly foamy tan head, which leaves some nicely consistent drooping columnar funnel cloud lace around the glass as it evenly sinks away.

It smells of softly sweet caramel/toffee malt, some fruity orange and bittersweet chocolate notes (or maybe all those holiday 'snacks' are seeping into my brain), earthy, musty yeast, and a slight twinge of alcohol-soaked wood fibre. The taste is barely sweet, grainy, fruity dark malts, some mildly sugary toffee/molasses notes, understated earthy, musty yeast, and a tame, yet burgeoning alcohol warming.

The bubbles are a tad frizzy, but to no great detriment, the body a feathery medium weight, and adequately smooth. It finishes just off-dry, the grain, yeast, alcohol, and heretofore absent nuttiness pulling things away from the expected sweet side of things.

An enjoyable enough dubbel, the various flavours all working well together, and sublimating the 'extra' booze quite thoroughly. Easy drinking, surely, when this is the case.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 08:54:46 | More by biboergosum

RoamingGnome

Wisconsin

3.95/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from 750 ml bottle into CBS snifter. Servered slightly chilled.

A) A nice brown brew with a huge 3 finger beige head reaching the top of the snifter. Decent retention... No lacing noted...

S) Woody and spicey. There is a little bit of orange peel and definitely the darker fruits such as plum. It has a bread/yeast aroma as well.

T) Pretty near the nose, nice sweetness with the dark fruits, woody, perhaps a little pipe tobacco. There was some floral hops on the backend. The alcohol sneaks up on you with some definite warmth as you move along.

M) Near full bodied, felt pretty thick. The carbonation was moderate and the feel was smooth for the most part. The finish was a little dry.

O) I sipped on this one for about 2 hours. It was pretty enjoyable, and I felt the aroma and taste improved with warmth. The alcohol was pretty well hidden for a beer at nearly 9% ABV. A pretty good dubbel... Glad to recommend...

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 03:48:26 | More by RoamingGnome

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed from tasting notes.

Poured out a dark brown color with reddish highlights around the edges when held up to the light, has a sand colored head with decent retention time and lacing.

Smells of bready roasted malts with a little dab of marmalade on top, a garnish level scent of raisin pudding.

The flavor is more centered around yeastiness and dark fruit than the nose was, a touch of phenolics and orange peel stay in the background, behind a medium level of brown sugared breakfast rolls. Finishes semi-dry but satisfying.

Texturally, slightly too light in heft to support the boldness of the rich flavors contained within. I did not have any issues with the carbonation levels. ABV levels were dampened but still detectable, yet not distracting...

If you can find it and like Dubbels, give it an honest try.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 22:40:56 | More by WastingFreetime

mwilbur

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 750 mL bottle into snifter.
A: Pours a nice super dark caramel with 2-3 inch light tan tan. Excellent retention. Nice lingering lacing that lasts, and lasts, and lasts...
S: Belgian spice, fresh bready yeast, mild raisin and other dark dried fruit, and a hint of banana and clove. Solid, but not too special.
T: Follows aroma to a tee, but a bit weaker. Some caramel malt emerges with warming.
M: Light-medium body...a bit light for style. Smooth and slightly sticky sweet.
D: A decent offering, but not great for style. Wish it had a bit more body and fullness. Definitely has potential with some tweaking.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 03:29:31 | More by mwilbur

lnashsig

Texas

3.58/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

#BOTG 38! And, another one of my Beer of the Month brews! They have been pretty solid so far, so hoping this one keeps up with the others!

Tonight I posted a poll to select the beer of the game from my tweeps, and this won hands down (ok, 3-1, I'm not as popular as I may lead myself to believe). So, here we go. Corked and caged bottle, 750ml. Luckily I have recruited help drinking this bottle, at 8%+ it might be an undertaking on a work night. Thanks Donald.

Popped the cork, loud pop! Poured from bottle into Chimay chalice. Note to self, buy cooler Belgian glassware. I'm pretty weak in this category, this being my only one appropriate for this style. This is a heady bastard. Even with a pretty light pour, it fills the glass about 3/4 head, 1/4 beer. When it settles, this has a really nice dark brown/red mahogany color, and the off white/tan color head leaves about 1 finger, caking along the sides of the glass like icing on a cake. Smell- dark fruits, some booze. I get raisins, prunes, and some wafts of almost a port liquor. Reminds me of the booze used in a trifle cake? Taste- booze soaked cake, prunes. But, there is a watery aspect to this. Not bad, but not usually what I'd expect out of the style. Mouthfeel is fine- no issues there. And, I wish it would hide the booze a bit better. Overall, a decent beer, I wont have a hard time finishing the bottle (esp with the help I got), but I wanted more backbone, this could have been more flavorful.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 01:27:22 | More by lnashsig

Dope

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a very dark amber with a ridiculously huge fluffy tan head despite the gentle pour. Fades very slowly but never completely, leaving decent lacing behind.

S: Sweet caramel and brown sugar. Definitely lots of belgian candi sugar as well. A little bit of spicy yeast.

T: Very sweet and malty, but not as sweet as you would expect from the aroma. Again, loaded with candi sugar, brown sugar, caramel and now some toffee. Hints of raisin. A bit drying in the finish with some earthiness. Just a touch of alcohol lingers in the aftertaste.

M: Medium bodied, almost borderline thin for the style. Otherwise smooth.

O: A very malty but super drinkable and balanced dubbel. Great choice for a belgian candi sugar lover that's for sure.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2012 02:18:45 | More by Dope

Hex92

Virginia

3.93/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- huge head on this beer. Looks great in the glass.
S- little bit of dried fruit, but not much really. Even when it warmed up there wasn't much there.
T- good, but many better representatives of the style out there. Its good, but doesn't have that big flavor I like in these beers.
M- a bit thin. Too many bubbles.
O- tasty, but not something I would grab over something from Unibroue ...

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2012 03:17:25 | More by Hex92

weazal

California

5/5  rDev +26.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

APPEARANCE: I don't normally write about the look, but my god - I've never seen so much head linger for so long. It's...perfect.

SMELL: Smells super sweet and rich. Like dense raisin bread. Towards the end of the aroma there's a bright, citrus pungency of orange. Really satisfying decadence.

TASTE: Amazing all around drinking experience. Every facet is perfectly balanced. The sizzling carbonation intensity is impeccably balanced with the amount of flavor. Flavor is mostly bready raisins and caramel. There's a distinct brightness, which counters the typical richness of the double style. Definitely not too sweet. Even better than the aroma. Decadent without being overwhelming. Wonderfully satisfying and YUMMY. There's a faint lingering bitterness towards the end that ads nice additional character.

Strong running for my new favorite beer of all time.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 23:00:51 | More by weazal

BDIMike

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a very dark brown cloudy brew. Not a lot of carbonation, but as usual for a Belgian a huge cream-colored head is created on top of the beer and sits for a long while.
Aroma does not have a lot going on. A bit of sweet sugar smell and dark candy malts.
Taste has a toned down sweetness to it. A strong malt base has a very strong toffee taste to it, make the sweet taste dominate the flavor.
Mouthfeel has a fairly thin consistency. A bit of chewiness as well.
Drinkability is good on this beer. For a beer with 8.8ABV there is not an alcohol taste at all. That makes the beer go down fairly easily.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 21:40:48 | More by BDIMike

Mar02x

Netherlands

3.78/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I tried this beer at the Gambrinus pub in Brugge when I was there with my wife.

A - A very dark red brown ale with a beige/off white head on top, which turns in to a layer.

S - Strong piny hops upfront and there is also caramel, citrus and yeast entering my nose.

T - This beer is light sour, is this supposed to? The body is sweet and wine like, also there are some cherries and caramel flavors noticeable. This beer is rather complex.

M - A medium carbonation, refreshing and a bitter sweet finish.

O - A nice dark ale, but I do not like the sour twist it has.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 20:52:06 | More by Mar02x

yapi

Belgium

4.38/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Well, I'm a sucker for good maltbombs and this is one of them. I have to be honest, I'm reviewing some 3+ year old bottles, cause they are amazing! Had some quite fresh ones that were not as good as the aged versions, but since I mainly drink the aged ones... There's a very dominant chocolate malt character to these that I find amazing, drinks very easy but can get to you very fast; very good belgian strong dark ale, a must in my collection. One of their great brews, together with the very accessible Vicardin tripel Gueuze.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2011 15:55:07 | More by yapi

stakem

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Stubby brown bottle with a best by date of 10/16/11 poured into a goblet. This brew appears a clear brown with some ruby clarity through the middle when held up to the light. Some orange tints around the edges. A creamy tan head sits atop and a light swirl brings back a frothy finger.

The smell is dark and fruity reminiscent of the dopplebock style. Quite a bit of maltiness included in the aroma that comes across nutty and a bit earthy. Some sweet smelling indications of toffee meets caramel. Some hops and alcohol evolve as this brew warms with a floral note.

The taste is earthy with a nutty to toasted grain flavoring. Toffee and caramel provide a base sweetness with a contrasting amount of earthy to herbal hop character. There is a light oxidized aspect imparting a faint touch of cardboard across the back.

This is a medium bodies brew with a modest level of carbonation. Well integrated abv across the board. Some fruity alcohol character gets more noticeable as the beer warms up. Certainly a unique offering that is worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2011 16:04:26 | More by stakem

impending

California

4.45/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A

33cl into a tulip. Pours a deep garnet chestnut, dense mocha colored head is slow to subside, nice lacing.

Aroma reaches from the bottle, sweet dark fruits that are soft and turning. A rich red wine was spilt upon the fruit. Superb

Complexity follows with the flavor. Fairly sweet, near zero bitter, finishes surprisingly slightly dry. No hint of alcohol. Long lasting pleasant aftertaste. Warms well. Full bodied mouthfeel.
Quadish
cheers
jd

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2011 03:27:50 | More by impending

CaptainPiret

Tennessee

4.33/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The brown appearance takes on a deep maroon -- with a slight orange tint -- when held to the light. Thick head that was still very present several minutes after it hit the glass.

The sweetness of the initial smell gave way to grains and some chocolate pretty quickly.

The taste -- wow, what complexity. I got impressions of 4-5 flavors immediately. Everything from very slight sourness, to some oak, a taste of cinnamon, chocolate, and a touch of bitterness at the end.

I got a lot of carbonation in the mouthfeel, adding to the richness of the flavor.

Drinkability is pretty high -- it doesn't feel heavy, and while the flavors are abundant, they don't overpower.

Overall, this is an excellent beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2011 18:31:19 | More by CaptainPiret

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

4.33/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dumpy 33cl brown bottle (best before 8th Apr 2011) poured into a Westmalle chalice on 23 Oct 2010. Some of the sediment got into the glass but it still looked good, ruby red body with an off-white head, a bit thin but still a complete covering throughout the tasting.

The aroma was a mild malty molasses mix with toffee and chocolate coming through, but not an 'in your face' sweet, sickly smell.

Interesting taste, malts dominate, semi-sweet like the aroma but with more coffee and chocolate than the toffee mentioned earlier. Not too sure where the alcohol is being hidden because this isn't a thick or heavy beer. It doesn't even seem to appear as the mouth dries and the hop content leaves a slightly bitter dark chocolate aftertaste in the mouth.

A very drinkable brew although I'm sure the alcohol would come back and get you in the end if you had more than a couple.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2010 20:45:01 | More by BlackHaddock

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this at De Kelk in Brugge, poured into a Generaal glass as a freebie from the owner (Jeroen). It was dark brown color with enough foam to threaten take-over of the rim. The aroma was inviting, mostly malt-related aromas like lightly roasted caramel. Maybe it was a little one dimensional in the maltiness but I was pretty happy with it. The taste was the same, kind of simple in it's sweetness. I should question my tastes because there were plenty of Belgians enjoying the hell out of this beer, and I have to believe these people can recognize a fine malt beverage. More likely I had already had too many beers for the night, so I'll gladly revisit this if I can ever find it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2008 02:36:34 | More by TurdFurgison

tubaguy

Germany

4.72/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

(poured into a chalice from the bottle) Appearance is a dark, caramel brown. When held up to the light a dark orange hue, like the last seconds of a sunset before nightfall. Smells like fruit, chocolate, pepper and sugar. Some lacing. Small head remained throughout. Great carbonation. Taste is exceptional with a complexity that rivals westvleteren. Damn, this tastes good! Like drinking a rich piece of black forrest cake with a spicy kick at the end. Just the right amount of hops. Slight warming sensation from the alcohol. Very well-balanced. A bit chewy on the mouthfeel. Great sipping beer. I'd tried to make this last but it was difficult! My favorite new discovery I brought back from Belgium. My only regret is I didn't buy more. One of the top 10 best beers I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2008 13:14:31 | More by tubaguy

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.08/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Purchased from the Beers of Europe, a quality online beer shop in the UK. BB 03/07/09, served lightly chilled in a large tulip wine glass.

A: pours a deeply dark russet brown, topped with a super thick and frothy reddish-beige head that lasts forever... plus a light carbonation.
S: mild prunes, red dates, lightly vinegary, red beans, faint touch of spice, sour cherries, raisins, cocoa, and burned brown sugar... all packed harmoniously in one sniff, even ringing a bell of fruit-cake! Deep in the background lies a soothing lactose-yeastiness along with mildly fruit-estery notes. Overall, a good integrity is reached b/w diverse aromas, and alc. touch is restrained.
T: a sweet but smooth swallow of dark malts, black dates, red beans, raisins, treacles, sour-sweet chocolates and roasted malts leads towards a faintly licorice, spicy, dryish and semi-chewy bitterness of hops and yeasts. Up until this stage the flavour reminds me of a full-bodied Baltic Porter or Czech Dark Lager with a bit more fruit-esters... For a Belgian dark ale at this strength, I'm surprisied to see such a clean and smooth finish, where the herbal bitter edge lingers elegantly. The only drawback is, as the ale breathes for a while, the body falls a bit thin with a more dominating sugary note and taste.
M&D: the mouthfeel is superb, lively due to microscopic fizziness and full-bodied, neither heavy nor syrupy at all. The mildly spicy touch on top of the lovely bitterness serves to lift up the overall fruity and malty theme a little. Plus, it's dangerously drinkable in that not a single trace of alc. is felt even in my throat... A really good ale that deserves slow sipping and respect.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2008 22:16:22 | More by wl0307

ROMER79

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Well to taste this beer I was extremely lucky. I made friends with a guy who owns a bar in Philadelphia who went to Belgium. He brought back a good amount from the trip and this was one beer that we had tried.
It poured a dark brown with a one finger tan head. Right after the initial pour you could smell chocolate, caramel, and hints of sour cherries. The taste was the same maybe with a little hint of coffee. I found this beer to be very drinkable. It had a great balance of all the right flavors. A little hops in there as well. I would definitely find this beer and drink it again!

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2008 21:13:09 | More by ROMER79

paterlodie

Belgium

3.95/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

BB 22-08-2008, botteled 3 years before. poor in with good and lasting head and a darkbrown beercolor. Nose is fresh, lots of dark candy, good maltyness, slightly hoppy and a rose like yeastparfume. Taste is also lots of candy, caramelic, very dry, slight hint of sourness, alcoholic and bitter. Overal fresh and clean but missing IMO a litle body. Good carbonisation and balanced taste makes moutfeel still quiet good but could have some more maltyness and fuller body. Still a enjoyable and easily drinking brew( on 8.8%!) that I like to see again in future.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2005 15:04:45 | More by paterlodie

UCLABrewN84

California

3.6/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Lucky Baldwin’s Delirium Cafe in Sierra Madre, CA.

Pours a murky dark brown with a foamy bone colored head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, fruit, wood, and some slight vinegar aromas. Taste is much the same with a woody finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that smells better than it tastes in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

08-14-2012 01:10:33 | More by UCLABrewN84

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.95/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

All three beer were on tap at max's tonight, so figured I might as well go for the trifecta.

The beer pours a brownish amber color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is attractive as well, imparting some nice cola aroma, some cherry and a hint of citrus. Given the nose, the flavor profile caught me off guard. The beer is fairly dry, and I'm picking up prunes, orange citrus, some brown sugar and perhaps a kiss of anise. This is really a very ood beer, and while it's not terrible, by any means, the combination of flavors just isn't my cup of tea. Still, it's hard not to be impressed by what I'm getting in this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a fairly long finish. Unfortunately, it's just not entirely pleasing to me. Alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, though you can tell this is not exactly a low alcohol beer.

Interesting beer, even if it's not exactly my cup of tea.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2012 23:57:01 | More by johnmichaelsen

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.28/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from tap into a Trappe Door tulip. Poured a massively deep red-orange with a three finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, bread, tart, sour cherries, and sour. The flavor was of sweet malt, roasted malt, sour cherries, earth, and wood. It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. There was something a little off-putting here as the aroma smelled like it was going to be sour/tart, but the flavor was very light and more earthy than anything else. This fact made it a little hard to enjoy for me but it was still drinkable. Glad I got the chance to try this one, but doubt I will go out of my way to next time.

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2012 12:19:35 | More by thagr81us

drtth

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a nonic glass. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically.

Appearance: As served the beer is lightly hazed reddish brown color with a 1/16” light tan head that leaves a moderate amount of lacing on the glass as it soon recedes.

Smell: The aroma is mostly dark caramel and dark fruits with touches of spices.

Taste: The sweetness in the flavor is more like brown sugar than caramel and there is a mélange of fruits with no particular one standing out. The yeast is clearly Belgian. Neither the hops nor the alcohol are prominent in any way.

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied with light carbonation. The finish is medium in length and shows both a bit of sweetness and some bready character, finishing with a touch of bitterness and dryness.

Drinkability and Overall Impression: I’ve enjoyed sipping my way through this one. While I don’t really think it is outstanding, my overall impression is that this is a good workman like beer that is indeed a good choice for sipping during dinner and an evening with friends.

Serving type: on-tap

12-14-2011 18:38:33 | More by drtth

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at TJ's, Paoli, PA

As the tap list indicated, this beer is a dubbel, not a Belgian strong ale.

Poured into a stem glass, a dark chestnut brown with red hues, and a luscious, creamy tan head that retained well, and left nice stratified lacing on the glass. Eye candy for sure. Caramel and toffee in the nose, scents of fruit and yeast. Taste followed the aroma, with delicious bready malts, toffee, brown sugar, cocoa, raisins and cherries, topped off with Belgian yeast and a bit of nice earthy and herbal hoppage. Medium mouthfeel, full of flavor, extremely velvety smooth, and went down easy. Very nice overall.

Serving type: on-tap

12-11-2011 12:35:23 | More by Rifugium