321417 Mon Aug 28 18:13:13 -0700 2006 76 35 Beer 0 1838314 Which of the six do you think is the best? Mon Aug 28 18:13:13 -0700 2006 20765 designerboy01 1 1838428 If I had to pick one, I'd go with Orval. Second would be Rochefort 6. Mon Aug 28 18:46:55 -0700 2006 1838314 10809 Josh 1 1838446 Rochefort 10 as meal substitute (albeit a dangerous one) and Chimay Blue Mon Aug 28 18:52:59 -0700 2006 1838314 14210 olia 2 2135642 The Chimay Grand Reserve may be one of the best, if not the best. However, choosing beer, trappist or otherwise, is very subjective. Let's face it, some people still drink Bud. Fri Dec 29 01:46:28 -0800 2006 1838446 60823 esg101 3 2136741 "Which of the six do YOU THINK is the best?" the "and why" is of interest, I think. Of course it's subjective! Fri Dec 29 15:48:48 -0800 2006 2135642 16728 kenito799 4 2144184 I like the Chimay Grand Reserve best, and you are right it is subjective, it is in the taster of the beholder, so to speak. Allagash Brewing Company of Portland, ME makes a very decent trappist like brew. Check it out at this site: http://www.allagash.com/home.htm Tue Jan 02 00:02:39 -0800 2007 2136741 60823 esg101 1 1838468 By far, Westvleteren, but good luck finding it - and if you do, consider taking out a loan for a case. Westy 12 was out of this world, yet the memory of the blonde always seems to sneak its way into my head. Achel is pretty good, I love Orval, Chimay's are always reliable, I'm not a fan of the Rochefort beers, and I love the dubbel from La Trappe but the quad is the most popular. Mon Aug 28 18:57:49 -0700 2006 1838314 12014 LStaff 1 1839568 The Bride & I had the good fortune to be in Belgium last September. The Westvleteren 12 was found and tried twice in a restaurant, around 5 EURO. It was stunningly fantastic. Westy 8 was good but didn't have the depth. Rochefort 8 was The Bride's favorite overall, out of 44 beers sampled during the trip. I like Rochefort 10 a little better. Orval was OK but not great. I liked Maredsous 8 & 10 better... But then, that was on draft, served in ceramic mugs, and eaten at their outside courtyard. Tue Aug 29 01:37:18 -0700 2006 1838314 12193 JugglerDave 1 1841060 I vote for Rochefort 10. The complexity is astounding. The more forward brettanomyces character of Orval is somewhat of an acquired taste...but goes well with blue cheese & crusty french bread. Tue Aug 29 18:50:32 -0700 2006 1838314 18750 liegey 2 2089160 Agree with Rochfort 10 as the best beer I have ever had, Orval interesting and great but an acquired taste. This weekend I tried Achel Brown and found it to be the perfect expression of the style, malty, complex, but with a tart backbone that kept it refreshing. So expensive though...can't indulge too often...($7 for 11 oz!) Mon Dec 11 17:36:40 -0800 2006 1841060 16728 kenito799 3 2092063 Correction, I looked at my receipt and Achel 8 Brown was $3.99 at Ameican Thrifty, Brooklyn. Tue Dec 12 14:01:19 -0800 2006 2089160 16728 kenito799 1 1841521 Westvleteren 12, then Rochefort 10. Or maybe the other way around. I hold St. Bernardus Abt 12 in equally-high regard. Tue Aug 29 21:21:11 -0700 2006 1838314 10641 big o 1 1842673 Westy Red Cap 6. Had it once and it was unbelievable. My regular choice is Rochefort 8. Wed Aug 30 13:17:14 -0700 2006 1838314 17080 Chrispy75 1 1844030 Rochefort 10 is the best i have tried, but i have missed out on the Westvleren beers. I need to try those as well. Chimay Blue label is a good beer that is easier to find. Wed Aug 30 20:58:40 -0700 2006 1838314 12484 MVNYC 2 1844132 Westvleteren is hard to find ever since it was proclaimed best beer in the world (with accompanying press release) by another online community. Wed Aug 30 21:41:35 -0700 2006 1844030 10998 Jim Dorsch 3 1845243 When we were in belgium, we read/heard that it's hard to find because 1) unlike other abbeys, Westvletren only makes enough to support the order, rather than essentially selling as much as they can 2) In order to get the beer, everyone (individuals, cafe owners, stores) need to call the phone number to find out when and which beers are available, queue in their cars at the abbey, and there is a limit of 10 cases per car or truck. No official distributor system or similar, though I would assume that there is some informal distribution from those who go and get 10 cases and sell to others. Thu Aug 31 11:53:33 -0700 2006 1844132 12193 JugglerDave 4 1845280 What you say is basically the case (although I believe the case limit is less now). However, before the proclamation I mentioned, you could buy bottles in the US for maybe $10-11 each. After the proclamation, the small amount typically available was immediately snapped up, and I've never seen it again in the US. Thu Aug 31 12:40:15 -0700 2006 1845243 10998 Jim Dorsch 5 3947153 A friend of mine just found a pair of bottles in some store in OH (she was there on a trip). Mon Aug 11 10:13:31 -0700 2008 1845280 111910 jgg13 6 3947248 If that store is in Columbus, I have purchased it there as well. Mon Aug 11 10:40:57 -0700 2008 3947153 10395 brentk 7 3947323 It might have been. She's not from Columbus but I think she was there, but i think it might have been in Cleveland? I'll have to ask. That being said, the gf will be in columbus soon, any chance you'll reveal your source? :) Edit: Yes, it was in columbus. In case you did want to try to obfuscate the location, the initials were FTV. Mon Aug 11 11:00:51 -0700 2008 3947248 111910 jgg13 8 3948633 FTV is indeed the place, but it has been about a year since I was there. I checked on Beer Advocate and it appears that someone has purchased the Westvleteren 12 there as recently as June of this year. Mon Aug 11 17:37:14 -0700 2008 3947323 10395 brentk 9 3948819 Yeah - which was right around the same time that she bought it. The gf wlil be heading over there in about a month, so here's hoping for the best. Mon Aug 11 18:45:02 -0700 2008 3948633 111910 jgg13 9 3966991 FWIW my mom turned out to have been in the same area this weekend so I had her snag me a few of them. It'll likely be a few weeks before I can get my hands on them, but I'll report back on things like the date, etc. Mon Aug 18 14:21:20 -0700 2008 3948633 111910 jgg13 6 3947482 Do you think they were a few years old? I can't recall if they have dates on the bottles, but I suspect they do. Just wondering if any product is getting into the US at all, outside of someone's suitcase. There was a big discussion a while back on beer advocate about whether it's ethical to buy this product in the US, given that the brothers don't authorize it for export to our country. Mon Aug 11 11:50:49 -0700 2008 3947153 10998 Jim Dorsch 7 3947522 Will have to ask her (again) about the dates, although reading about the place on BA makes it seem like they have a steady stream of product. Speaking of BA, as for your second paragraph, I'd argue that anyone who really cares about that needs to get a life. You buy it, it is yours to do with what you want, which would include bringing it somewhere else and reselling it. Mon Aug 11 12:03:50 -0700 2008 3947482 111910 jgg13 8 3947951 Come to think of it, the date is likely an expiration; not sure how long that might be from bottling. There certainly are a few folks on BA that meet your description. Mon Aug 11 13:53:44 -0700 2008 3947522 10998 Jim Dorsch 9 3948089 I'd guess that properly cellared that the expiration date would be quite a bit in the future. Normally when I've seen those things have expiration dates they're upwards on 10 years in the future. "There certainly are a few folks on BA that meet your description" Now that's something I've realized for years now :) I like what they try to do but BA as an organization (including posters and such) don't do a whole lot to contest my belief that modern beer snobs are far snobbier folks than snobs of most other things out there :) Mon Aug 11 14:34:48 -0700 2008 3947951 111910 jgg13 7 3947545 It's been a couple of years since my last one, but they used to be date-stamped on the cap. Mon Aug 11 12:09:27 -0700 2008 3947482 12713 TongoRad 5 3948505 "Grey market" Westvleteren (well, even that isn't techincally correct- it's perfectly legal in the US, with TTB approved labels, etc., simply bought by the importer through a secondary source rather than directly from the Abbey) has been available off and on for the past decade or so- brought in by 3 different imports (B. United, D&V and "World of Wines") and those bottles are easily identified by simply *having* a label, which also has the US required "Gov't Warning" and the name of one of those importers. I don't recall the prices of the bottles when they were "new" (I sort of remember them being even cheaper than Jim mentions) but I've seen them, now 4-5 years old, still on the shelves recently for $15-20. A "hand carried" or a true "grey market" bottle would be label-less, I would guess. A copy of the label that's been used in the US can be found here- http://www.beerlabels.com/labels/labels.pl/15/westvleteren-12-belgian-trappist-ale.html Mon Aug 11 16:42:40 -0700 2008 1845280 11059 JessKidden 6 3948691 I don't want to get them in trouble, but a bar here recently had label-less bottles of Westvleteren. Sadly I didn't have enough cash (their credit card machine wasn't up at the time) so I didn't buy any. By the time I got cash and came back the few bottles were gone. Oh well. Mon Aug 11 17:57:29 -0700 2008 3948505 72231 DougOLis 7 3948788 Westvleteren bottles don't have labels on them, so I doubt they were trying to hide anything by removing the labels. Mon Aug 11 18:33:26 -0700 2008 3948691 10395 brentk 8 3948935 The other way around. The label-less bottles would be illegal to sell in the US and would certainly suggest they weren't brought in by a legitimate importer, who DO put labels as required by TTB on the Westvleteren they bring in. Mon Aug 11 19:35:32 -0700 2008 3948788 11059 JessKidden 9 3949092 FWIW as it applies to this store, I'll ask my friend if they were labeled or not. I know that she's told me, but I no longer remember. Mon Aug 11 20:43:04 -0700 2008 3948935 111910 jgg13 10 3949468 Mine was not labeled. I have never seen a Westvleteren label, in fact, so I am curious about JessKidden's post. Tue Aug 12 04:17:45 -0700 2008 3949092 10395 brentk 11 3949486 All the Westvleteren I've seen in the US has been labeled. If it's on the shelf in a retail store, it must have a federally approved label. Tue Aug 12 04:36:47 -0700 2008 3949468 10998 Jim Dorsch 11 3949492 Besides the link to the Westvleteren bottle photo in my post above, one can see a copy of the US TTB approved label, along with a brief explanation here- http://www.whitebeertravels.co.uk/sixtus.html http://www.whitebeertravels.co.uk/images/sixtus_label_us.jpg In addition, a search of the TTB site https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/publicSearchColasBasic.do will turn up the actual applications and labels. Search for both "Westvleteren" and "TRAPPISTENBIER" but, note, that that website 's seaches can be squirrelly and will turn up items one time and not another. I'd expect that most bottles one finds on the shelf in retail shops for off premises consumption are going to be the labeled versions. Unlabeled bottles,( i.e.- "hand carried" "self imported" "grey market" whatever term you wanna use) are probably going to be "behind the counter/bar", available only on request >wink, wink<. By saying the unlabeled bottles are "illegal" I'm not saying that I think the states' ABC's have busted (or should bust) "grey market" Westvleteren sellers (tho' it's not unheard of for the competition to turn folks in for "bootlegging" beers across statelines). OTOH, stranger things have happened in the current atmosphere. Wasn't there a story soon after the Patriot Act was passed where the FBI was hassling some little novelty shop owner in the PNW for selling "illegal" versions of the Rubic Cube? Tue Aug 12 04:42:32 -0700 2008 3949468 11059 JessKidden 12 3949516 Yeah- a lot of the one's I have seen have had that label. I also recall the "Saint Sixtus" label of maybe 15 or so years ago: http://www.gyzzj.com/microbrews.html (scroll down)- but I'm guessing that those were brewed at Saint Bernardus back then and may not have been the same exact beer. Tue Aug 12 04:59:19 -0700 2008 3949492 12713 TongoRad 1 1845562 Okay...I'm salivating. Where can some of this beer be tested? I know of one Belgian beer bar in the East Village that has a good assortment but I can't remember it's name. Little help, please? Thanks. Thu Aug 31 14:42:09 -0700 2006 1838314 12717 Jill 2 1845625 I have been to Hop Devil Grill, St Marks at Ave A, which has a connected "Belgian Room" with only Belgian and Ommegang offerings. I was drinking lambics so I didnt check for trappist but they have a nice large selection of bottles. The other side of the bar has a ton of IPAs and stuff on tap. The frites are good, too. http://www.hopdevil.com/ Vol De Nuit (148 W 4th) is a Belgian beer bar. Have not been. http://www.voldenuitbar.com/main1.html The other fantastic Belgian selection is found in Williamsburg at Spuyten Duyvil, Metropolitan and Havemeyer. You could call and see what trappist they have at the moment. http://www.spuytenduyvilnyc.com/ Thu Aug 31 15:04:06 -0700 2006 1845562 16728 kenito799 1 1845636 Hop Devil Grill, perhaps? Decent place. The best, and cheapest, way to get yourself acquainted with Belgium's offerings, though, would be to stop by New Beer Distributors on Christie and bring home a selection. I've only found Westvleteren in two locations. The first was the Vienna Whole Foods (in Virginia), where chowhounds pointed me towards a gentleman familiar to us here on the Beer board. The other score was at New Beer Distributors. I'll reiterate my previous comment that St. Bernardus is a worthy purchase, whether or not the true Trappist ales are available. Thu Aug 31 15:07:19 -0700 2006 1838314 10641 big o 2 1845672 Hop Devil Grill...that's the place! Thanks! Thu Aug 31 15:18:28 -0700 2006 1845636 12717 Jill 2 1848347 Another place for Belgian beers at great prices is American Beer on Court St and Butler in Cobble Hill. They have a great selection and you'll probably end up buying alot of other things while you're there, which is good and bad. And Rochefort 10 is a multi-course meal in itself. And Hop Devil does have a good trappist selection. Fri Sep 01 15:20:34 -0700 2006 1845636 28245 ghbrooklyn 1 1846951 I bought a bottle of Rochefort 8, but maybe I need to buy a bottle of the 10 and try them both. Do you suggest drinking these alone or what are some good things to snack on w/ these beers? Thu Aug 31 21:41:44 -0700 2006 1838314 14477 Hapa Dude 2 1846955 Good cheese is your best bet. Thu Aug 31 21:43:06 -0700 2006 1846951 10809 Josh 3 1848037 In fact, go to your neighborhood cheese shop and get some of the Chimay cheese! In Belgium the cheese was served with celery salt to sprinkle on top. Fri Sep 01 12:45:00 -0700 2006 1846955 12193 JugglerDave 4 1848090 There are two or three varieties of Chimay cheese. IIRC one incorporates beer. Fri Sep 01 13:15:29 -0700 2006 1848037 10998 Jim Dorsch 4 1848259 The Chimay cheese is good, but really any good flavorful cheese works. I like stuff like Red Dragon (an English cheese with mustard seeds in it), aged Gouda, dry Jack, aged Cheddar. Anything rich and flavorful is great with those kinds of beers. I'd stay away from milder cheeses - they can't really stand up to the beer. Fri Sep 01 14:39:05 -0700 2006 1848037 10809 Josh 1 1850524 I go with Westvletern 12. BTW if you really, desperately MUST try this beer, it is available through belgianshop.com. My favorite available Trappist is the Rochefort 8. Did a blind tasting of all the Trappist beers at a cafe in Amsterdam about a year ago. They were matched up roughly by type, (The 6s and Chimay Rouge the 8s the Tripels and the 10/12s.) Before we started, everyone agreed that Westvleteren 12 was our favorite. While the Rochefort 10, Westvletern 12, Achel Extra and LaTrappe Quad were on the table, we all blindly picked the LaTrappe as the best. After, the tasting, the pub owner admitted that the Quad was 2 years old, everything else was a year old but the Westvleteren 12 was picked up from the Abbey that week. By type (Orval doesn't categorize and you could pick it out blind easily) we liked: Westvletern Blond Rochefort 8 Westmalle Tripel LaTrappe Quad Sat Sep 02 16:21:53 -0700 2006 1838314 20858 Kevin B 2 4070122 wow... the first mention of westmalle this far down. i think the dubbel is the best out there Mon Sep 29 11:33:49 -0700 2008 1850524 28475 bowmore36 1 1851455 I have the westmalle Tripel in stock at home. Where do you people buy these beers in NY? I go to a garage, which is on Chrystie Street north of Chinatown. They got the best selection I've ever found in NY. Anybody got any good stores? Sun Sep 03 08:09:48 -0700 2006 1838314 20765 designerboy01 2 1852303 Thrifty/American Beer on Court St, Cobble Hill. Huge selection, great prices. worth the subway ride in my opinion. Mon Sep 04 00:11:48 -0700 2006 1851455 28245 ghbrooklyn 1 1918875 Am I the only person who was really dissapointed by Westvleteren? I was incredibly excited to find a bottle of it at the liquor store (Martys in Newton Ma). It was liek 2 years ago but I remember the beer being too sweet. I sincerly hope that I simply had a bad bottle. Tue Oct 03 15:22:31 -0700 2006 1838314 39680 zcicala 1 1930340 While I am very fond of far too many begian beers, there are a number of trappist style beers out of Quebec such as Fin du Monde, Raftman and a number of others from Unibroue in Montreal. There used to be a place on Bleeker in the west village run by a greek guy named Hercules (I shit you not) that had a great selection of everything. I've heard that he has moved down to Tribeca. There is also New Belgium out of Fort Collins CO that makes a nobel effort. Sat Oct 07 23:11:59 -0700 2006 1838314 43623 chilihead 2 2091336 I would hardly compare fin du monde with a true trappist ale, though it is a fine drink. If you're in Canada you can try special orders through the LCBO for the rarer Belgian ones. Tue Dec 12 03:41:34 -0800 2006 1930340 59142 tuquegrrl 1 2107010 i really like the Rochefort 8... one of my favorites... does anyone know where i would be able to purchase this beer from a beer store or liquor store? either in upstate New York, Eastern Michigan or Quebec? thanks... Sun Dec 17 14:36:41 -0800 2006 1838314 60303 di0nysus13 1 2144609 I've tried several of the Trappist ales, and by far my favorite is Achel Extra. All of the Achel brews are excellent, but the Extra is hugely malty and delicious, going down ever so easily. Of course, I think there are better beers out there, either from independent breweries or from non-Trappist abbeys, that don't get the respect they deserve because they're not made by Trappist monks. Tue Jan 02 04:03:12 -0800 2007 1838314 60435 braineater 1 2235284 I finally had Wesvleteren 12 last night. I can see why it's considered the best of the Trappists. Sun Jan 28 10:09:54 -0800 2007 1838314 10809 Josh 1 2235296 Ah, my favorite clergymen, the Trappists. Thank heavens the Irish monks didn't brew beer or we would have had trouble on our hands, way back when. Is Corsendonk a Trappist beer? It's one of the best I've ever tasted, and the little Belgian bistro around the corner from my office stocks it, along with several others (Petite Abeille, in New York, if you're interested) Keeping the faith.. - Sean Sun Jan 28 10:14:47 -0800 2007 1838314 11294 Sean Dell 2 2237588 Corsendonk is a good Belgian beer but there are only 6 Belgian Trappist breweries, making these beers: Westvleteren Chimay Orval Achel Rochefort Westmalle There's also a Dutch Trappist brewery, Koningshoeven, which doesn't seem to be in the same league, but I have never tried their beers. There are lots of great Belgian (and non-Belgian) breweries making abbey style ales, similar to many of the Trappist brews. Mon Jan 29 07:34:51 -0800 2007 2235296 16728 kenito799 2 2357772 As kenito said, Corsendonk is not a Trappist beer, but it is a phenomenal bargain as far as Belgian abbey ales go. Their Abbey Brown Ale (sometimes also labeled, simply, Pater) is a favorite of mine, but the Abbey Pale Ale (aka: Agnus) is also a decent brew. I absolutely love their Christmas Ale. It's big, dark, malty sweet, and complex. Tue Mar 06 09:42:17 -0800 2007 2235296 60435 braineater 1 2237608 i've only had a few trappists (chimay - blue is favorite, westmalle dubbel, rochefort 6 and orval - disliked orval, phewy blechk bandaids) but for my unsophisticated palate and for the money/ease of access, i think that there are many american microbrewers who 'copy' the style well enough to make them frontrunners. Mon Jan 29 07:38:16 -0800 2007 1838314 51618 hitachino 2 2238004 Anderson Valley's trappist-style beers are awesome. Brother David's Dubbel tastes very close to the real thing. Mon Jan 29 09:07:31 -0800 2007 2237608 10809 Josh 3 2238150 thanks...alas, they don't distribute to FL (i just checked their website) however, i have been able to try ommengang, allagash, north coast (love pranqster, haven't tried brother thelonius yet) flying fish dubbel (can't find that in FL anymore though) victory (had that in NC, not in FL) and i've liked everything i've tried as much as or more than those few actual trappist ales i had ;) Mon Jan 29 09:40:49 -0800 2007 2238004 51618 hitachino 4 2238236 I just had a great Allagash quadrupel called Four. Really awesome stuff. Mon Jan 29 09:59:24 -0800 2007 2238150 10809 Josh 5 2357790 Allagash does an excellent job creating very authentic Belgian-styles ales. Their Tripel Reserve is incredible, blowing away many of the Trappist tripels, IMHO. Four is also awesome, and I eagerly await the day they finally bottle the barrel-aged version of said beer (aged in Beam barrels, I believe). Tue Mar 06 09:45:18 -0800 2007 2238236 60435 braineater 4 2358491 Try the brews from Unibroue, they are available in Florida and quite wonderful. Tue Mar 06 12:04:32 -0800 2007 2238150 63643 niquejim 1 2355893 Rochefort 10 is my favorite, followed by Westmalle Trippel, barely edging out Chimay Blue. Haven't tried Westvletern. Mon Mar 05 17:29:30 -0800 2007 1838314 19098 equinoise 1 2371871 Not to be too dismissive of the whole topic, but isn't asking for a favorite Trappist like asking a parent to name their most loved child? I mean, sure, your preferences change from day to day, but surely you love them all in their own special way. Fri Mar 09 21:29:19 -0800 2007 1838314 64045 negronilover 2 2372534 Well, it's not like asking someone what their very favorite beer, in any style and of any origin, is. To be honest, I think some of the Trappist beers are overrated anyway. Take Westvleteren, which people seem to hold in ridiculously high regard, no doubt in large part because it's so rare outside of Belgium. If you could walk into your local liquor store and pick one up on any given day, would anyone really think it was so much better than Westmalle, Rochefort, or Achel? Also, as much as I like Chimay Grande Reserve, I think a lot of people call it their favorite because it's so widely available, and they haven't had a chance to try something comparable, like Rochefort 10. Having said all that, I don't have a favorite Trappist brewery, so much as I have favorites among each of the styles produced by these breweries (dubbel, tripel, quad/cat. S). Additionally, I have a favorite overall beer amongst all my faves in their respective styles, so I think it's a pretty relevant question, with answers that will undoubtedly lead some people to find new and exciting brews they would not otherwise have tried. Sat Mar 10 09:19:08 -0800 2007 2371871 60435 braineater 1 3942264 Tripel Westmalle. Best beer I have had. Period. Fri Aug 08 17:34:45 -0700 2008 1838314 208595 The Chemist 2 3943260 I've been lucky enough to visit Belgium a number of times and have tried beers by all seven of the authentic Trappist breweries. Of course it's all a matter of taste, but my favorite among them (and favorite beer on earth) is the Westvleteren 8. I preferred it to the 12, which itself is a wonderful beer. The 8 is just out of this world. If I could only drink one beer for the rest of my life this would be it, and I'd never tire of it. Among the rest of the Trappist beers I enjoyed the Rochefort offerings next best, then Chimay, Westmalle, Orval, Koningshoeven (brewed in the Netherlands) and finally Achel. Sat Aug 09 10:35:45 -0700 2008 3942264 185685 Whisper 1 3983979 Westvleteren, particularly the 12, has been my favorite beer for a long time. When I was in grad school, it was available on the shelf at my local Whole Foods. I haven't drunk it in quite a while, unfortunately--maybe five years now. I know it's available online. Next, Rochefort. I don't really like the 6 that much but the 8 and 10 are excellent. Chimay is next. I think I would rate them white, blue, red. I think the white is possibly the best Belgian tripel. Then Westmalle. I have very fond memories of the dubbel from drinking it in various locations (oh yes, the bar in Amsterdam). It's light and not so complex (compared to other famous dark Belgians, especially quadrupels), but it's elegant and delicious. The tripel is also very good. Achel next. I've not had this beer so many times. When I have, I've thought, damn all Belgian beers are good, but I've not liked it as much as the ones above. And last, Orval. This is the one my dad likes, and I realize we have absolutely opposite tastes. This is the trappist beer that tastes most like "beer" as we Americans know it. Dry, tangy, hoppy, refreshing. More often than not, I'd rather have a contemplative beer like Rochefort 10. Though it's not a trappist beer, I would like to mention that St Bernardus is very much like the Trappists--the 12 (quadrupel) is on par with Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12, the tripel is excellent, and the white beer is very good too. Sun Aug 24 23:32:21 -0700 2008 1838314 105839 aventinus 2 4053420 Really nice thread and it made me recall the only time that I have ever had a Trappist beer: Orval, in college. Sorry, I think I just had a Deja Bru moment... Mon Sep 22 16:35:11 -0700 2008 3983979 227354 Lapis 2 4078651 St. Bernardus is made from Trappist Beer. Fri Oct 03 00:47:34 -0700 2008 3983979 107992 kelarry 3 4078744 "St. Bernardus is made from Trappist Beer." The privately owned St. Bernardus brewery once contract-brewed beer for the Trappist Monastery St. Sixtus (brewers of the Westvleteren beers), but their beers can't be called "Trappistenbier" nor are they "made from" Trappist beer. One could say that they are made "like" the Trappists beers- thus the term "abbey beers". http://www.sintbernardus.be/en/history.html (Rough translation, but one gets the idea...) Fri Oct 03 04:30:46 -0700 2008 4078651 11059 JessKidden 1 4832680 There are 7.... Mon Jul 06 06:56:11 -0700 2009 1838314 1091241 slvrmermaidgurl 2 4833857 I think the constant confusion is due to Koningshoeven Brewery in The Netherlands, who were off of the Trappist Brewery list for 6 years. A few years ago I once again saw the logo on one of their bottles and wondered when the heck that happened. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brouwerij_De_Koningshoeven Mon Jul 06 12:33:03 -0700 2009 4832680 165853 weeare138