Brewery: Alkan-Maes/Heineken
Location: Jumet, Belgium (according to RateBeer)
ABV: see text
Version: bottles
Source: Tesco, The Vineyard

I had originally intended to post a round up of the Belgian beers to be found in the major UK supermarket chains but then I popped into Belfast’s fine beer stockist The Vineyard and found another couple of Grimbergens. So instead I decided to compare the four of those I now had – Blonde, Dubbel, Triple and Optimo Bruno.

The abbey at Grimbergen was founded in 1128 by Saint Norbert and became well known over the years for its hospitality to visitors, including offering home-made beer. Destroyed several times by fire and rebuilt, the abbey adopted the phoenix as its emblem, and this prominently adorns the bottle labels. The abbey also has a beer museum. (Source – Google translation of the dedicated French website, also available in Dutch).

So, on with the tastings, and the first two should be readily available in most Tesco stores. The Blonde is a mid gold colour, with a light hoppy, herby aroma and 6.7% alcohol. Taste is quite restrained and tame, in comparison to others of the style I’ve had – fruity hops, bit zesty with an underlying dryness, hint of orange and herbs, but still quite smooth and easy drinking, with a lingering light hoppy finish. It’s just a bit too light for any lasting appeal to me, but it would probably serve as a fine starting point for those just beginning to dip their taste buds in the abbey beer world.

The 6.5% Dubbel is a red tinted dark brown, and gives off a dried fruit aroma, with warm, malty notes. There’s more malt in the flavour, which is still quite restrained, with elements of treacle, dark chocolate and raisins, and a touch of bitterness in the finish. Not up there with the best dubbels, it’s still reasonable, and like the blonde I reckon it would serve as a decent enough intro for newcomers to the style.

Next up, the Triple. Dark gold with an amber glow, there’s loads of bubbles, with an aroma dominated by oranges and sugar, and some floral notes. It tastes like a citrus fruit punch with some bananas, and a load of sugar dumped in, but oddly I didn’t think it was overly sweet, managing to stay on the acceptable side, just about. Considering the 9% strength it’s quite easy going, laid-back but not lazy, but still demands not to be rushed. Much better than the blonde for those, like me, who find that one just a bit too tame.

And so on to the Optimo Bruno, a dark brown 10% monster that means business from the start. Crack open the bottle and first impressions are…not much. Other than cola there’s very little to the aroma, until it’s poured and left to settle. Then I got caramel, dried fruit, plums and cherries. From the first sip it’s clear this is a strong one, with a rush of sugary sweetness quickly followed by spiciness. I got toffee, plums, raisins and liquorice in there as well, before my taste buds were overwhelmed by the syrupy, cloying sweetness. Less of that last bit would make this more to my taste.

So overall, of these four the one I’d most likely go back to is the Triple, which is an unusual choice for me, as based on what I’ve had before it should really be the Dubbel. I can see me getting the occasional Dubbel as it’s so easy to find, and sometimes I just want to be able to shove a few decent beers in the trolley along with the rest of the groceries without the need for a trip to a specialist off-licence. But to be honest, none of them are likely to be regular purchases, there are much better abbey/trappist beers out there.