my fellow beer lovers swear this is the best trappist ever made. since i [and my partner] love trappist it's inevitable we must make that trip down south [210km] and get a few of these from the monastery one of these days. they no longer sell it to the shops, you see. my current trappist favourites are Rochefort 8 and Gouden Carolus. yours?
I am in the US and have not seen any Westvleteren...(there is a store in Florida that has it sometimes and I will be checking that store out soon).
My favorite Trappist beer, and favorite of any beer I have tried, is Orval. (To properly enjoy Orval one must let it warm up a bit after being taken from the fridge, this brings out the banana flavors)
There is also a great ber from Germany that is similar to some of the Trappist ales even though its not, is the stornger version of Aventinus called Aventinus Eisbock, a great concentrated Double Wheat Bock....if one likes a good trappist ale they will love Aventinus eisbock, if they can find it. i just had a bottle the other day for the first time, and it's heaven on earth.
I love the Rochefort 8. IMO, Westvleteren is even better. Astoundingly complex, gorgeously balanced, a truly astounding beer. Not to take any credit away from the Rochefort 8, but the Westy is just a notch above, at least for me.
-STeve
Because it would be boring as hell if all beers were that big. And everyone would be falling down drunk. I like variety, and I also like being able to enjoy a few beers without losing my ability to be coordinated. I'd drink a lot less beer if they were all that big. Partly out of practicalily, more so out of sheer boredom.
-Steve
Eh, I wouldn't go that far. I love a good Trappist ale. Aventinus of any variety just doesn't do it for me. I know I'm in a huge minority on that point, but the character of weizen yeast doesn't work for me along with big malty flavors. I don't like even plain dunkelweizen because of that.
And I don't necessarily see a lot of similarity between Trappist beers and weizensbocks. Both can be very complex, but the yeast characters are so extremely different.
-Steve
O.K.
Then why aren't at least 3% of all beers that big.
any variety just doesn't do it for me.
Aventinus and the Schneider eisbock (as well as the sumptious Kulmbacher dunkel eisbock) aren't in the same flavor-compexity league of tripels and the Westvleterens. I like weizenbocks and doppelbocks--and I'm even lucky enough to have some fresh U.S. domestic variations in the fridge thanks to Capitol brewery--but I think you are right that they don't have the same massive waves of richness and gothic cathedral spirals of spicy yeasty aromatic complexity that the great Belgians do.
Lovely beers all, though Gouden Carolus is brewed by Het Anker in Mechelen and is in no way a Trappist beer.
No one has yet mentioned beers from de Achelse Kluis, the "newest" Trappist (their brewing was interrupted by WWI and only resumed in the late 1990s). Although their first beers were "works in progress", they have lately been brewing some lovely beers. Last winter, they made a beer called "de Drie Wijzen" that quite successfully put them on a par with some of the other Trappists. From what I have read, the monastary hired the retired head monk/brewer from Westmalle, which is practically down the road from Achel, who then hired/consulted with his counterpart from the abbey in Rochefort.
Lately, here in Amsterdam, several beer places have begun offering a more varied selections of German beers. While not the same style as the Belgian Trappists, some of the more complex beers from Andechs and Ettaler -- both German monastaries -- are absolutely delicious in their own right, and though a different style are no less enjoyable.
If you like the rich, full tastes of the Belgian Trappists, you might also enjoy the Christmas/Winter beer festival in Essen, Belgium this December. You can read about this special tenth-anniversary festival at
--M.
Will you attend the festival? We might meet on Saturday, maybe? Joris
As I understand it, the monks at Andechs have gone bankrupt and stopped brewing.
It was a sad day indeed when that happened.
Westvleteren only sell direct, at the door of the monastery. You can have a mximum of two cases, and that's it (unless things have changed recently).
Plenty of pubs in Belgium (and distributors too, it seems) make the trip on a regular basis, so the beer is reasonably widely available. I've certainly never had any problem finding it in Antwerp, for instance.
HUH? When the hell did this happen?
No mention of this on their website, and it's looking pretty up to date. Damn, man, you got me all nervous!
The website says that you can tour the brewery tomorrow (Sept. 12th)
Klosterbrauerei: Dauer 30 min; max. 40 Pers.; 10.30, 11.30, 12.30, 14.15, 15.15, 16.15; keine Kosten; Treffpunkt: In der Klosterbrauerei zwischen Lagerhalle und Sudhaus
Maybe one of us should go just to check it out!
Things changed, and not all that recently. As long ago as 2000 or 2001, I was buying Westvleteren in Chicago. I bought some in Portland a month ago. It is imported into the States, although it's not like it's here in overwhelming numbers.
-Steve
I feel like I'm tripping over the stuff, but that's what being spoiled and living in Chicago is like anymore. Still, I can't justify spending upwards of ten bucks for 300mL when I can get a 750mL bottle of Bernardus 12 for about the same price.
--NPD
A friend of mine who lives in Germany told me about it around 3 weeks ago. I assume he got it from the German press.
I'll check with him again
Yes, but is this being supplied by a distributor who visits the brewery daily?
I got my information by the manager of a pub in Antwerp, about 3 years ago.
Well, I don't know if you are referring to me, but I am a member of OBER and expect to be one of the servers at the bar at the festival on Saturday.
--M.
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