Quaffing heavenly Trappist brews

Trappist monks devout their entire life to the service of God and abandon all their possessions, making a vow of poverty, while splitting their time between prayer, charity, and manual work - that for some, include beer. Monks have always lived self sufficient - cultivating the land, making their own bread, butter, and cheese and in the northern European countries brewing their own beer. The monasteries are a place of study where monks have time to hone in the art of beer and cheese making - it was only until recent did the abbeys install ultra modern technologies to the service the monks' long brewing tradition.

These Trappist workers produce a few styles all of which are what brewers call ''bottle conditioned,'' meaning that a small dose of sugar and yeast is added to each bottle just before it is sealed. Of the 171 Trappist monestaries only 7 today produce beer (Achel, Chimay, Koningshoeven, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, & Westvleteren) - and of these 7 only 3 are available in Texas: Chimay, Orval, and Westmalle.

The most exclusive and rare of all Trappist breweries is the Brouwerij Westvleteren from the St. Sixtus Abbey (pictured), in the West Flanders region of Belgium, who produce a beer Abt 12 that many consider to be the world's best beer. The Westy bottlehas no label but sometimes has an embossed collar on the neck.

The cap helps distinguish Westys. This beer alone has created a black market because of the ultra limited supply/distribution, insane demand, all coupled with the Monk's strict moral code that 'the beer is not to be commercialized.' In order to buy this beer, one must first place an order weeks in advance, travel to the St. Sixtus Abbey's drive up service station - typically waiting in very long lines, and finally are rationed out only a few cases per vehicle. The price of a case (4 six-packs) at the abbey typically run $48 but I have seen a single six pack on eBay run $170. Expensive? Well, yes - but remember, it is typically only the globetrotting millionaire who can afford one bottle of some of the world's best wine, which can start in the upper hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. I've seen friends and family not blink to a bottle of simple Dom Perignon (by the way who was a French monk) for $200+.I traded for the above pictured Westy 12s through BeerAdvocate.com. This is a wonderful way to get beers that you cannot get and to allow others to try local favorites that you are more easily able to acquire.

Mark polishing off a 6 year old Westvletern 12 that he was gracious enough to allow me to sample.









Orval Trappist Ale
The Notre-Dame d'Orval / Brasserie d’Orval S.A.
Villers-devant-Orval, Belgium
Orval.be

Appearance: 4.5
Smell: 4
Taste: 3
Mouthfeel: 4
Drinkability: 3
Overall = 3.6

Of all the Trappist brews, Orval is the oldest, founded in the 11th century by Benedictine monks. This brew stands unique from all the other Trappist ales because of a specific yeast strain, Brettanomyces (Brett) that lends quite a funky sourness to the brew

Pours extremely hazed orange-copper, with a fluffy head letting convoluted aromas of rose hips, chamomile, granny smith apple, leather, and burlap sack. Flavors of wet hay, orange blossom water, lemongrass, petals, some wood, and a slice of hop bitterness towards the back – accumulating to a lingering body and light carbonation.
Orval can challenge the craft beer neophyte, but guarantees to remain etched in your memory as one of the most unique experiences one can have with brew.

Style: Trappist Belgian Pale Ale
Alcohol By Volume : 6.90%
Availability : Year Round
Sample Size: 330ml brown bottle
Pairings: Cheese: Edam
Cuisine: pork chops with roasted Brussels sprouts
Glassware: Chalice, Tulip
Average Price: $4.69 each

Westmalle Trappist Tripel
Brouwerij Westmalle
Malle, Belgium
Trappistwestmalle.be

Appearance: 4.5
Smell: 5
Taste: 4.5
Mouthfeel: 4.5
Drinkability: 4.5
Overall = 4.6

Hazy orange color with frothy foam that falls to a beautiful lace. Nose is orange slice jelly candy, lemon zest, pear flesh, grass, and pink peppercorn. There’s a nice yeast spice, green apple, vanilla on the palate along with an open airy carbonation. Westmalle Triple is a very complex beer and as it warms brings a breadiness, pepper again, herbal notes, then the treasured candied sugar - crisp finish. Ultimately, a world-class beverage.

Style: Tripel
Alcohol By Volume : 9.50% Availability : Year Round
Sample Size: 750ml corked & caged brown bottle with gold aluminum wrap
Pairings: Cheese: Limburger
Cuisine: eggs benedict & steamed asparagus with hollandaise / fresh mixed fruit
Glassware: Chalice, Snifter
Average Price: $11.99 each

Nor Red or White - barleywine's brawny aristocracy

It was only until recently that I have come to treasure the intense and colorful depths of barley wine (barleywine). Despite its name, barley wine is no doubt a beer, albeit, a very brawny style, originally made by the English aristocracy who designed it to age, some up to 20 years. It did not arrive to the general public until around the late 1800s because it was much too expensive for a brewery to produce on a commercial scale.

Many English brewers had quite the affinity towards French vintners and this led them to create a style of strong ale, so named because many versions had a high alcohol content comparable to wines (8%-14%) of the same period. What transpired was a beverage that featured a big malt, fruity character with a sugary backdrop that warms like a fine sherry or tawny port. Garrett Oliver, brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery describes the aroma of a 1992 Thomas Hardy (pictured is a 2007 & 1986) as "so beautiful that it makes me want to cry. It contains universes." Stumped for words at the moment, Oliver reaches for comparisons to ‘oranges, raisins, plums, wildflowers, basil, old leather, freshly chopped wood, fallen leaves, black truffles.’ Unfortunately, there is not a single English imported barley wine available in Texas.

With the rise of American brewing ingenuity, barley wine has taken on new heights with a much stronger hop addition than its English counterpart. Adding more hops during the boil of brewing lends more bitterness and aroma when fresh and a deeper tropical fruit character when aged; I prefer most American barley wine fresh. Richly aged barley wines are a perfect accompaniment for Stilton blue cheese, while fresh, hoppy barely wines can compliment with the sharpness of a farmhouse Cheddar. Beer and cheese is simply the better pairing – forget about wine, unless it’s a barley wine.

Hog Heaven Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado
averybrewing.com

Appearance: 4.5
Smell: 4
Taste: 2.5
Mouthfeel: 2.5
Drinkability: 4
Overall = 3.35

Pours garnet with dark brown hues and a frothy crown of ecru foam. Fragrances of grapefruit, spearmint, caramel, woody spice, dried orange peel, and juniper berry round the aroma. As the brew warms it releases a pungent, astringent aroma of orange hand soap (GOJO and Fast Orange come to mind), quite awkward and unpleasant. A surprisingly flat taste hits the palate with not much more than light caramel, a nice balanced hop bitterness, and some faint soy sauce in the far depths. This finishes thin, watery and almost bone dry, the fine carbonation holds it together. At times, this brew can be dangerously drinkable because the alcohol sits in the back, undetected. Not quite what I expected from one of my favorite Colorado brewers.

Style: American Barley wine
Alcohol By Volume: 9.25%
Availability : Year Round
Sample Size: 22oz. brown bottle
Pairings: Cheese: Limburger
Cuisine: Cherry Tart, digestive
Glassware: Snifter, Pint
Average Price: $6.49 each


Bigfoot 2009
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Chico, California
SierraNevada.com

Appearance: 5
Smell: 4.5
Taste: 4.5
Mouthfeel: 4.5
Drinkability: 3.5
Overall = 4.5

Amber waves of grain adorn the engaging ruby hued brew with a crown of tan foam. Sugar cookie, caramel, bitter lemon and grapefruit, with intense pine oil hop profile blankets the nose. The taste is very strong of malt then slips into a lip-smacking juicy hoppiness, with citrus rind and a medium dry feel on the palate. When it warms, there is some rum, fruit cake, raisins, and honey in the aroma. After a few sips, the sticky lace clings to the glass beautifully. Bigfoot could age beautifully for 2-5 years, but why wait - grab it now and save a couple for later. I really love this beer!

Style: American Barley wine
Alcohol By Volume: 9.60%
Availability : Limited, yearly special release
Sample Size: 12oz. brown bottle
Pairings: Cheese: sharp aged Cheddar
Cuisine: Cheesecake, chocolate mousse and raspberries
Glassware: Snifter, Pint
Average Price: $11 six-pack