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.

Christmas Gift - Beer and Glassware

I received some great gifts from my wife and mother-in-law for Christmas that will be great to try.  My wife gave me Rochefort Brewery - a Belgian Trappist Brewery - number 6, 8, and 10.  All of these are highly rated and 6 is difficult to acquire because it is brewed only once a year and represents only 1% of the brewing output from the Abbey of Notre Dame.  My mother-in-law gave me a large bottle and a small bottle of St. Bernardus Abt 12.  This is the highest quality ale produced by St. Bernardus and is considered a showpiece for the brewery.  I am looking forward to sampling these highly rated Belgian Ales.  I also received some nice glassware of a set of 4 each - Imperial Pint, Czech Pilsner, and Bavarian Pilsner.