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Dubbel – The monastery beer

Dubbel is a so-called monastery beer. This means that the style is traditionally brewed in Trappist monasteries in Belgium. But the style has also fascinated brewers outside the monastery walls and is now brewed all over the world. Get to know the beer better here.

Dubbel is unique among dark beers. Unlike its dark brothers, the beer has a certain elegance. It is also one of the world's most complex dark beers. The beer has its unique character for two reasons: Belgian yeast and candy sugar.

Belgian yeast

Dubbel is brewed with Belgian yeast. Similar to yeast used for beers such as Ale, Porter and Stout, Belgian yeast produces aromas of fruit. It also offers aromas of herbs and spices. This helps to give the beer a complex character.

Candy sugar

Dark beer mostly gets its colour from malt that has been roasted. This can give slightly burnt aromas such as coffee and dark chocolate, which is often found in styles such as Porter and Stout. Often, so-called caramel malt is used (where the sugar in the malt is caramelized) which also gives a certain sweetness to the beer. This is typical of styles such as Brown Ale and Bock. Dubbel, on the other hand, traditionally gets its colour from dark candy sugar. This means that the brewer uses light malt and adds a dark syrup for colour. An important consequence of this is that the beer gets more delicate aromas of caramel, raisins and nuts rather than strong and burnt aromas of coffee and chocolate. Another important consequence is that Dubbel, despite its sweet aromas, is drier than other dark beer styles. The candy sugar is added before fermentation and is easier to ferment into alcohol than malt sugar. This absence of sweetness helps to give Dubbel a certain elegance. Incidentally, the colour of Dubbel is lighter and more reddish brown compared to, for example, Stout. The bitterness is, like other Belgian beers, subdued.

A reflective monk in a brown robe

In short, Dubbel is a dark beer with complex aromas and, despite its fullness and high alcohol, a certain elegance from the absence of sweetness. If Stout, with its black colour, bitterness and strong, burnt aroma, can be compared to a powerful and stout vessel, Dubbel, with its dryness, complexity and slightly lighter brown colour, can be compared to a reflective monk in a brown robe.