La Trappe Isid’or

Brewed by De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Belgian Ale
Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Bottle Code K09F9; Sampled October 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three-finger thick, nicely tan colored head. The head leaves a ton of thick lacing on the sides of my glass as it slowly subsides. The beer is murky, dark amber color that shows a mostly clear, orange tinged, dark copper and light amber color when held up to the light. The aroma is fairly clean with some metallic / herbal hop notes, a honey’d malt character, some biscuit grain notes as well as some fruit notes of lightly oxidized apples, fresh cut pears and some green melon notes. The nose is actually pretty simplistic and it is actually a bit too clean, especially for a Belgian’esque beer.

Faintly metallic and herbal up front, but a tinny note seems to get a bit stronger in the finish. There is a touch of bitterness that provides some structure to the finish. The malt character as a soft sweetness as well as some cracker like grain notes, some caramelized malt notes as well as some biscuit character; much of the malt seems to be over-powered by the metallic note found here though. A sip taken after some time spent away from the beer has me noticing some brown sugar and toasted brown bread flavors. Much of the metallic notes seem to mix with some phenolic notes that provide more of a plastic note than the traditional clove note; this last is here as well though. The body of this is a touch chewy, though it is not heavy it does not have the drinkability I might like to see in it. There is some fruit character in teh flavor as well and it reminds me more of oxidized apples than anything; though this isn’t as bad as it might sound.

This is a bit disappointing, despite the fact that I wasn’t really expecting too much from it to begin with. It might really benefit from some age, which would hopefully diminish the metallic note. This isn’t overly complex either, and I truthfully don’t know if age will really improve this much (but it will change it).

(Bottle) Hazy amber colour with brief, frothy, beige head. Malty, fruity nose with apricots, dried fruit, orange peel, treacle toffee and a slight acidity. Malty, fruity taste with notes of dried fruit, marzipan, caramel, orange, treacle, crisp-bread and a slightly citric bitterness in the finish. Medium body, with a touch of sweetness, drying out towards the end. Well balanced and tasty. Nice one.

Light spice aroma, maybe even a little pear and apple. Dark copper color, almost brown. Taste seems slighly bitter upfront with a lingering sweetness. Has a thick mouthfeel with low carbonation. Not bad, but certainly nothing special.

Geschmacklich ist es süßlich-fruchtig leicht alkoholisch wobei die Fruchtigkeit in Richtung süß-apfelig und bedingt citrus geht, nur bedingt citrus, da das Bier nicht säuerlich ist, die fruchtigkeit mit seiner süße sorgt für ein Erfrischendes und leckeres Aroma, das stärkere Prickeln und der leichte Alkoholgeschmack machen es dagen zu einem Bier das die Trappisten gut vertritt. Das zweite Glas ist nicht ganz so fruchtig dafür mehr süß-hefig und etwas stärker jedoch immernoch zurückhaltend alkoholisch. Test vom 5.11.2010, Gebinde: Glasflasche Noten: 10,12,12,12,12,12 - 11,80

Small white head. Hazy brown body. Caramelly roasty sugar and banana aroma with oily licorice notes. Dry-sweet strawberry and licorice taste with banana and spice notes. Mid-bodied. Mild mouthfeel. Dryish oily spicy licorice aftertaste with herbal notes. Very nice and dangerously drinkable. (0.33l draft at Oluthuone Kaisla, Helsinki.)

deep amber with medium head. lots of caramel sweetness with fruity background. perhaps a bit too sweet for my liking.

Tasted, draft, at the open brewery day. Pours dark orange, almost brown, very dense shiny head. Nose and aroma are very sweet, candy, caramel, ... Palate a bit too sticky as a result.

330 ml bottle into chalice, K11E11 bottle code. Pours slightly hazy golden orange color with a nice 1 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Some light spotty lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of carbonation streaming up. Aromas of banana, pear, clove, grape, bubblegum, earth, and peppery yeast spices. Very balanced an pleasant aromas with good strength. Taste of banana, pear, grape, pepper, clove, earth, citrus peel, bread, candi sugar, and yeast spices. Fairly dry finish; with lingering notes of pear, banana, grape, bread, and yeast spices on the finish for a bit. Very balanced malt flavors with the spiciness of the yeast. Medium carbonation and body; with a slightly creamy and slick mouthfeel. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming present on the finish. Overall this is a damn nice Belgian pale ale. Extremely balanced with good complexity; and very smooth to sip on. Really well done.

750ml bottle. Yeast, spicy aromas. Pours golden, hazy, with some white head, persistant, some lacing. Medium body and high carbonation. Taste is malty, yeasty, some spicy. Nice finish.

Deep amber cloudy pour no head just a thin ring.... aroma is of caramel malts, dark fruity yeast.... taste is of candy sugar, caramel malts, fruity yeast, little spicy, apples, light apricots...... Finishes dry and spicy smooth easy drinking ... Smooth and tasty light abv in finish

Aroma is candied fruit of caramel malt with yeasty background. Opaque dark orange with persistent tan head. Sweet flavor, kind of salty and sour. This is a beer where the yeast really run the show throughout the drinking experience. Crisp front and flush finish. Many estery Belgians have this profile, but few are this heavy A winner in the small horse race.