Rush for a ROCHEFORT 8
Aug 16 '03
The Bottom Line Totally unrelated to the ADDICTION W?O @ http://www.epinions.com/content_3445072004
The ales which are brewed by the Trappist monks of the Notre Dame de Saint-Remy Abbey are, as you would expect, nothing short of a delight to consume.
The brewery is located to the east of the Belgian city of Namur, near the town of Rochefort, and is the most private and secluded of all the Trappist breweries, having neither gift shop nor cafe.
Brewing started here in the late 16th century, but these days the monks use Pilsener and Munich malts, with Golding and Hallertau hops for bittering and aroma. A dose of dark candy sugar is used and all the beers are bottle-conditioned.
Rochefort doesn't brew Dubbels and Tripels but three beers that are labelled by number. These are:
Rochefort 6 - soft and dry with an ABV of 7.5%, this is quite a complex, fruity and earthy beer.
Rochefort 8 - the subject of this review.
Rochefort 10 - a dark beer with a somewhat chocolate-like flavour and aroma. At 11% ABV, this one has a bit more of a robust body and warmth than the others.
They're not the easiest of beers to find, Rochefort 8 being the most widely available. In fact, I have often seen this one in Belgian and French supermarkets.
• The Style •
Trappist ale is beer that is brewed only in Trappist monasteries or, at the very least, under license to a Trappist monastery. The appellation is therefore due to the origins rather a specific style.
Although each beer character varies greatly, a generalization of Trappist beers is that they are relatively strong, malty, and fruity. A unique spicy quality and a slight acidity helps to distinguish them from other ales.
---------------------------INTERLUDE------------------------
A guy walks into a pub, looking like he'd just been pulled through a hedge backwards. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut and bruised and he's walking with a limp.
"What happened to you?" asks the barman.
"Tam McCleod and me had a fight," he replies.
"That little nyaff McLeod," says the barman, "He couldn't do that much damage to you, he must have had something in his hand."
"Aye, he did," says the guy, "he had a shovel in his hand, and he gave me a real thumpin' with it."
"Well," says the barman, "you should have defended yourself, didn't you have something in your hand?"
"Sure I did," he replied. "Mrs McLeod's breast, and a lovely thing it was, but completely useless in a fight."
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Back to the beer......
Rochefort 8 pours to a murky, dark-brown colour with vague orange highlights topped by a firm and fluffy, off-white head that just won't go away and liberally coats the glass with sheets of intricate lacing.
The aroma is predominantly of vine fruit and alcohol (rum n' raisin?), and masses of fruit. I can sense ripe banana, pears and figs. There are also hints of cherries, plums and molasses - the aroma rich and dark.
It's full-bodied with a smooth-as-silk, yet bubbly mouthfeel that is very easy to drink. Big and malty, the taste has all sorts of complexity. There are bread flavours, some mild coffee, and a little bit of toffee. As with the aroma, fruit makes its presence felt in a big way with apples, pears and vine fruit being the most prominent, but there are some vague traces of more tropical fruit. It's phenolic, even slightly medicinal, with a hint of cloves to add a spicy touch to the sweet-ish finish.
• The Verdict •
At 9.2% ABV, this is heaven in a glass. I'm not religious, but these monk guys seem to have a helping hand from somewhere.....it's probably the yeast strain. This is a quality brew that should be sipped and savoured, but it's so easy-to-drink that it's very hard not to just gulp the sucker down and reach for another. Restraint is the key word here.
Food pairings? - With beer this good, why in the name of all that's holy would you want to bother with sustenance of the solid variety. After all, the original purpose of Trappist beers is to provide a sort of 'liquid bread' for the monks during fasting. And since I'm developing a monk-style head of hair, it's only right and proper that I pay homage to some of their other customs.
Failing that, bread and cheese.
Would I drink it again? - I offer up prayers that it may be so.
Other Trappist beers that I've reviewed:
http://www.epinions.com/content_59518258820 Westvlieteren 6 http://www.epinions.com/content_62887267972 Westvlieteren 8 http://www.epinions.com/content_61075656324 Westvlieteren 12
http://www.epinions.com/content_80147811972 Orval http://www.epinions.com/content_2968887428 Westmalle Dubbel
http://www.epinions.com/content_3021185156 Chimay Blue http://www.epinions.com/content_3104022660 Chimay Rouge http://www.epinions.com/content_2960760964 La Trappe Dubbel
Thanks for reading,
Sláinte
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