Welcome! Bienvenu! Herzlich Wilkommen!

This section is devoted to reviews of various beers, wines and cheeses that I have tasted in any of a variety of settings. These reviews should be refreshed perhaps every two weeks but there are no absolute promises there. My only wish is to share some delightful experiences that you may want to reproduce for yourself. Anyway my best wishes for some wonderful tasting experiences!

January 1, 2012

The first foray into this area will be for a wonderful Belgian ale called Trappistes Rochefort number 8. This beer comes from a Belgian monastery near Rochefort. The brewery is in the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy. The beer making functions have been cooking along since 1595 so these monks have had some time to get their act together. There are only 15 monks there. They make three different beers but the most available one is the number 8 with a green top. There is a number 6 with a red top and a number 10 with a blue top. The water is drawn from a well on the property but the actual recipes are a trade secret. Number 8 has a yellow brown to medium brown color and is moderately strong in flavor with slight hints of honey. The beer is opaque in the glass and relatively dark compared to other beers. The alcohol content is 9.2% and the beverage comes in a pencil like bottle, like the straight and slender spires of some churches. The total volume is 11.2 fluid oz.

So what is my overall impression of this beer? Wunderbar! Definitely a winner but it may be a little on the heavy side for some. For me it had slight honey tones with a little bit of bite for interest. I would recommend this beer with a moderately sharp Vermont cheddar. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did should you choose to try it.