Belgian Double beer

Belgian Double beer

‘Double’ beers are usually associated with dark beers. And, although in general they are indeed brown, it is not a required criteria for a double.

This mixture comes to us from Westmalle Abbey, on which everyone has aligned. In fact when the Westmalle Tripel came out, it became obvious that the doubles would be dark beers and the triples lagers.

A proof of this is the pre-war name of the Westmalle Dubbel which was "Dubbel Bruin" (read double brown in Dutch).

But it is true that in general, the beers covered in this style are brown. The appellation is actually more historical than in relation to the beer itself. The categorization of the different beers was done in relation to the customers, who were going to consume them. The single being the beer of the common people, the double for the bourgeois class and the triple was reserved for aristocrats or high ecclesiastical officials.

Doubles are characterized by a pasting that is longer than the single; which gives it a little more body and sugar. This sugar will be transformed during fermentation, which will have the effect of increasing the alcohol level. Overall, the real difference between these styles is that in the past it was more about the category of the beer than the style of beer itself. The confusion is real because there has been no change in the name, while society has greatly evolved in terms of equality between men.