Rochefort Trappistes 8

Brewed by Brasserie Rochefort
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Rochefort, Belgium

Strong fruity yeast aroma. Dark amber color with a large tan head. Light beginning with a fruit malty and lightly bitter middle finish. Palate is slightly creamy but light for the alcohol.

[#200] Did the Rochefort 10 for number 100 so this seemed fitting for 200. Pours opaque brown with a thick off-white head. Very bready, yeasty, malty aroma. None of the fruit I was expecting. Very creamy and smoothe on the palate. Flavor is more of that bread and malt with a bit of a hay component. I can see why people love this, but for my palate it just doesnt blow me away. It is a pretty young bottle though.

Pours brown tinged with yellow. Has a 1.5 cm dark tan head. Decent lacing. Smells of hops, dark bread dough, cooked green peas. Mouthfeel is slick, but it puckers the tongue, drying it out a bit. Taste is roasted malt, cocoa, white vinegar, whiskey, and some high alcohol notes. Aftertaste is very sour citrus. Becomes mustier as it warms. Not bad.

Bottle... Poured foggy ruby with a beige head, nice lacing. Aroma of sweet, roasted barley-malt. Subtle palate with a sweet acidity and a stern malt profile with some hops too. Slight alcohol for a satisfying finish.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy brown, slightly lighter than the 10, with a frothy light tan head. Aroma of delicious apple, pear, raisin, and yeast. Flavor of apple skins, awesome combination of light fruits, with a full, rich creamy palate. Light alcohol burn but certainly not as boozy as the 10 (which I love, but you’ve got to be in the mood for boozy). It took me awhile to decide if I liked this better than the 10 - not as flavorfully complex perhaps but I do love those light fruits. The mouthfeel is simply incredible. Almost perfect and my favorite Belgian Strong Ale. 10/5/9/5/20 (4.9/5)

Update 5/1/09: So I’ve had this beer several times since my original rating and find myself not as impressed as the first time. This is a really tasty beer, but it is no longer my favorite. 8/5/8/4/18 (4.3/5)

Good carbonation, Thick foam that stays long time. Semi dark appearance with a spicy smell with traditional belgian fenols, and complex mixtures fruits. A sweet caramell taste with spices. As the beer gets warmer the alcohole is obvious together with apricots.

I had quite high hopes for this beer, and to be honest, was slightly dissapointed. I was certainly not wowed. Pours hazy brown with lots of residuals. Aroma is of fruity yeast, apricot, and spice. Evident, but not profound. Flavor is of cider, fruit, cherry, and nuts with some fruity esters in the back. Malt is evident and quite complex, but not as hard hitting as I was hoping for- much more subtle. Palate is really quite incredible- prickly at first, but subsides to become incredible smooth and unassuming. Not world class in my opinion- I definitely need to try this one again and intend on doing so in the near future.

Rich on the nose of yeast, hops and honey. Luxuriant and long lasting head, with some lacing, and dark teak body. Fully rounded flavour, with the alcohol perfectly blended and balanced. Great beer.