Trappist Beer

[the mayor]

For the larger bottle we pay between $12-$14 here in the Philadelphia area.

Where are you in the Philly area? Jersey or PA? I get to Philly 4-5 times a year (only 93 miles).

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Not sure if you know about it but you should go to Monk's Cafe the next time you're in town. Best burger's and fries with an insane beer selection. Went there today with friends, place never disappoints, but can get damn crowded.

 

[Corona Gigante]

There's no point me voting since I can remember trying only one of these beers (Chimay of course).

Grimbergen Dubbel is a beautiful thing. I don't know if it's available in the US.

 

[Mr Peat]

I have to admit...I brew better than those. So I couldnt vote for any of them.

 

[Wurm]

You brew better than Chimay? LOL Somehow I doubt it.

 

[Mr Peat]

You brew better than Chimay? LOL Somehow I doubt it.

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I dont think Chimay is all that good. Its an ok beer, but nothing I would go around bragging about.

 

[Wurm]

You brew better than Chimay? LOL Somehow I doubt it.

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I dont think Chimay is all that good. Its an ok beer, but nothing I would go around bragging about.

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lol chimay is one of the best trappist beers made. I have a red cap bottle right next to me.

 

[Mr Peat]

If I had a choice between these 6 trappist ales since they are the only monastaries that brew them versus certain beers from Unibroue, I would hands down take Unibroue. Have you ever tried Tres Pistoles or even Terrible?

Let me rephrase it. When i say its not a good beer, I'm not knocking the process or Chimay. I just dont care for the taste of their beers.

 

[Wurm]

I have tried every known Trappist beer brewed in europe, Chimay isnt my favorite but its close. Personally Rochefort 10 degree is in my opinion the best one out there, but to be honest there really isn't a "bad" trappist beer. Considering there is only 7 (not 6) of the 8 original breweries left this is no big surprise to anyone.

And as far as Unibroue is concerned... Good beer, I like "Damned" better than "Terrible" though. However other than both being bottle-ripened beer I don't think they taste close enough to really compare them to each other.

Another thing to consider is that the longer someone keeps Trappist beer the better it tastes (this also applies to most Unibroue beers as well).

The chimay I'm drinking I bought 3 years ago, how old was the chimay you had?

 

[SeanGAR]

I had a beer tasting last week focussing on Belgian Trappist and Abbey brews. Didn't include any of the Sleeman products in this tasting although Trois Pistols is a beer I usually have in the fridge.

Affligem Abbey Dubbel, Duinen Abbey Dubbel, St. Bernardus Tripel, St. Bernardus Abbey Abt 12, Chimay Cinq cents Tripel, Chimay Red, Chimay Blue, Rochefort 10. They didn't have Westys when I was there (Vintage Cellar is my local wine/beer shop). The only ones I cared for were the last three, there is a big difference between Trappist and Abbey beers. I'll drink Rochefort 10 and Westy 12 when I can get them, but if I'm going for a Belge beer its usually Boon Gueuze.

 

[Mr Peat]

Problem here Wurm is that most of the places that handle these beers, do not do it right. Aging works wonders unless the beer has gone through crazy temperatures which causes the beer to go bad. I've been a home brewer over 2 years now and can see how home brewed beer gets after it ages. Some get better and better, while others go down hill fast like Wheat beers.

But Unibroue is an exception tho to how long they can last. They spend a good chunk of change in their process of bottling. Thus I can get a 4 pack for $10. Ale on lees rocks and it definitely has a unique taste to it.

I will have to take a picture of my empty beer bottles and turn it into an avatar. :whistling:

 

[sgresso]

I love them all!
I hoep to start a abbey ale Celler here!

Yummy ale.

One of my favorites available here is Caracoyle.
Its a belgan abby ale and priced prett nice at $3.49 for a 750ml bottle.
thats my go to ale when i want a abby ale.

 

[BitterRat]

I agree with Mr Peat, Chimay is ok, IMO. I have had all the beers listed and IMO I like either Rochefort 10 or Achel, leaning toward Rochefort at this point! The biggest prob is that most stores and distributors for that matter, do not care for the beers properly, so you do not get the chance to taste the beer as it is meant to be. I had the good fortune to taste these brews at a Belgian tasting and all were good, but the Rochefort just seemed to be a tad ahead of the rest. Now the cheese made at Chimay :love: that's another story! Fabulous!!

 

[mitchshrader]

I've had the Orval once, and the three Chimay's, and various attempts to emulate the style.

I like the 9% Chimay, but not hugely, and i'd quite agree that making better beer than that isn't so difficult.

Expensive, time consuming, a labor of love, to be sure. Not SIMPLE..

but certainly not beyond any dedicated journeyman brewer.

Absolutely sterile clean, perfect ingredients, obsessive attention to detail, never a short cut, never hurry one moment, never think of the cost or the time.. get it Perfect..

and you'll be astonished. Truely truely astonished. 'Best' never gets to the public. Honest. Anything, anyplace, that's bragged on, is 2nd rate.

Nobody ADMITS to the good stuff, till it's gone. That's how you tell.

 

[davew0670]

Chimay
Orval
Rochefort
Westmalle


I can get any of these if anyone wants to try them.

 

[lordlister]

Can anyone recommend a good online source for any of these trappiste brews (Chimay in particular).

 

[denverdog]

Can anyone recommend a good online source for any of these trappiste brews (Chimay in particular).

LiquidSolutions has 6 of the 7 and at one time they had the Chimay sampler which included the 3 beers and a glass, pretty sweet. :thumbs:

BevMo has 5 of the 7 Trappist producers:
Chimay
Orval
Rochefort
Westmalle
Achel

The other 2 are:
Westvleteren
Koningshoeven

 

[Phlicker]

What's up, ancient thread? Most of the posts in here aren't even from active Beer Forum participants anymore!

 

[jabba]

If I had a choice between these 6 trappist ales since they are the only monastaries that brew them versus certain beers from Unibroue, I would hands down take Unibroue. Have you ever tried Tres Pistoles or even Terrible?

Let me rephrase it. When i say its not a good beer, I'm not knocking the process or Chimay. I just dont care for the taste of their beers.

My palate also prefers the taste of the Unibroue beers to the Trappist Chimay lineup. The Blue was my favorite from Chimay but I would take a La Fin de monde anyday instead.

That said, the Rocheforte 10 is much better than the Trois Pistole (for that style of ale). I put some Rochy 10s away for aging, I can't wait to try them with 3-4 years age.

 

[smellysell]

Did any of the rest of you have an uncontrollable urge to vote? :blush:

Lord Lister, I'd suggest looking to see if you can find some locally, the shipping from online vendors tends to get crazy. I can't find all be the Westy here, and we only have ~40k people, so I'd imagine you should be able to find at least some of them.

ps. Chimay with almost 50% of the votes!?!?!?

 

[lordlister]

Can anyone recommend a good online source for any of these trappiste brews (Chimay in particular).

LiquidSolutions has 6 of the 7 and at one time they had the Chimay sampler which included the 3 beers and a glass, pretty sweet. :thumbs:

BevMo has 5 of the 7 Trappist producers:
Chimay
Orval
Rochefort
Westmalle
Achel

The other 2 are:
Westvleteren
Koningshoeven

Sweet :thumbs: . I haven't had the opportunity to get hold of any of these for several years. Thanks dude! I've looked far and wide here in Iowa without success. Thanks for the heads up about the postage,smelly. Perhaps I'll wait until I can pick some up in Denver in October (or perhaps not :whistling: ).

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