Trappistes Rochefort

While I cooked dinner last night I opened a bottle of Asahi – Super Dry – a Japanese Rice Lager with an ABV of 5%.  I was a little skeptical as the reviews were not great with this beer.  They were correct, this is not a great beer and it is a mass-produced Japanese beer.  It does not taste horrible, but it has little character and is definitely not a craft beer.  I used some of it in the sauté of onion, jalapeno pepper, green beans and carrots.  The other items I cooked were rice and a bacon-cheddar stuffed chicken breast.

With dinner, I opened Rochefort 6, a Belgian Strong Ale, with an ABV of 7.5%.  This is a wonderful beer from a Trappist brewery and you can taste sweetness and dark fruit (plum / prune / raisin).  This went excellent with dinner and was one I had to slow down to enjoy as it is very drinkable. 

I next tasted Rochefort 8, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, with an ABV of 9.2%.  This pours a dark muddy color with a head that quickly recedes.  While not a bad beer at all, I enjoyed 6 much better.  8 has a nice aroma and is sweet, but it is not as drinkable as 6.

Rochefort 10, a Quadrupel Ale, with an ABV of 11.3%, was the final beer of the evening.  This is a fantastic beer and I thought close to 6 in the flavor profile, but with more alcohol.  It does not have a taste of alcohol, which is well hidden by the complex taste of malt sweetness, dark fruit (plum/prune/raisin) and molasses.  This is a very rich tasting beer and it is one to be slowly consumed and enjoyed.  These were great Christmas presents from my wife and I enjoyed them.