Maredsous - Double 8 and Triple 10

This is my second installment of Belgian Beer Sundays, so I thought I would try something new... I was eating brunch at one of my favorite restaurants (Luka's Taproom) that serves brunch in Downtown Oakland, I noticed that they had a few Belgian Beers on tap. They had Chimay Red (which I have had on many occasions), Maredsous 8 (which I tried for the first time today), St. Bernardus 12 (which I have never tried). I didn't feel like something very alcoholic, so I went with the Maredsous 8, which is a Belgian Dubble. For those interested in pronouncing the belgian beer titles correctly, Maredsous is pronounced "Ma-red-sue".

As I have said before I am not very fond of Belgian Dubbles, but this one was actually very nice. It wasn't very heavy like most dubbles, and it had subtle hints of caramel and chocolate. It was a tad bit more alcoholic than I was expecting (8% ABV) and I could definitely taste the alcohol in every sip. I haven't really had many Belgian Dubbles, but I think this is the best one I have tasted so far. As I didn't write this review while I was drinking this beer, I figured that I would purchase another Maredsous. Here is a nice photo of the special glass that this nice dark Belgian came in and in the background is the Luka's Taproom Bar.

I purchased Maredsous Triple 10 for just about $10 for a bottle at Whole Foods (which is about average for a nice Belgian triple or Double). The cork on this beer had a nice printed picture of ivy and roses (I didn't mention it earlier, but I was disappointed that the Kwak that I tried didn't have anything printed on the cork). This beer pours very nicely and had a nice head of foam without pouring vigorously. The head was a very nice white and lingered for about 5 minutes after the initial pour. This beer is a tad bit darker than most triples I have tried. There are subtle hints of citrus when you take a nice whiff and various spices when you take a swig. I would have to give this beer 3/5 stars when it comes to Belgian Triples. This beer has a good distinct lingering flavor that lasts through the whole bottle. If you are a Belgian Beer fan (I personally prefer Triples), give this beer a try, its not as flavorful as some other Triples, but its nice orange color, citrus smell and body, are worth a taste.




As always, if anyone has any suggestions, post a comment, I would be happy to review your suggestions.

See you at the bar!