Tag Archives: trappist

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Dubbel, Belgium, Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle

Westmalle Dubbel

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Brewery: Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Dubbel
Other Notes: Trappist beer. As per the website, the larger 75cl bottles mature differently to the 33cl bottles. They say that in the larger bottles, you will notice a more subtle aftertaste.

Brewer Description: (from website) Westmalle Dubbel is a dark, reddish-brown Trappist beer with a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The creamy head has the fragrance of special malt and leaves an attractive lace pattern in the glass. The flavour is rich and complex, herby and fruity with a fresh-bitter finish. It is a balanced quality beer with a soft feel in the mouth and a long, dry aftertaste. The Dubbel contains 7% alcohol.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.66
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 24th July 2016 and poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark brown colour with a slight reddish hue and a two finger beige head that slowly settles to a nice thin but creamy puffy layer while leaving nice curtain lacing.
Aroma: Strong dark fruits with cherry, plum, prune, raisin, grape and a hint of banana, toffee and caramel in the background.
Taste: Some toffee and caramel before a blast of lightly sweet dark stone fruits, cherry, plum, grape, fig and raisin.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to full bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Excellent Dubbel, excellent beer. Nice complexity and balance in the aromas and taste and is definitely a must buy beer for me.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Dubbel, Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V., Netherlands

La Trappe Dubbel

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Brewery: Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V.
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Dubbel
Other Notes: Trappist beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Discover this genuine dark Trappist beer, with a gentle, flavour, creamy head and pronounced bouquet.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of July 2016, poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a deep dark brown / amber colour with a one finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly but left nice lacing.
Aroma: Raisins, dried cherry, toasted malts, caramel, toffee and bubblegum.
Taste: Sweet dark stone fruits of plum, prunes, raisin and cherry, grape juice, banana and a light toffee finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very nice Dubbel that is tasty and easy to drink.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Belgium, Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

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Brewery: Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10%
Style: Belgian Quadrupel

Brewer Description: (from website) St.Bernardus Christmas Ale is a dark seasonal brewed in the classic ‘Quadrupel’ style of Belgium’s best Abbey Ales. (10,0 % ABV) Similar to all the beers from our brewery, it greets the drinker with the signature aroma of the St.Bernardus house yeast strain (in use since 1946!) Rivaling the complexity of the St.Bernardus Abt 12, St,Bernardus Christmas Ale offers a spicy, mint-like flavour profile exuding the tastes of warming alcohol, fermented molasses, apricots, licorice and marzipan that are highlighted by the perfect balance of brewing sugars.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 30th July 2018, poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark brown colour with a two finger creamy puffy beige head that dissipated slowly to a nice half finger puffy cap that gives nice curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Nice dark fruit cherry, plum, prunes and raisin with hints of apple, banana and spice pepper.
Taste: Much like the aromas, there’s candied sugar, apricot, cherry, fig, plum and hints of banana. Caramel and toffee comes out as it warms. The alcohol is there but does not affect the taste and is slightly stronger when warm.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: Not quite Abt 12 but it is still a great beer from this Trappist brewery that I would buy again next year.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Belgium, Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV

St. Bernardus Tripel

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Brewery: Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Tripel

Brewer Description: (from website) St. Bernardus Tripel is a traditional abbey ale brewed in the classic “Triple” style of Belgium’s best Abbey Ales. It has a blond to pale amber color with a wonderful head, slightly sweet aroma and the orangey-grassy flavors of hops in the finish. Wonderfully drinkable and surprisingly light.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: Bought this 330ml bottle from Bangkok, Thailand and took it back to Hong Kong in my suitcase as mostly can only find the Abt 12 quad version in Hong Kong. It has a best before date of 7th August 2016 and was poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy murky dark gold colour with one finger creamy white head that has great retention but leaves a nice set of stringy lacing.
Aroma: Mainly floral and citrus lemon and lime aromas along with some bready buscuit malt.
Taste: Taste is sweet fruity pear and some caramelised banana, maybe even banana bread. The bready malts come through and the finish is slightly bitter and peppery.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium to high carbonation and somewhat dry.
Overall: This is a pretty good tripel but not my favourite. I still prefer the La Trappe and Westmalle versions more as this was less fruity overall.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Belgium, Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle

Westmalle Tripel

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Brewery: Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Country: Belgium
ABV: 9.5%
Style: Tripel
Other Notes: As per the website, the larger 75cl bottles mature differently to the 33cl bottles. They say that in the larger bottles, the fruit flavours are softer, riper and there’s also a hint of vanilla.

Brewer Description: (from Westmalle website) Westmalle Tripel is a clear, golden yellow Trappist beer that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle (9,5% alcohol). It is a complex beer with a fruity aroma and a nice nuanced hop scent. It is soft and creamy in the mouth, with a bitter touch carried by the fruity aroma. An exceptional beer, with a great deal of finesse and elegance. And with a splendid long aftertaste.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: The 33cl bottle had a best before date of 23rd July 2016 and was poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden straw colour with a white head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving thin soapy like lacing.
Aroma: There were aromas of bready malts, caramelised banana, candied sugar, slight bubblegum ending with lemon sour?
Taste: Tastes of sweet bready malts, orange, pear maybe some lingering banana ending with some slight alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with nice carbonation. Creamy and also somewhat sticky.
Overall: This was a decent tripel. The best thing about it was its look especially the thin soapy lacing. The taste itself was decent, but nothing too special either.

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