Country of Origin: Netherlands
Price comparison: About three times the price of everyday beer.
Alcohol percentage by volume: 10%.
Cute bottle/label? Brown glass 25.4-ounce bottle, corked and caged. The label has a small, stylized rendering of the abbey at the top.
I have to admit, I'm also tickled by the concept of "quadruple" beer. It just sounds so drunk-inducing.
Appearance: The color of strong tea; gave off a nice orangeish glow when held up to the light. Bubbled in streams, like champagne, with a foamy strong head.
Scent: If you poured red wine over sliced ripe plums and spooned some brandy over it, then smelled it, you'd have something close to this.
Flavor: Malt first, then a sort of parade of different fruit flavors, each passing too quickly to be identified before the next one showed up, and a hint of buttered popcorn. No hops that I could detect. Reminded me of wine with a slight astringent finish.
Impressions: According to every definition I have ever read of the subject, this is not a Trappist ale. Yet it's brewed by Benedictine monks, it improves with age, and its high alcohol content, complex aromas, flavors, and textures are absolutely in keeping with the "real" Trappist ales I've had. Have supper first or the alcohol will sneak up on you.
Will I buy this beer again? This is a "for-special" beer; the flavors are really too complex to serve it with a meal, but it'd be nice for afterwards. Also, the fact that it stands the test of time is a plus with me. Knowing that I can pick up a bottle and not worry about having to drink it immediately is a very secure feeling.
Rating:
4½ out of 5 cute beer glasses
Reviewed: November 22, 2003
