As soon as the cork popped you could smell beer-y goodness coming off of this Dubbel which was a good sign.  The carbonation was the traditional fine type you find in Belgian beers and it was on the aggressive side.  The mouth-feel was medium with some prickliness from the aggressive carbonation.  The flavor,... the flavor was a bit harder to pin down as it seemed to taste a little different with every sip.  It had light caramel malt then some more pronounced dark fruitiness with dryness on the backend.  Some bitterness and some bizarre tanginess which I think was caused, at least in part, by alcohol burn through and perhaps also by the carbonation but at any rate, it was actually the most pleasant alcohol burn through I've ever come across.  Prior 8 is actually pretty smooth which is a bit of a surprise for a Dubbel with such aggressive carbonation.  Ultimately, this beer is understated, so I'd actually say this skews towards the subtle side, but that is something I like, as long as decent flavor is present, and this certainly has pleasant flavor.  It seems like as it warms you get more of the caramel malt and less of the dark fruit, not that there is anything wrong with that.

Bottle Cap

Brewery Website

BeerTripper Rating

http://www.sintbernardus.be/

Alcohol Concentration

8.00

Dubbel

Ale