Achel 8 Bruin

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

nuts, caramel, herbs, brown, hazy, aminimal head, medium sweetness, lightly bitter, full body, long finish, soft carbonation, creamy, slick feel,

Poured a slightly hazy brown color with lighter hints at red. Thin, soapy lacing. The aroma was light yeast, malt and raisins. The flavor was kind of sour, yeasty and malty. Thin body and a pretty watery mouthfeel. Tasted like a fairly generic Belgian ale. I didn’t click with this one.

33cl Bottle. Even though it’s widely available here for some reason I had never tried it before. Ruby colored with a nice head. Dark fruit aroma and similar flavor with a dry finish. Nice one overall but not in par with other Trappist.

Slightly funky, lightly sour aroma, with lots of dark fruit. Complex flavor with both sour and bitter edges, and dark, slightly funky fruits. Bitter finish. Complex, but something about it is imperfect, expecially when compared to Rochefort and Westv. 8s.

Bottle hopduvel, 6 months or something old. Gusher! Then pours murky brown with a ruby shine. Huge head, frothy. Rosewater and chewy caramel aroma. Alcohol very tasteable. Boring and flat. Compared tasting with Deca Oud Vleteren which had a lot more to offer.

As a lover of Belgians, this one was average for me. Starts with a warm bread yeast and banana aroma that is quite nice. Has some dark fruit notes, quite a bit of fizz and a dryness at the end that I appreciate. Just a lot better, widely available, in this category.

Thanks to HogTownHarry. Appearance: Ruby red/brown with a small off white head. Aroma: Raisins, cinnamon, malt, alcohol, malt again, figs, yeast and oak. Flavour: Malty again, honey, caramel, deep dark wood, malt, alcohol and yeast. Not bad.

Enjoyable dark beer, not as high up my list as the other trappists, but still above average, to say the least.