Affligem Tripel

This week I have yet another Trappist Beer from Belgium, called Affligem. I am getting closer and closer to finishing off the list of Trappist Beers, I only have a couple left and then I will have to resort to drinking Belgian-Style ales or other types of beer... I think that if I get to the point where I am only left with cheap American Beers and Mexican Beers, I will just start over! This Trappist has a very nice (Flash driven) website, check it out at: http://www.affligembeer.be/
I decided to go with their Tripel, I prefer most Tripels to most Dubbel. The dubbels are usually darker (which I do like), but also usually less flavorful (which I definitely do not like). Unfortunately at the moment the "Jobs" section of the abbey's website is empty, but I will be checking periodically to see if they have a Q&A opening. :D

Now for the review... This beer is a little darker then most Belgian Tripels, and poured very nicely. The head of the beer unfortunately didn't last very long (about 3 minutes), but the color was a nice beautiful white. This beer has a wonderful citrus smell and the first sip threw me off guard, the combination of citrus and the normal Belgian alcoholic flavor, makes this a wonderful sweet beer. I am giving this 4/5 stars, I will have to try this side by side with Tripel Karmeliet, this is definitely a contender for the best tasting tripel of all time. Unfortunately the last time I had the Tripel Karmeliet from the Trappist down the street, I was not as impressed as I usually am... but to defend the leader, it might have been a bad keg or dirty lines that made the beer taste less flavorful and sweet. I got this guy at a definite bargain, I paid $8.45 at the local Whole Foods (Which makes it the cheapest by volume Trappist Beer I have purchased from them) for a 750ml bottle.


See you at the bar! :D

Rochefort 10

Well, this week has gone by so quickly that it seems like just yesterday I was writing another Belgian Beer Sundays review. Today's Belgian Beer of choice is another Trappist beer, Rochefort 10, the most alcoholic of the Rochefort beers. They offer a 6,8, and 10, the alcohol by volume measurements are 7.5%, 9.2%, and 11.3%. Each grade is slightly darker than the last, 10 being the darkest of them all. Let me give you guys some details about the Rochefort Brewery:

Founded in 1595 in Rochefort Belgium, produces about 18,000 hl's of beer per year. Here is a link to the official website of the Abbey: http://www.abbaye-rochefort.be/

Here is a picture of the official glass of the Abbey.



Now for the review:

This Belgian Beer was picked up at my local Whole Foods, for $5.45 for a 12oz bottle. This beer pours very well, but the head didn't last but one to two minutes. This beer has a very potent smell, with a pronounced alcoholic smell that lingers for quite a while. This beer has a wonderful flavor that starts off with the flavor or nuts and fruit. The reviews I read for this beer said that they tasted figs in this beer, but in my opinion its flavor is much more smokey than fruit. As with most Belgian Beers there is a very distinct alcoholic flavor at the end, that sticks around for quite-a-while. I will give this 4/5 stars, this is by far the best Trappist Belgian Beer I have had, but it is not the best Belgian Beer I have had, so it doesn't warrant a whole five stars. I had the Rochefort 8 at the Trappist (A nice Belgian Bar in Oakland CA), it wasn't nearly as good as this one. I wish that they sold this in 750ml, I would purchase this beer more often if it came in a larger bottle.

Well, have a good long weekend as tomorrow is Presidents Day and most of us have the day off. Maybe you can take this chance to get to the bar and have a beer.


See you at the bar!

La Trappe - Quadrupel

Hello Everyone, its Belgian Beer Sunday's again and I have a good one today. This weeks choice is "La Trappe", another Belgian Trappist Beer, produced under the supervision of Trappist Monks. This time I decided to go with a Quadrupel, which I didn't even know existed till I saw it on the shelf earlier today. This beer is the strongest beer that La Trappe produces and its aged an extra long time in Oak Barrels.

This beer has a beautiful amber color and a sweet dark aroma. It pours very well and retains a nice white head for a few minutes. The first sip was flavorful with hints of fruit and ended with a nice alcoholic bitter taste at the end. I give this nice lad 4/5 stars when it comes to Belgian Beers. The price was the same as any other Belgian Trappist Beer, weighing in at about $10.50 for the 350ml bottle you see in the picture. Not at all heavy and very easy to drink, you wouldn't need to have this guy with chocolate, but it might help to reset your palette, so you can taste the fruity undertones over and over again. Next week I am going to break away from Belgian Trappist Beers and try something a tad bit more main stream, stay tuned.


See you at the bar!

La Chouffe - Mc Chouffe

La Chouffe is a Belgian-style ale brewing company was opened in 1970 by two brother in-laws, on a very small budget (roughly 5,000 Euros). The first batch of commercially available La Chouffe was created in August of 1982 and was about 49 liters in size.

Mc Chouffe is an un-filtered dark ale that is re-fermented in both the bottle and the Keg. This beer is very dark (as you can tell from the image), but has a very subtle flavor. I give this beer 3/5 stars (as I usually prefer lighter belgian beers). This beer has subtle flavors of fruit and a distinct alcohol flavor toward the end. I would think this would be a good after diner beer, as it is sweet and full of fruit flavor.

This beer I received from a friend, whom I helped with her car, but you can find it at Whole Foods for just about $10.


See you at the bar!