America's First Trappist Brewery Is Coming!

I know when you think Trappist beer you probably think about Belgium, but in reality Trappist beers can be brewed anywhere.  There are already Trappist breweries in the Netherlands and a relatively new one in Austria.  Before long, we'll be able to add the United States to the list! Now they won't be required to brew in the Belgian style, but it does seem like the upcoming Spencer Brewery at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Massachusetts is going to start out with a Belgian Golden ale.  I'll report back if I hear anything about specific dates and distribution, but my guess is that it's going to take some traveling or trading to get some in Louisiana.

Here's the link to the article on Thrillist.com.

We've fought for our right to remain silent, bear arms, and party, but the right to brew one of the super-elite, monastery-based Trappist ales has eluded Americans for centuries. All that's about to change, though, because of the heroic monks at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, who are gearing up to open the first Trappist brewery in the country.

In fact, the move will make America the fourth nation ever to have one of this specially recognized breweries. Currently, only eight exist -- six in Belgium, one in The Netherlands, and another in Austria -- due to the strict guidelines. A Trappist beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, so the brothers have to be members of The Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, and production has to be under the control of the monks. BUT the brewery has to be of secondary importance, and once they've covered their basic living and monastery maintenance fees, the monks have to give any extra profits to charity. And make delicious beer.

Saint Joseph's is all set to met those qualifications with their "Spencer Brewery", which has been in the works for a few years now. The monks secured zoning rights back in '11 and have been hard at work building an adjacent brewery and preparing their inaugural suds. According to Beer Street Journal, their first offering will be "a full-bodied, golden-hued Trappist ale with fruity accents, a dry finish, and light hop bitterness". It'll come in 11.2oz bottles, but the official release date is TBD for now. Which gives you plenty of time to assemble your mash-up of chanting Trappist monks with "America F**k Yeah!" for the occasion.

Feature Beer Friday! - Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue Label)

For the fifth installment of Feature Beer Friday it's time to head back across the pond to Europe, and try our first Belgian Trappist ale of the series, the Chimay Grande Reserve, popularly known as Chimay Blue.  Chimay is one of the seven (wait, make that eight!) licensed Trappist breweries, and is also the most readily available of them all.  Chimay beers can be found in just about any Baton Rouge area liquor store or grocery store with a good beer selection.  For that reason, it's the perfect beer to spotlight on this week's Feature Beer Friday!

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), James Lawson (Whiskeybomb.com), and Jeremy Spikes (Whiskeybomb.com).

Serving: 750 ml bottle.

Appearance: "Caramel color, nice head retention." Jay commented, and all scores were 12/15 or better for this brew, putting it solidly in the upper range on appearance.

Aroma: The aroma on this one could have been better, but it did open up as the beer warmed.  We didn't drink it ice cold by any means, but a beer like this needs to be around 50 degrees to be properly enjoyed.

Taste:  We all enjoyed the taste of this one, with one comment being, "way better than the aroma, dark fruits and sweet malts."  All scores here were 30+ out of 40, a sure sign of a good beer.

Mouthfeel: "Creamy, smooth, easy to drink despite the 9%" and another round of upper 25% scores for this one.

Overall: Everyone predictably enjoyed the Chimay Blue but I do think it fell a little short of the world class rankings it has one some sites.  This one warms up well and with it's global reach it's a no-brainer whenever you're staring at an aisle of beer and don't know what to reach for.

Overall Rating:80

My Rating:81

Review: Koningshoeven La Trappe Bockbier

Alright folks, time for a quick review of a beer that should be available in Baton Rouge, only I've never seen it here.  I used to drink a LOT of the La Trappe Tripel and Quad from the Koningshoeven Trappist Abbey in the Netherlands, but I've never seen the Bockbier locally and picked this one up in a 750ml bottle at Spec's in Houston.  Koningshoeven is already unique as the only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium, and this beer is even more unique as the only official Trappist beer to be lagered as opposed to a top fermenting ale.  Now on to the beer...

 

I split it among a few friends and totally forgot to take a picture, so I'm stealing this one of the label from the internets... hope no one minds!  The color is a brilliant ruby reddish brown, decent head, off white with some good retention and lacing. So far so good, another good looking brew from the monks.

The aroma is very complex... roasted caramel, dark fruits, a little bitterness from the hops, more roasted malt flavors, all blended together well. It definitely tastes more Belgian than German, and yes I know these guys are Dutch, but they brew Belgian-style.

The taste is a lot of the same flavor as the aroma. Very complex and layered, with different sweet notes combining with bitter hops flavors over a nice toasted malt base. Man, a really interesting and good beer.

The mouthfeel is pretty solid too... not quite as good as the previous categories, but it's a full bodied easy drinking beer for 7% with little alcohol taste to it.

Overall, it's an interesting Belgian-style take on this German style. It definitely varies from traditional bocks that I remember with much more rich flavors.

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: A-

The Netherlands - La Trappe Tripel (Koningshoeven)

I'm glad that The Netherlands are in the World Cup, because they just happen to feature one of the better Belgian-style beers out there.  And Belgian beers are probably my favorite of any specific region.  This one in particular might be familiar to readers of this blog, because it's featured in my top ten beers ever list over to the right!  (Fuller's Vintage Ale also made the top 10 and the World Cup of beer, if you want go to back to the England post...)

The interesting thing about the La Trappe Brewery is that they are the only authentic Trappist brewery outside of Belgium. The International Trappist Association is comprised of 15 monasteries, and some of the products they produce are labeled as 'authentic Trappist products' which means that they are produced by the monks on the monastery grounds, and profits are intended to benefit the community.  Seven of these monasteries produce beer, and it is generally considered some of the best beer in the world.  They are Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren, and the subject of this post, La Trappe. 

La Trappe is one of the easier Trappist beers to find in the states, although I believe all of them but Westvleteren can be found legally.  I was first introduced to the Tripel after picking up a 4-pack at the old Marcello's and fell in love.  This was one of the beers that really put me past the swill and even the Abita-level beers of the world and really got me interested in the world of craft beer.   It features a honeyish, caramel, spicy aroma and a taste to match, all malty and expertly hiding the 8% ABV.  I'd highly recommend anyone looking to expand their beer horizons to seek out a 4-pack of these, and if you like it, there are dubbels and quads available too!  

Enjoy!

Back to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Beer Tour main page.

The Bite And Booze World Cup Tour.

Credits:

La Trappe Brewery Homepage

International Trappist Association

Review: St. Bernardus Witbier & Abt 12

File this one under:

Beer!

Alright, so as you may remember from a few posts back I picked up a two of each of these selections from the Belgian brewery St. Bernardus, which technically isn't a "Trappist brewery" because the brewing isn't done within the walls of a monestary, but nonetheless produces some of the world's finest Belgian ales.  On the last trip to Calandro's I picked up two of my favorites, the Witbier, and the Abt 12.

Starting with the St. Bernardus Witbier...

I poured it from a small 11.2 oz. bottle into a Castlemaine XXXX glass, stolen from a pub in Galway, Ireland after I wiped out their last keg of the XXXX Gold Lager beer.  While that's a different story it's important to note that despite this being a Belgian ale I didn't pour it into a typical goblet.  Witbiers (often referred to as white ales) are best out of a pint glass or other similar drinking vessel.  This particular witbier had a murky gold color, with a nice creamy white head. There was a lot of lacing as the head dissipated. 

The aroma is just what you would want in a Witbier... a strong smell of wheat, with hints of various fruits and spices. The taste follows that up very nicely, a hint of lemon, some banana, with some definite spice. Delicious. 

This one feels great in the mouth, and is one of the more drinkable beers I've had in a while. All in all, a superb and refreshing witbier.  It's no surprise that beeradvocate rates this one cumulatively as the best witbier available!  If you're looking to branch out into different beers this would be a fantastic starting point.

Now for the Abt 12... darker, bolder, and just as good!

 

Unlike the Witbier, this one is a Quad and deserves a goblet to release the aroma and flavors as the beer reacts with the oxygen.  The beer pours a tootsie-roll brown, with a one-finger creamy head. It took a while to dissipate and left a little lacing. Some creamy residue on the surface of the beer as well. 

The aroma is malty, a little sweet, hints of spice, and VERY inviting. I can't wait to dive in. The taste is more of the same, very well balanced with a smack of clove and other spice at the beginning and then a malty sweet taste as the beer goes down. This is the best St. Bernardus offering I've had yet... phenomenal.  No surprise again that beeradvocate users rank this one as the third best quad in existence, behind the Westvletern 12 (which you have to go to Belgium to find!) and the Rochefort 10.  Again, stateside, this one is going to be hard to beat.

So there you have it... two of the best beers in the world, that you can find on a shelf just down the street.  They aren't cheap, but totally worth it.

Witbier:

Taste: A

Value: A

Abt 12:

Taste: A+

Value A

And now I'm off to Lafayette for a tasting of some Parish Brewing beers... yum!