Achel 8 Blond

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappistenabdij De Achelse Kluis
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Hamont-Achel, Belgium

This a a nice easy to drink Trappist ale. Decent flavor, pairs well with rich meats such as corned beef.

Poured from the bottle into my Westvleteren goblet. I poured it slow because I wanted to avoid getting any of the huge yeast chunks into the glass; as a result the head is less than stellar for a Belgian but still a solid one finger. Massive sheets of fine bubbles adorn the sides of the glass as the volume dwindles with each sip, but they dissipate into thin spiderweb lacing over time. Appearance: The beer is very cloudy on account of the ample yeast. Pours a dark straw color. Smell: Yeast is the dominant smell, followed by overripe apples. Taste: Yeasty malt overrides a vague hoppiness, followed by slight booziness at the end which becomes more and more prominent as the beer warms. Notes of pepper, citrus rind. Mouthfeel: Excellent mouthfeel. The carbonation is very fine, producing tiny bubbles that carry the beverage along the tongue like tiny wheels. A bit thin in the body though. Drinkability: Pretty good, although the blatant yeastiness is a bit too much for me to want another right away. The trappists have made better tripels but this one holds its own. I’ll certainly come back to it another time.

lots of soapy honey and cellar muff in the aroma .. . great firm white head ... fantabulous lacing .. very easy to drink, abv plays well, .. . very fun little brew, is it really 8%,.. wow, fit to be trappist!.. .

330ml bottle (Cracked Kettle, Amsterdam)
Clear rich gold, huge fluffy head - a joy to behold. Beautiful clean hoppy aroma, slightly sweet and fruity. Big burst of esters in the mouth, both pleasant fruity ones, but also some more chemical spikes such as ethyl acetate. Decent malty body backs that all up nicely. Well balanced and clean. Yeast fills out the body more, more fruity, more esters. Can’t quite deliver what the aroma promised, but still a very tasty Belgian.

33cl bottle, clear golden, huge fluffy head. Aroma is malty, spicy and fruity. Getting a metallic taste on the lips. Cleared up after a while (30-40 mins). Taste is good. Some hoppyness on he finish. Nothing else really comes to me though. Maybe this bottle is wrong. I will rerate with another bottle. Rating #82 Re-rate 090526. 330ml bottle in trappist glass. Aroma is quite spicy, fresh, malty and citrusy. Head has a metallic taste. Medium bitterness. Nice head retention, lots of lacing. A bit earthy. Warm feeling. Not bad overall but not much complexity Taste is a bit metallic almost until the end. Got better at the end, more fruits and no metallic caracter. Overall bumped from 12 to 14

One of my favourites of the easily available Trappist beers, mainly because of the delicious cookie/fresh bread nature of it. It’s quite unique, and very tasty. It’s a looker in the glass too, with a pillowy white head. The only letdown for me is the amount of carbonation. It almost floats over the tongue, and is so gassy. I think it tastes better after it’s sat in the glass for a while and worked off some of that CO2. Great beer though, not sure why I’ve not rated it before.

yellow with lacy white head. Sweet herbal,fruity aroma with a tasty fruity sweet flavor and a fizzy spicy finish.

golden, slightly hazy ,white dense head smells malty, bittersweet, yeasty, fruity, alcohol smooth carbonation tasts malty, some spices ,cookies, fruit,alcohol aftertaste malt ,fruit, spice,the alcohol is very strong (hot, not warm! enemn a bit harsh)