WESTMALLE TRIPEL

OK lets continue the Trappist tasting with another outstanding beer, this time from the Westmalle brewery.
Just 3 beers are produced, the dark 7% abv Dubbel, the golden 9.5% abv Tripel and also (like the orval below) a lower strength (5% abv) patersbier (monks beer) named Westmalle Extra. The abbey also produce their own milk and from this a semi-hard Trappist cheese.

First brewed in 1934 this was the first beer to be labelled as a Tripel, the current recipe dating back to 1956 - so folks here we have the Tripel Daddy.

Pours a hazy pale orange the glass is alive with streams of bubbles, topped with a creamy white head that slowly falls to leave behind a lasting thin covering.

Aroma is sweet, malty and fruity (bananas are prominent) with a hop bitterness on the finish. Beautiful creamy sweet flavour with a fruity / citrus (orange) edge, a dry hop bitter finish - and when I say finish I mean long finish, the carbonated mouthfeel lasts and lasts............the original Tripel and certainly amoungst the best.

Also note the same bottle (minus the label) is used at the other Trappist brewery Westvleteren.



http://www.trappistwestmalle.be/

ORVAL

Time I think for another Trappist beer and one that is instantly recognisable on any shelf, housed as it is in its "skittle" shaped 330ml bottle.

Brewed within the walls of the Abbay Notre-Dame d'Orval in the far south Gaume region of Belgium near the Luxembourg border, the brewery produces just two beers, Orval and Petite Orval.

Orval is the main brew and has been in production since 1931, where as the Petite Orval is a "patersbier" and at just 3.5% abv is brewed by the monks for their own comsumption, although not generally for sale it can be bought at the monastery itself or at the nearby cafe.

On with the taste, Orval pours a hazy bright amber with an impressive white creamy head that lasted and lasted, a beautiful looking beer.
Aroma is simply amazing, the glass explodes with pine, citrus, floral crisp hops, green apple but there's also a nice rounded sweetness to the finish.
Taste for a beer with 6.2% abv is outstanding, instantly tart with a dry hop bitterness, malty, sweet caramel citrus and a dry, spicy, refreshingly carbonated finish.

All in all this is ONE HELL of a remarkable beer, the recipe is simple - do one thing and do it right.


http://www.orval.be/an/FS_an.html
 

BUSH DE NUITS

The first oak aged beer on my blog comes from Wallonia's oldest brewery Brasserie Dubuisson.

Bush de Nuits starts its life as the Christmas beer Bush de Noel that is then matured for 6 months in large (228 ltr) Bourgogne oak barrels that once housed Cotes de Nuits from the world famous "Nuits St. Georges" vineyard - this is the brainchild of Hughes Dubuisson as a result of a wine buying trip to Burgundy.                          
The result, a beer with a whopping 13% ABV, packaged in 75cl screen printed bottles.

Pours a cloudy chestnut with a thin white head that as is to be expected with the high ABV very quickly fades to leave behind a constant ring.

Intriguing aroma that starts sweet and toffee like but then is vinous with red skin grapes and oaky tannins and a slight alcoholic sour note to finish.

Taste is not as sweet as the base beer, the oak ageing imparting a slight sour edge (and changing its character completely) rich caramel malts, wood, liquorice and dark tart fruits fill (morello cherries)your taste buds - with that a slight carbonated mouth feel and a long finish.

This is a method (oak ageing) that I feel will divide many people's opions, the oaky/wine taste may seem a little alien and miss-placed in a beer - me....I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to try again, this really does lift an already great beer to new heights.



http://www.br-dubuisson.com/

    
  

ULTRABRUNE

Pours a deep, dark brick red with a large and bubbly beige head that very quickly falls to leave a thin band. Aroma is wonderful, instantly rich toffee combined with malty dried fruits and a syrupy, spicy finish.....yum.

Taste is not as sweet as the aroma suggested, initial taste is of rich dark fruits (figs and raisins) then sweet roasted malts take over and then a slight hint of spice in the finish.

For a beer packing a 10% punch it is very smooth drinking with just the right balance of carbonation also hardly any alcohol is noticeable - yes it is there but more of a warming glow rather than roaring burn.


http://www.brasserieecaussinnes.be/