Mr. Brew Review: Rochefort Trappist "10"

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Rochefort Trappist "10"

I came to read about and desire this amazing Belgian Ale when I was checking out the Merchant du Vin website not long ago. Here's what stood out to me and made me realize this was something I needed to try:

Ratebeer.com - 100pts

"Best Beer in the World" - Men's Journal Magazine, October 2010

Gold Medal - World Beer Championships 2004, 2006

Those kind of reviews are enough for me to try just about anything, let alone a Belgian Trappist ale. Lucky for me, there was one left on the shelf when I was at the store the other day.

(inside the Rochefort Brewery)

The minute I popped the top, the spicy aromas hit my senses. I didn't even think I was close enough to the bottle to really notice it like that, but this thing came out swinging. An excellent start. The beer poured a dark, walnutty brown, with leftover sediments from the bottle conditioning filling the glass as well. The beer hits your lips with a distinct taste of well ripened raisins. It is sweet, but well balanced by the malts. The longer it warms up in the glass, I get more aromas of port wine. The longer it sits in my mouth, I get a taste of warm caramel. For a strong ale, at 11.3%, it goes down very smooth. Not much of that alcohol taste left in your mouth. This beer is like perfectly prepared dessert: sweet, deeply satisfying, and you hope you will get it again one day. A beer like this doesn't come around often, but when it does, savor it. In case you were curious, the "10" on the label of the beer comes from "Belgian Degrees," a traditional, historical way of measuring gravity (the sweetness of the wort before fermentation), and determining the final gravity of the beer.

(Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy - Rochefort)

Rachefort Trappistes, located in the Abbey of St-Remy, is located in the southern part of Belgium, and is one of only ten Trappist breweries in the world. The monks of the abbey began to brew beer around 1595, and like all Trappist breweries, the profits from selling the beer can only be used to support the abbey, or go to charitable causes.

(map of Belgium)

This is a wonderful beer, and like almost anyone that has had it will tell you, probably one of the best I have ever had. I truly enjoy this style. It is a nice break from the always available, hoppy beers that are on every supermarket aisle. If you see it, grab it. I think I paid about $7.99 for my 11.3oz bottle. Not a bargain by any means, but well worth it, in my opinion. I'm glad I got it, and I would certainly buy it again. I look forward to trying the other beers in the Rochefort family. Cheers!