Before I get started talking about this fabulous abbey ale, a quick story about how I even ended up at the store looking for an interesting beer for the evening. I had purchased some wine last week at Beverages & More, and, looking for a deal, I grabbed the cheapest thing I saw in the "5 cent" wine section. You know the one. Where you buy one bottle of wine, and the second bottle of the same wine is only 5 cents? Right, well, apparently, I should actually read the back of the bottle and not just glance at the write up. I ended up buying a "soft" red wine. I had never heard of such a thing, so if I did read that, I just glanced over it. I wasn't in the wine buying mood, I was just getting my girlfriend something so my trips to the store weren't just about me getting more beer. Anyways, "soft" red wines (it was something from Italy believe. I still don't know. I didn't even read the label when I was taking it back.) are slightly carbonated, and meant to be served chilled, and presented at a baby shower or something of that nature. Not exactly what I was looking for. So today, I took it back (with no receipt), and after a couple of irritated looks from the BevMo employees, I got to exchange the wine for something actually drinkable. This will make my girlfriend happy, and get me out of the wine buying dog house. Since I was already at the store, it would have been silly to not look around and get something for myself. And that brings us to our current situation of me telling you about this awesome beer, St. Bernardus Tripel!
This beer pours a beautiful amber color, with just a tint of orange to it. My pour came out very active, and would have left foam all over the counter had I looked away for a second. I don't know if that is typical of this beer or not, but it made for an interesting start. In the glass, this beer is by no means translucent, presumably clouded by the continued secondary fermentation in bottle, common to many Belgian beers of this type. The aroma is very mild, with a slight smell of banana and sweetness. That sweetness is definitely noticeable after you put this beer to your lips. No shortage of residual sugars here. The higher alcohol percentage (8.0%) is noticeable, but not over powering in any way. It is very drinkable. As I got further into this tasty treat, I did have a dry, puckering develop in my mouth, which in turn, put a little bit of a boozy sensation in my throat. Not a bad thing. I've got nowhere to be and nothing to do other than write up this review. This is an excellent beer for the present occasion.
St. Bernardus is located in Watou, in West Flanders, in Belgium. It's history goes like this: Originally, the Catsberg Abbey Community was located in Godewaersvelde, France. Strong anti clerical policy in the late 1800's forced them to move a few kilometers to the North, into Belgium. They transformed a farm into the "Refuge Notre Dame de St. Bernard" and began making cheese. In the 1930's, attitudes towards the monks improved, and in 1934, they returned all Abbey activities to France. A man named Evarist Deconinck took over and expanded the cheese factory at Watou.
After WWII, the Trappist monastery St. Sixtus in Westvleteren was looking for someone to commercialize their beer, and gave the license to the cheese factory, and that was the beginning of the Brewery St. Bernard. Brewmaster Mathieu Szafranski came from St. Sixtus and brought the recipes and the St. Sixtus yeast strain. For 46 years, the brewery brewed and sold the beer under the names Trappist Westvleteren, St. Sixtus and Sixtus, while the monks brewed for themselves and a couple local pubs. In 1992, the license came to and end. The brewery kept brewing the same beers, but under a different name, St. Bernardus. Today, they are imported exclusively by D&V International.
Brasserie St. Bernard
Trappistenweg 23
8978 Watou
BTW BE 0463.544.291
Tel: +32-57-38-80-21
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