Dubbel beers were first brewed by Trappist monks in the abbey of Westmalle in 1856, as a darker & stronger version of the other abbey beers of the time. They became popular after the Second World War & are imitated all over the world to this day. However, it is only the true Belgian dubbels such as St Bernadus Prior 8 that retain the understated bitterness, fairly heavy body, pronounced fruitiness & cereal character of the original pioneering drink.