Trappist summary

I have now tried beers from all of the trappist breweries. I'm still missing a few beers but so far this is a summary of my scores:

Achel 8 Blonde - 3,9/5
Achel 8 Bruine - 4,2/5

Chimay White - 4,1/5
Chimay Red - 3,4/5
Chimay Blue 2008 - 3,9/5
Chimay Blue 2009 - 4,4/5 (Best in test)

La Trappe Blond - 3,5/5
La Trappe Bockbier - 3,4/5
La Trappe Dubbel - 4/5
La Trappe Trippel - 3,5/5
La Trappe Quadrupel - 3,7/5
La Trappe Witte Trappist - 3,6/5

Orval - 4,2/5 (Personal favorite, keeps getting re-rated as I try more of it)

Rochefort 6 - 4,1/5
Rochefort 8 - 4,2/5
Rochefort 10 - 4,4/5 (Best in test)

Westmalle Dubbel - 4,1/5
Westmalle Trippel - 3,7/5

Westvleteren 6/Blond - 3,5/5
Westvleteren Extra 8 - 4,3/5
Westvleteren 12 - 4,2/5

Rochefort 10 and Chimay Blue 1999 are the best beers in this test and now that I think back that feels just right. Both of them gave me one of thoose 'WOW!" feelings.

Now lets see which has been my favorite trappist brewery. A bit unfair since I have tried allot more of some breweries. But here is the average score for each brewery:

Rochefort 4,23/5
Orval 4,2/5
Achel 4,05/5
Westvleteren 4/5
Chimay 3,95/5
Westmalle 3,9/5
La Trappe 3,62/5

Looks almost like I would put it. But I think I would switch place with Westvleteren and Achel. Rochefort and Orval are two beers that I tend to buy at Systembolaget when I got nothing else to buy (news for instance). They are my go-to beers when all else fails. La Trappe gets a slightly unfair low average score due to having more beers represented.

I decided to not include the Urthel beers even though they are brewed at the same brewery as the La Trappe beers. However I wasn't very impressed by thoose beers anyway. I also have a bottle of La Trappe Isid'or in storage but I will have to wait with reviewing that beer for now.

Chimay, part 2

Chimay Blue 2008 (Bottle) 9%
It poured a very dark red hazy liquid with a medium sized light brown foam.

It had a smell of yeast, ripe fruit, apples, oranges and nuts.

The mouthfeel was smooth with a thick body and a medium amount of carbonation. It had a taste of caramell, ripe fruit, plums, yeast and something sweet. Complex and nice beer.
Total: 3,9/5Chimay Blue 1999 (Bottle) 9%
It looked almost exactly the same as the 2008 version the biggest differenc was the foam. 1999 had a nicer looking foam with some craters and big bubbles.

It had a stronger smell compared to the 2008, fruity with red berries.

The mouthfeel was smoother with just the slightest sting from the low carbonation. It had a medium body and a low bitterness. It tasted sweet and fruity with red berries, ripe fruit, wood, nuts, vanilla and other spices. A very nice beer, complex and great smell and taste. Best of the four bottles I tried.
Total: 4,4/5

The 1999 version was allot better then the 2008 one, I wonder if it is just through maturing in the bottle or if there is something else. If it has been stored in any special way or anything done to the recipe. If it's just about storing I'm going to buy a couple of bottles and store for 10 years. Anybody got any more info on this?

Chimay, part 1

Chimay is the last of the trappist breweries for me to rate. I will post a summary in a few days. I managed to get 4 bottles of their beer, the white, red and blue bottles including one from 1999.

The monks at Abbaye de Scourmount has been brewing beer and making cheeses since 1862. I've tried one of their cheeses and it was amazing. Apparently they wash it in Chimay beer. It smells a bit like sweaty feet but the taste was extraordinary. To bad I couldn't get any before this tasting, but if I'm lucky there will be some at next years Belgofest in Uppsala.

Chimay Triple/White (Bottle) 8%
It poured hazy orange liquid with a huge icecream looking foam that rose like a mountain above the rim of the glass. As it receded it left little craters and lots of lacing along the side of the glass. This is a great look for a beer, very appealing.

It had a fairly strong smell of yeast, oranges, other citrus fruits, malt and a hint of hops. There where some more smells which I couldn't quite place.

The mouthfeel was smooth, despite a medium amount of carbonation. It had a medium body and medium bitterness. It tasted similar to what it smelled, yeast, oranges, citrus and a hint of hops. Not very sweet, a bit dry and felt complex. There where more tastes that I couldn't put my finger on. I really enjoyed this beer. Great looks, great smell and great taste, a very nice beer.
Total: 4,1/5
Chimay Red (Rouge) (Bottle) 7%
It poured a dark hazy reddish liquid wiht a medium sized dirty white foam that dissapeared very fast. So fast it dissapeared before I had a chance to take a picture of it.

It had a sweet smell of caramell, spices and wood.

The mouthfeel was fairly smooth with a medium amount of carbonation. It had a medium body and a low bitterness. It had a sweet taste of caramell, vanilla, tea, sugar and wood. Not as complex and interesting as the white one.
Total: 3,4/5

I have one Red bottle left that I will save for a few years and try later. Unfortunately it's not part of the standard suppy at Systembolaget anymore. Tomorrow I will review the two Blue bottles.

Testing Achel

Achel is the last trappist brewery for me to taste but the second last for me to rate. During SBWF 2009 I managed to get my hands on their Bruin. But they where all out of their other beers.

Achel 8 Bruin (bottle) 8%
It poured a dark hazy brown liquid with a white foam that lasted a long while.

The smell was srong with yeast, pepper and other spices.

It had a smooth mouthfeel, and tasted of yeast, caramell and spices. It felt round and very well balanced. A very nice beer.
Total: 4,2/5

Last saturday when I visited Bishops Arms I managed to get my hands on their Blonde.
Achel 8 Blonde (bottle) 8%
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a big white foam that left allot of lacing. Also some yeast in the bottle that dissapeared when I poured it.

It had a fruity smell of oranges, apples and yeast.

The mouthfeel was stingy with a high carbonation, which hid the flavours at first. But after swirling it around a bit it got better and the beer started to blossom. The fruits where the first come out and I noticed some citrus, oranges in particular and apples. It also had a yeast taste.

Once again a nice beer but the Bruin was better, would have been fun to try them side by side though.
Total: 3,9/5

Now I have rated beers from all the trappist breweries except for Chimay. But I got four bottles waiting in storage. I just need the right opportunity to try them.

SBWF 2009, part 5

After our extended stay at Oliver Twist we headed over to Galatea to try some trappist. I had already seen that they had some beer from La Trappe that I hadn't tried before. I tested a bunch of La Trappe beers in this post. While testing I had the pleasure of meeting some guys from Strömsholms Brygghus. Unfortunately I got a bit distracted so I didn't have a chance to chat very long with them. Here's a picture of three happy beer lovers:

La Trappe Bockbier (bottle) 7%
It poured a hazy dark brown liquid with a small light brown foam. It had a fairly weak smell of yeast and spices. It had allot of carbonation and a taste of spices, caramell and yeast. An ok beer.
Total: 3,4/5
La Trappe Witte Trappist (bottle) 5,5%
It poured a hazy pale yellow liquid with a white foam. It smelled and tasted of yeast, coriander and spices.
Total: 3,3/5

La Trappe Blond (bottle) 6,5%
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small white foam that left some lacing. It had a spicey smell with some yeast. It had a smooth mouthfeel and had a taste of yeast and spices. Quite alright beer.
Total: 3,5/5

Liefmans Goudenband (bottle) 8%
Total: 3,4/5

Vedett Extra White (bottle) 4,7%
Total: 2,9/5

Testing Westvleteren

I've wanted to try Westvleteren for a long time now. It was the only trappist I haven't tried and one of them is ranked as nr 1 at Ratebeer and another as nr 12. Me, my brother and father shared the three bottles.

But before I present the result I'm gonna give a quick background to the brewery:

Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus

It is the smallest of the trappist breweries. They brew three different beers, however they don't use the classic trappist grading system of Dubble, Tripel and Quadrupel. They make a Blonde and two dark strong ales. If I where to but them in the trappist system I would say they are both closest to Quadrupels. The monks brew a very limited quantity of beer and according to their website it's fairly complicated to buy the beer. However if you do happen to pass by the brewery and have requested a purchase by phone, you can buy a crate (24 bottles) for only 25-36 euros. I would call that a bargain.

From left to right: Westvleteren Blonde, 8 and 12.

The caps are the only thing seperating the three beers at a first glance. Can tell you that we where a bit confused when we started pouring the beers in 9 different glasses.

Westvleteren Blonde 5,8% (Bottle)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a medium sized foam that left no lacing. There was also some yeast in the liquid.

It had a strong smell of citrus, orange, yeast, honey and spices. A fairly promising start.

The first thing I noticed while tasting this beer was that it had some honey in it. Besides that it was very fizzy which hid the flavor. After letting the beer rest for a while some more sides emerged, it had a spicey and dry taste, yet smooth and easy to drink. It had a small body which made it seem a bit watery and boring. But it was still a fairly solid beer even though it couldnt match up to it's bigger brothers.

Total: 3,5

Westvleteren 8 8% (Bottle)
It poured a dark liquid with some tones of red and brown and a small foam that left a little lacing. There was also some yeast in the liquid.

The aroma was strong with chocolate, red berries, coffey and spices. Complex and very nice.

The first sip was very fizzy. So fizzy in fact that I didn't sense any flavor at all. After waiting a bit and let the fizzyness reside a bit I started to get a better grasp of the beer and it improved allot. It had a spicey flavor with some chocolate, red berries, nuts, orange peels and dried fruit. It also had a bite to it that I actually enjoyed, normally that would have been a bad thing but in this beer it really worked.

Total: 4,3/5

Westvleteren 12 10,2% (Bottle)
It poured a dark liquid with some tones of red and brown. The foam was small and left no lacing. After a closer inspection I also noticed that there where some yeast in the liquid.

It had an aroma of chocolate and something fruity, some red berries and something else which I couldn't distinguish. It was also spicey with some alcohol that was fairly well hidden. The aroma wasn't as strong as with Westvleteren 8.

Just as with Westvleteren 8 the first sip was just way to fizzy and it clouded all the nice flavour this beer turned out to have. It had a taste of nuts, chocolate and red berries. It was not as intence as Westvleteren 8, although a bit smoother. But I actually prefered the roughness and spices in the 8. It was all very round and well balanced with a warm alcoholic finish.

Total: 4,2/5

I'm actually a bit dissapointed and I think I had too high expectations on these beers. As you can see from my score they where not bad, but I had expected something better, probably around 4,5-4,9. But at least they had one thing in common, they all improved allot with less fizzyness. However I have a feeling these beers improves over time and that we might have opened them a bit to early.

Testing La Trappe

I finally got a full set of La Trappe ales this Easter. So yesterday I decided to try them out together.

La Trappe is the only trappist beer brewed outside of Belgium. The Dutch king donated the land to a group of monks migrating from northern France and the monestary Koningshoeven (the Kings Garden) was founded. The brewery was founded in 1884 and they named it Schaapskoi (fårfålla, not sure about English translation). After the Second World War the brewery was bought by Stella Artois who wanted to get a foot hold in Holland. But the their beer “Trappist Pils” was a fiasco and the monks bought it back. They now brew the trappist classics Dubbel, Tripel and Quadrupel, using varieties of münchener malt and hops from Hallertauer and British Goldings.

La Trappe – Dubbel (7%)
It poured a hazy dark red liquid with a big foam, but didn’t leave any lacing on the glass. It had a nice fizzy smell of bread, dried fruit (orange) and peppery spices. The first taste hugged my tongue and it was allot smoother than I expected. The taste was very similar to the smell with the peppery spices and dried fruit. Very round and well balanced which made it easy to drink. Out of the three this was my favorite.
Total: 4/5
La Trappe – Tripel (8%)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a big bubbly foam which left some nice lacing. Smelled of warm alcohol and dried fruit. My first reaction when I tasted it was that it tickled my tongue, it also left an oily sensation. It was a bit sweet with hints of bread and dried fruit.
Total: 3,5/5
La Trappe - Quadrupel (10%)
It poured a hazy amber liquid with a huge foam (had to be fast to pour after opening). It had a strong smell with hints of dried fruit, bread, red wine, spices and alcohol. As with the tripel this one also tickled but this time on the top of my mouth. I wonder what the cause is of that sensation; it’s almost like eating kiwi. The taste was similar to the smell with lots of spices, dried fruit, bread and allot of alcohol. I found it to be a bit to fizzy for my taste though, even after letting it rest for a while, but still a good beer with a very round and complex taste.
Total: 3,7/5

They where all good beers, but not the best trappists I've had. They also had some similarities, a common character, but I can't say exactly what it is. Probably the use of similar ingredients and yeast.

Testing Orval

I tried Orval today and was hoping to do it in the warm sun. But when I finally got the beer poured and ready the sun was gone but no problem. At least I had a tasty glass of beer to comfort me with. I gotta say it was some comfort :)

The monestary that brews Orval was formed by immigrating Italian monks in 1076, but they moved out after only 40 years. The monastery was then inhabited by different kinds of monks until the trappist monks took over in 1132. The monestary has been raided twice since then and lay in ruins between 1790 and 1930 when the trappists returned and rebuilt the monestary. The brewery has since then become a separate company but the winnings still go to the monestary.

Orval is slightly different compared to the other trappists. Well for starters its not divided into doubles, triples and so on. Its just one beer and well they do it good. The beer ferments three times and is dry hoped with Hallertau and Styrian Golding hops. The beer doesn’t taste like any of the other kinds of trappist beers. It also looks different with a hazy copper colour and a huge foam. It doesn’t fit perfectly with the whole double-triple types, its close to a double. It tastes of yeast, spices, citrus fruits, wood and a hint of nuts. It had a stingy bitterness but it suited the beer quite nicely. It also improved the warmer it got, it was a bit to cold to start with. Orval is a really great beer and gives great value for your money.

Westmalle

Jag har kört en del trappistprovningar nu och planerar att fortsätta med det. Förrådet har lagrats upp med olika typer av trappistöl och jag har t.o.m. privatimporterat La Trappe Quadrupel tillsamans med en massa gubbar. För dom som är intresserade av trappistöl så kan jag rekomendera att läsa Magnus Barks senaste inlägg om trappistöl i hans blogg Ofiltrerat. Vilket jag själv tyckte var intressant läsning.

Min testning av trappistöl går vidare, igår var det dags för Westmalle. Jag hade inhandlat en dubbel och en trippel, dom har även en extra men den serveras tydligen bara i bryggeriet/klostret. Klostret grundades 1794 av franska munkar som flydde Frankrike under revolutionen. 1836 återtog dom ölbryggningen sedan flykten, vilket gör Westmalle till det äldsta trappist-bryggeriet av dom sju. 1856 började dom sälja öl till allmänheten. 1921 skapades ett separat företag för bryggeriet och sedan dess har dom fortsatt växa och är idag det största trappist-bryggeriet. Utöver att vara störst och äldst så var det även dom som skapade öltyperna dubbel och trippel.



Jag bröjade min provning med deras Dubbel, som dom började brygga 1856. Den har en mörk färg med ett kraftig skum som lämnar rester på glasväggarna när den sjunker undan. Ni kan se den i glaset på bilden. Smaken var vinös, söt, fruktig, brödig och maltig. En behaglig och bra dubbel.

Deras Trippel började bryggas först 1934 och är en ljus ale men med kraftig alkoholhalt på hela 9,5%. För att lyckas hålla ölen ljus men få en hög alkoholhalt tillsätter dom råsäd och kandisocker. Den höga alkoholhalten känner man dock knappt av till en början. Men när ölen fick lite mer värme så framkom den allt tydligare. Annars hade den en härligt blommig humleton, inte alls like söt som dubbeln.

Båda dessa öl var riktigt bra. Om jag skulle välja en favorit av dom två Westmalle ölen, så är det definitivt dubbeln. Tycker att alkoholsmaken tog över lite på slutet av trippeln tyvärr och den hade en bitig eftersmak som jag inte uppskattade helt.

Ikväll blir det nog en Leffe provning, eftersom jag vill prova deras mörka för att se om den påminner om Sugar Daddy Double. Jag har även Chimay att prova, men det är fyra flaskor och jag tror jag tar det nån gång när jag får besök istället.

10:an slank ned också

Go' morgon,

Jag provade ju Trappistes Rochefort 10 igår också. Den hade i princip samma smaker som 8:an men saken var mycket lenare och kändes mer genomarbetad. Den var lite lurig då man inte alls känner av dom 11,3%. Jag tror att den här skulle passa riktigt bra till en bit mörk choklad eller tryffel. Måste komma ihåg att köpa en låda nästa gång jag är på affären.

Sammanfattningsvis så kan jag säga att båda dessa öl var riktigt bra, definitivt några av dom bästa trappisterna på marknaden. 10:an rankas ju som nr 8 i världen på ratebeer. Kan ju bara instämma att den förtjänar den placeringen. Det lär nog bli ett par flaskor till av denna med tiden.

Dags att göra något

En nära vän avbröt mig en gång när jag var mitt uppe i ett långt ölsvammel. ”Du skulle starta en blogg och skriva om öl.” Antagligen ville han bara få tyst på mig, vilket han lyckades med, haha!. Det var inte en dålig idé alls. Jag har ju gått rätt länge och tänkt att jag skulle göra något av mitt intresse för öl. Så jag började genast fundera på hur det kunde se ut och vad jag kunde skriva. Sen dess har det gått en tid, min vän har gift sig och jag har blivit varslad från jobbet. Så med min nyvunna fritid tänkte jag att det var dags att ta tag i det här med bloggandet. Så varde ”Ölsvammel” född! ;)

Men jag kan ju inte svamla om jag inte svamlar om öl, eller hur? Så jag var på systembolaget i veckan och inhandlade ett gäng trappist öl som jag tänkte prova när det finns tid. Jag började idag med Trappistes Rochefort 8. Eftersom jag sparkat liv i mitt döda ratebeer konto i samband med starten av denna blogg så kan jag ju posta min första rating:



"Aroma: 9
Apperance: 4
Flavor: 4
Palate: 4
Overall Impression: 17

Comment: My first rating at ratebeer. The overall experience from this beer was a suprise. Allot better then I first remembered. The colour is a dark brown colour which I cant see through. Lots of delicious foam that has an excellent malty smell. The first taste was very deep and lots of different spices. Chocolate and cognac first comes to mind. The aroma is deep and round and feels great on the tongue picking up different tastes. However after a couple of moutfulls I realise there is something missing to bring out that perfect score. All in all though a briliant beer! I got the 10 in the fridge, I really hope its as good as this one."


Nu kanske betyget blev lite höggt med tanke på att det var min första. Men det lär ju bli fler och jag har en känsla av att jag kommer gå tillbaka och sätta fler betyg med tiden. Nu börjar glaset se tomt ut.... kanske dags att prova den där 10:an....