Rochefort Trappistes 8

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

Color is hazy dark brown. Beige head is thick, cloudy, long-lasting and lacy. Aroma is very complicated: spicy, salty, sweet syrupy, roasty malty with a bit alcohol. Flavor is very nice and soft: salt licorice, spicy, sweety and syrupy malty with pertinent hoppy bitterness. Full bodied, soft, foamy carbonated and a bit alcoholic, warming palate.

Aroma of.. i dunno, slight fruit. Excellent palate, flavor was non fantastic. Was not impressed on the whole, but its not my favorite style

hazy brown pour, smallish head. aroma of yeast, clove, some ginger, sweetish malt, citrusy aroma of orange or apricot. Incredibly smooth palate, flavor is very unique, hints of apple cider, black cherry- very mysterious and complex. Not many beers can baffle me like this, but in such a wondrous way. Beer is hard to place, but incredibly delicious.

Bottle poured a dark brown umddy color. Thin off-white head that presents no lacing. Sweet spicy aroma. Some dry roast character in the finish, mostly sweet spicy and bready. Very carbonated with a biting tingly feel. I do not like the strong carbonation on this and the 6.

Slightly bready aroma with lots of apple and raisin. Yeasty. A touch of apple cider. Good size creamy off-white head that doesn’t die. Light lacing. Cloudy brown body. Relatively sweet. Lots of fruit - raisins, apple, dried fruits - with a pleasant brown sugar sort of malt body. Very well integrated. Nice finish. Medium/full body with a wonderful creaminess. Medium to low carbonation - very pleasant for this beer. Low alcohol presence. Very drinkable. All in all, a very tasty beer. Not as complex as the 10, but a great beer nonetheless.

Murky orange/amber color with foamy white head. Apples, dark fruits, brown sugar aroma. Syrupy and full bodied on the palate. Not as good as the 10, but still one of the best beers I’ve ever tried.

Over-carbonated (likely due to bottle conditioning), cidery brown appearance. My expectations were initially skewed for this one as I thought this was the Abbey Dubbel version (Roch. 6). Aroma begins feintly yeasty and malty , and stronger aromas never really develop. Mildly fusely flavor with winy yeasty notes and twinge of yeast sourness on finish. Lacks the complexity I would expect and desire of a beer of this style, though otherwise, this is a very good Belgian Strong Ale. Well crafted--especially considering the knock-you-over-the-head alcohol content!

11.2oz at John’s Spirits. WOW! Talk about bang for your buck. I tried this side by side with a comparable trappiste and the difference was very evident. Dark brown to the eye with a thick(ish) off white head, slight lacing, sweet and deep to the nose, and a full, robust fruity and nutty palate. 9.2ABV hits you after 5 of those ounces. A new favorite!