Dubbel vs Dark Strong (Quad)
Belgian Dubbel and Belgian Dark Strong Ale (Belgian Quad)
Rochefort 6 (Dubbel), Chimay Premiere (Dubbel), Westmalle Dubbel, Rochefort 10 (Quad), Chimay Grande Reserve (Quad), St.Bernardus Abt 12 (Quad)
I’ve been dying to do this matchup for a while since Dubbel and Quad are so similar and I confuse them a lot. I struggled at first but think I finally got to the bottom of it:
The Quads were much more bitter than expected! Dubbels and Quads aren’t bitter beers, but there’s clear bitterness on the palate and finish with the Quads that wasn’t present in the Dubbels. The exception I found in this exercise was Chimay Grande Reserve, which lacked the bitterness of the other Quads and was on par with the Dubbels. I was consistently mixing up Westmalle Dubbel and Chimay GR when looking for bitterness.
The backup to testing for bitterness was testing for alcohol warmth, and that’s what helped me differentiate them. The best way to do this (for me) is to take a very quick sip and exhale retronasally or out of your mouth quickly after swallowing. That’s the best way I’ve found to induce the alcohol warming sensation. When testing Westmalle Dubbel vs Chimay GR Quad, there was a clear warming sensation in the Quad that the Dubbel lacked. Dubbels are usually around 7% where Quads are typically around 9%. Thinking about 7% beers I’ve had, I don’t remember a ton of warming, but warmth would be expected in a 9% beer. Be careful if your Dubbel warms up! This tricked me big time as the warming sensation got emphasized as I let the Dubbel sit for too long.
Another clue is residual sweetness: after swallowing, there is some residual sweetness left on the palate with the Quads not present after swallowing the Dubbels. This is tricky though, since both are pretty dry. With some practice I was getting it consistently.
Regarding the Dubbels- it helped to pay attention to the finish. They are much drier and effervescent compared to the Quads. Thinking of the body/mouthfeel/finish of a Dubbel akin to a strong Amber ale was helpful for me. Compared to the Quads, which lingered on the palate, the Dubbel’s finish was much more disappear-in-your-mouth. In addition to the finish being similar to a stronger Amber ale, the malt aroma and flavor were similar too- dark pie crust, browned bread, and toffee.
TLDR: Alcohol warmth on retronasal/mouth exhale + bitterness=Quad. Lacking upfront/lingering bitterness + lacking warmth=Dubbel.
