Kapittel Watou Dubbel

Fiona and I went out to Chez Moeder Lambic last night. It’s an amazing little beer bar in the St Gilles district -- just around the corner from us -- which seems to be little more than a dense fog of cigarette smoke and row after row of empty bottles lining the walls. They’ve got a beer list with hundreds of brands, and when we first walked in, I looked into the crowd of maybe thirty and couldn’t see two people drinking the same beer. Incredible.

Thumbing through the list, I settled upon Kapittel Watou Dubbel. It pours dark with a big head. The aroma and first sip seems rich, with caramel and dates. But it then morphs in the mouth to a slightly metallic taste and aftertaste.

It’s quite strange: it initially gets you excited that you are going to enjoy something big and complex, but then it lets you down, not being nearly as full flavoured as you expect.

However, curiouser still, it did grow on me in a way. The metallic taste seemed to disappear once it warmed up. I’m left not knowing whether to praise this beer or to bury it. I suspect it was served too cold.

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