La Trappe Blond

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

Imagine my surprise when I walked into my local, small Morrison (Hawick) and found this, and several other interesting brews on the shelves which weren’t there a couple of days ago..just goes to show you should always check out the most unlikely outlets. Anyway, this is tasty stuff, soft malty notes with nice fruit both on the nose and on the palate, a very pleasant surprise...by the way the bottle is a "ceramic" 500ml with a cork. £2 odd each.

(Bottle 33 cl) Dark golden beer with a fairly small head. Extremely aromatic with distinct, fruity notes. The ale-yeast adds some wonderful, almost exotic notes. Some sweetness, but not cloying. Subdued, short bitterness. Yeast sediment at the botom. 120602

11.2 fl oz brown bottle. Golden colour, very creamy compact head. Aromas of banana, yeast and a touch of spice. Fruity/malty flavour with hint of clove, yeasty and sweet.

The bottle poured a light copper colored beverage with an ample creamy white head that lasted throughout and left beautiful lacing. There was a nice malt aroma with subtle undertones of spice and phenols. It had a nice medium body and medium carbonation. The texture was smooth. The flavor starts off spicy with notes of anise. As it matures a slight sweet fruitiness comes out accompanied with some smooth malt. The finish is long and slightly spicy-sweet

Bottled. Clear yellow coloured with a small white head. Aroma of fruits and caramel. Sweet fruity flavour with notes of caramel and spices.

11.2oz Konings-Hoeven label. Dark golden colored and slightly hazed. Head shrinks to almost nothing. Body is effervescent, medium slightly clinging mouthfeel. Light hops in aroma, fruit and sweet honey. Lightly spiced flavor and a bit sweet as in honey and sugar. Light bitternes from hops. Overall nothing on the scale of their Quad but not entirely dissapointing.

Very interesting. Different in taste, texture and overall makeup to the Belgium trappist ales. Lighter, more of a medium body, a pale yellow cloudy color and while there is an array of subtle yeast, fruit and malt it’s not quite as complex as a quad which I suppose is the point.

I believe this was an older bottle; a 750 with a cork. There was a funky barnyard aroma, almost like a lambic or gueze. Dark, cloudy yellow, with a large white head that left a thick lace on the glass. Thick mouthfeel. Bread, light fruit and light malt flavors, but none of these really stand out from the others. Another winner from La Trappe.