Today we’re reviewing an Abbey beer. Or is it a Trappist? What's the difference.
Beer, it seems, has always been a Belgian tradition. The
widespread beverage-centered Beaker Culture was present in Belgium from as
early as 2800BCE. That’s a long time ago. Fast forward to the eighth and ninth
century and monasteries dotted throughout the Belgian countryside give rise to
one of Belgium’s great brewing traditions; abbey beers. Most monastic religious
orders worked in various cottage industries to support themselves. Some made
cheese, some farmed sheep, and others brewed beer. That's how they supported the ministry of the monastery. I can’t tell you how much I wish St Luke’s could start a microbrewery as a way of supporting the life and ministry of the church. Steeped in tradition I tell you! Steeped! Just looking for some financial backing. Anyone...?
Anyway, in the early days of monastic brewing, there was no such thing as
“hopped” beer. The bitterness in beer was instead derived from “gruit,” a
secret mix of herbs and spices disguised in grain. The right to sell and trade
gruit was restricted to the religious orders and political houses of the day.
Hops didn’t arrive in Belgium until the beginning of the 14th
Century and when they did, permission to uses hops was granted by the regional Bishop and a tax was levied. There it is again people, the craft beer industry is a church
tradition! I’m telling you!
Over the centuries a vast array of different style brews were experimented with. Belgian brewers were artisanal in their approach. Or in other words,
the brewer as an artist was under no obligation to brew beer that conformed to
any particular pattern or style. Over all though Belgium beer tends to focus
more on malt that on hops with drinkers preferring more nuanced beers rather
than the big flavors more often associated with hops. Herbs and spices are often added and the beer is normally quite sweet. Most notably though, Belgian beer is
brewed with a very distinct kind of yeast, that gives all Belgian beer a unique and distinct flavour.
What about Abbey beers verses Trappist beers? Abbey and Trappist beers are the direct descendants of monastic breweries. Abbey beers now refer to "abbey style" beers brewed by commercial brewing companies. Trappist beers are those still brewed by
monks on a monastic property. There are licensed officially as Trappist beers. There are eleven monasteries still brewing and officially recognised as a Trappist brewery. Six in Belgium (Orval, Chimay, Westvleteren,
Rochefort, Westmalle and Achel), two in the Neatherlands (Koningshoeven and
Maria Toevlucht’s), one in the United States (St Joseph’s Abbey), one in Italy
(Tre Fontane Abbey), and one in Germany (Mariawald, though they don’t brew beer
and rather license other products as Trappist). This doesn't mean Trappist beers are superior to Abbey beers, but they are often harder to get your hands on.
Abbey/Trappist style beers have tended to included, a dubbel (a dark brown
fruity and spicy style beer, 6% - 7.8% ABV), a tripel (a golden beer, spiced
and malty with refreshing hops, 7.5% - 9.5% ABV), a quadrupel (that is even bigger and bolder than a dubbel or tripel, a big, strong and dark beer ABV 10% and above), a saison, a witbier, a sour
brown beer, and also lambics. Way too much to go into now and we’ve already
covered a lot.
Tonight’s beer is St Bernardus Brewery’s Abbot 12; a quadrupel! In 1945 the Trappist Monastery St Sixtus decided to limit it's production of beer to that which was needed for the monastery, gate sales, and sales to a few local taverns. Instead of brewing commercially they granted a licence to brew to a local cheese factory and Brewery St Bernard was founded. The brew master from Westvleteren became a partner in the brewery and bought some of the recipes from Westvleteren Abbey. As a side note Westvleteren 12 is regarded by some as the finest beer in the world and it very hard to get your hands on. Now brewing as St Bernardus their offerings are referred to as Abbey beers rather than Trappist and we'll be sampling their Abt 12 (Abbot 12). Here is the blurb straight from their website...
The St.Bernardus Abt 12 is the pride of our stable, the nec plus ultra of our brewery. Abbey ale brewed in the classic 'Quadrupel' style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales. Dark with a full, ivory-colored head. It has a fruity aroma, full of complex flavours and excels because of its long bittersweet finish with a hoppy bite. Worldwide seen as one of the best beers in the world. It's a very balanced beer, with a full-bodied taste and a perfect equilibrium between malty, bitter and sweet. One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren.
Let's see if it measures up.
Price: $9.99 330mls (pretty expensive, but it has made the trip from Belgium).
Alcohol content: 10%
Colour: A deep and dark cloudy brown. Very slight head
that fades quickly.
Aroma: Smells sweet and spicy. Cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, raisins and
dates.
Palate: It’s fizzy, sweet and spicy. Not spicy like hot chillies, but rather a
pleasant tingle of baking style spices in your tongue. At 10% ABV it feels
almost warm even though I’m drinking it chilled. Plenty of sweet caramel malt
flavours coming through.
Finish: It’s in the finish that you get the distinct flavour of Belgian yeast
coming through. It’s not as strong as in a beer like Moa’s St Joseph but it is
still unmistakable. This is a bit toned back compared to other Belgian beers I've had and is really nice. When more pronounced I don’t enjoy it as much. There is a bitterness
at the same time, hidden inside the raisin cookie maltiness, just a touch but it
balances things nicely. It is very sweet. The more I drink the sweeter it gets, almost port like.
On the Chart: This wonderful beer is certainly down towards
the malty end of the chart rather than hoppy. There is some hoppy bitterness
for sure but it is subtle. In terms of complexity, there is plenty going on
here. Yum, yum, yum. It’ll be up the scale in terms of complexity.
Conclusion: St Bernardus promote this beer as full bodied in terms of flavour and “a perfect
equilibrium between malty, bitter and sweet.” I don’t think this is false
advertising. This is pretty delicious. The Belgian yeast won’t be to
everybody’s liking but if you find this part of the beer pleasant to your
palate, you’ll find the rest of it delicious. It’s a big beer. No doubt about
that. But it is also a beer with plenty of nuance and finesse. Well worth
shelling out the $10 for it one time. I'll get another one some time for sure!
Reviews pending:
Moa's Festive IPA Belgium Edition.Lion Breweries' Waikato Draft
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