La Trappe Blond

Brewed by De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Belgian Ale
Tilburg, Netherlands

A deep straw-spun-into-gold color with a lingering, bubbly head. Aromas are a little stale, with sour cherry, pear, toast and barnyard yeast. Light and somewhat quenching, though alcohol plays a distinct role on the profile. A little wet. Flavors are fruity, souring on the finish.

Pours lightly hazy amber-orange with a mid-sized white head that recedes unevenly, leaving white splotches like mold on bread. Light aroma of pear, peach, banana, and yeast against bready malt. Might be some wheat in there, too. The flavor starts out oddly metallic, and that metal stays in the mouth through the finish. It is pushed to the background by some of the fruit of the aroma, which comes in around the middle. The end is sharply yeasty. Refreshing citrusy aftertaste. Lightly oily mouthfeel, which helps to give the beer some substance.

Bottle... Hazy, golden ale with a large, frothy, white head. Musty, woodsy aroma with esters of fuzzy fruit and freshly broken cauliflower. The grainy, earthy flavor is well-balanced, but leans just a hair on the sweet side. No evident alcohol. Medium to full-bodied and creamy with fizzy carbonation. Short, crisp finish. Leaves a pleasant, mild sweetness in the mouth.

The aroma has sugar, fruit, dough yeast, floral hops, and malt. The appearance is approaching dark blond with a medium, persistent head. The flavor is sweet with caramel, light fruits, alcohol, and some bitterness especially in the finish. The palate is thin. It’s lighter than expected.

Pours clear and golden with a nice frothy head. There was an initial banana and yeast burst when I popped the cap. But, the aroma weakens from there. The banana and yeast are omnipresent (as in most Belgian blondes), but there’s really not much else going on in the nose. First sip is very silky smooth. Almost no astringency to speak of, but a little too much on the sweetness. As it warms, and out of nowhere, it picks up a wheatiness that I wasn’t expecting. Banana and wheat don’t really go together well, so it was a pick of a distraction. All in all, it’s very easy to drink, and somewhat refreshing on a warm night, but it’s not very challenging.

Amber color. Weak off-white creamy head. Aroma is malty, fruity (pear) with light caramel and wooden notes. Flavor is fruity too with peach and light nutty tones, ending in a moderately fruity finish. Light to medium bodied.

Bottled. Beer is hazy yellow-caramel colored with a small, off-white, frothy, mostly and rapidly diminishing head. The aroma is malty with light notes of toasted grain; Hoppy with light note of herb; Yeasty with a light note of cobweb; Moderate orange zest, light bubble gum, spicy alchs, damp cardboard. The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter, with a long, lightly warm, moderately acidic lightly bittersweet finish. Nasty sherry aftertaste/retros. The body is light-to-medium, the texture is watery and the carbonation is lively.

Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy light amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (cookie, toasted grain/bread), with light notes of bubble gum, sherry, and clove. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation. Probably not a real fresh bottle, but not bad.