For those of you who love Trappist beers, this should interest you.
Last February, I got together with three other friends to do one hell of a Trappist tasting.
We tasted the following beers:
Orval
Achel: Bruin 8, Extra 8
Rochefort: 6, 8, 10
Westmalle: Dubbel, Tripel
Westvleteren: Blonde, 8, 12
Chimay: Red, Blue, White
The only one we didn't have was La Trappe, which is fairly new.
One of the guys who tasted with us is a Beer Judge with a Master ranking.
We didn't rank all the beers from best to worst. In the end all we cared about were the top 5.
I apologize in advance for the simplistic, incomplete tasting notes. They are really just a small compilation of the main points we made about each beer. We were not really hung up about all the different aspects of each beer. We just wanted to narrow it down to what we all thought were the best Trappist brews.
1. Westvleteren 8
Amazing. This was the best one by far. Sweet then dry. Reminds you of pecan pie. Gentle alcohol. Many complex layers of flavor and aroma. When you walk into Heaven this is what they will hand you when you ask for a drink. A very special beer.
2. Westmalle Tripel
Yeasty, fruity, fun. Ripe apple and lots of pear.
3. Westmalle Dubbel
Candy cherry and plum aroma and taste. Full and clean. Very fun.
4. Orval
Very dry. Musty. Brettanomyces is definitely there. Slight horse blanket. Cooked apple aroma. The nicest surprise of the lot.
5. Chimay White
Apple. Clovey. A little mousy. Very nice.
I think its interesting to note that the Rocheforts and the Westvleteren 12 didn't even make it into the top 5. Rochefort was totally unimpressive and the Westy 12 was harsh and lacking character.
~Airtight
Last February, I got together with three other friends to do one hell of a Trappist tasting.
We tasted the following beers:
Orval
Achel: Bruin 8, Extra 8
Rochefort: 6, 8, 10
Westmalle: Dubbel, Tripel
Westvleteren: Blonde, 8, 12
Chimay: Red, Blue, White
The only one we didn't have was La Trappe, which is fairly new.
One of the guys who tasted with us is a Beer Judge with a Master ranking.
We didn't rank all the beers from best to worst. In the end all we cared about were the top 5.
I apologize in advance for the simplistic, incomplete tasting notes. They are really just a small compilation of the main points we made about each beer. We were not really hung up about all the different aspects of each beer. We just wanted to narrow it down to what we all thought were the best Trappist brews.
1. Westvleteren 8
Amazing. This was the best one by far. Sweet then dry. Reminds you of pecan pie. Gentle alcohol. Many complex layers of flavor and aroma. When you walk into Heaven this is what they will hand you when you ask for a drink. A very special beer.
2. Westmalle Tripel
Yeasty, fruity, fun. Ripe apple and lots of pear.
3. Westmalle Dubbel
Candy cherry and plum aroma and taste. Full and clean. Very fun.
4. Orval
Very dry. Musty. Brettanomyces is definitely there. Slight horse blanket. Cooked apple aroma. The nicest surprise of the lot.
5. Chimay White
Apple. Clovey. A little mousy. Very nice.
I think its interesting to note that the Rocheforts and the Westvleteren 12 didn't even make it into the top 5. Rochefort was totally unimpressive and the Westy 12 was harsh and lacking character.
~Airtight