Beer Review #3: La Trappe Tripel

The La Trappe Tripel is brewed by Beer Brewery de Koningshoeven, the only Trappist brewery in The Netherlands. All beers are brewed in collaboration with the monks of the O.L.V. Koningshoeven Abbey. This monastery was founded in 1880 and is compared to the other trappist monasteries, relatively young. It was founded in The Netherlands after moving from France, where they were worried about the fate of the monks.

There are actually quite a few La Trappe beers: Blond, Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel, Witte Trappist, Bockbier, Isid'or, Oak Aged, PUUR and Real Trappist. Here at Bier Central we offer the first 4, and the Tripel is the first one I'll describe.

The La Trappe Tripel has an ABV of 8% (alcohol), and has a golden to light amber color. The firm white foamhead disappears quite fast, allthough there remains a very thin layer that stays on top of the liquid.

The smell is quite fruity and reveils the coriander, which definitely gives it a spicy character. The beer is well carbonated, but I found it to disappear quite fast, and made the it a bit flat if you don't drink it fast enough. I like my beers well carbonated.

The mouthfeel was well present, which wasn't the case for the aftertaste. It's taste reminded me of something roasted and also made me think about caramel. Bitter-sweet I'd say.

Allthough this is definitely not a bad beer, it's not one of my favorites, especially if you compare it to their Quadruple, which I like much more.

Don't try to compare it with the Westmalle Tripel, it's a complete different tripel, it would be like comparing apples to oranges. Where the Westmalle stands out in it's bitterness, the La Trappe Tripel is way more fruitier and sweeter.

My rating ... 6 out of 10.