Here is the second of the Trappist Ales, which we suggested for Drink with us Friday.  SImilar to Chimay, this Rochefort 10 is the strongest in a series of three (the others being 6 and 8).  (By the way, I agree with Nate that Chimay Blue is an excellent beer and worthy of of being tried.)

Rochefort is designated as a Quadruple Ale, the implication being that it is fitting for times stronger than “normal” ale.  I have plans to try their 8 and 6, but for now, let’s talk about their 10.

This beer had a thick, tall, and light brown stable head.  The body was densely brown and active.  As I looked at it, it seemed like an imposing ale.

When I bent down to sniff this Trappist Ale, I immediately caught the aroma of the 11.3% alcohol that dominated the beer.  There was a sweet, sugary aroma on the nose, along with a malty and vinous quality.  I caught the smell of raisons, a slight cherry fruitiness, and hints of chocolate.  In addition, toasted caramel was a thought that ran through my mind.

Having finished my ritual of sight and smell, I was ready to take a sip.  Man was this strong!  The fruitiness and some of the other smell qualities definitely came through in the taste.  But the most dominate feature that I could gather on this beer was the taste of what I can only describe as Gin.  The alcohol warmth was prevalent and very dry.  Granted, I drink every beer I review at room temp in order to get the most taste (I may drink this again at 55 degrees and add an addendum to this review), so that may be part of why the alcohol was so strong.  However, at this point, all I can say about this beer is that the gin-like alcohol was out of proportion to the rest of the beer.  And this coming from a guy who like Dogfish head’s World-Wide Stout, 120 Min IPA, and Sam Adams Utopias–so, I don’t mind strong alcohol qualities as long as the strike some balance.  

Such a high alcohol in this type of beer is problematic for one reason: candy sugar.  Candy sugar is used to lighten the body of many many Belgian beers.  It is also used as a source of fermentables.  There becomes a point when the beer gets too big for the body.  I’m not asking for a malty bock beer, but I think a little more grain content and a little less sugar would go a long way in adding just a little more balance.

Having said all the above, this is not really a bad beer.  In fact, it is above average.  However, in my final assessment I would only call it disproportionate.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Trappist Ales ★★★¼☆