Rochefort Trappistes 10

Brewed by Brasserie Rochefort
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Rochefort, Belgium

Pours a thick milk chocolate brown with the slightest tint of burnt orange with a two to three finger spongy head that slowly dissipates and leaves a thick lacing. Aroma is chocolate, raisin, fig, and bread pudding. Taste is unbelievably complex Raisin, fig, rum, bread, bread pudding, port – spicy - it keeps changing! Apple cider, some sort of dark fruit jam as it finishes with the perfect bitterness. There is an incredible amount of stuff going on here, I’m sure I didn’t capture it all. Palate is slightly creamy but very fresh, with a lively carbonation that really brings out the spicy flavors and seems to foam up as you work it around your mouth. As a somewhat of a novice, this is the best beer I’ve ever had.

An amazing brew! This brew pours a nice dark brown hue with an amazing head (what else would expect from a Belgian quad?) The flavor is a bit different then other quads i’ve had... it’s a bit herbal but still has that deep dark fruity Belgian flavor that we’ve all come to know and love. This beer has a little bit of spice to it as well. It’s hard to explain this beer, you just have to try it. The mouthfeel on this beer is perfect. This is a high alcohol brew and although it’s hidden pretty well, I was able to detect it in the nose, which knocked it down a point, otherwise this brew is absolutely perfect. Although this beer is a bit expensive ($8.00 for an 11oz bottle here in CO) it’s quite worth it. Nearly perfect in every respect.

Dark, sweet, plum and raisin flavors. It’s one of those lovely Belgian high alochol content ales that manages to taste great despite the alcohol. It reminds me a lot of Delirium Noel, less so but similar to Nocturnum, only better, but at much higher cost ($6 a bottle in Ohio). Overall, Belgian Ales in general have been my favorite thus far. This is probably the best dark ale I’ve tried thus far. It’s extremely rich and complex. Duvel is the best amber so far (more smooth versus complex) and thankfully much more affordable than Delirium, but still more than Grimbergen, although definiitely worth it. At $6 a pop, Trappistes 10 sadly won’t be a weekly beer given the amounts of beer I tend to consume these days, but definitely for special occasions.

Blind Quad 07 tasting. 330 ml. bottle. This was near the end of our tasting and I was feeling a bit disapointed, but one whiff of this and I was like a kid bouncing up and down on my stool. Just a perfect aroma so big and so many complexities. Just pouring off the top: toasted, toffee, brown sugar, oak cherry, port, grape, rasins, nutty, bready dough, the others didn’t compare. Rasin colored, nice sized beige head and good lacing. Many of the same complexities come out in the flavor, lightly sweet lots of rasins, plums, brown sugar, dried fruit, currants .... syruppy texture and a little fizzy. A delicioius long finish with a little alcohol. Wow. We all agreed, definitely the best abt/quad in the line up, better than St. B and Westy 12. damn fine beer. ------- 330 ml. pours dark reddish brown color. A large array of aromas come out, raisins, plums, berries, carmel, sugars, and spice. It hits your tounge and covers your whole palate with a medium body and nice carbonation then the flavors of raisins, plums, currants, carmel, brown sugar, burnt sugar, molasses, chocolate, and a bit of alcohol in the finish. This is a very complex brew that the longer you think about it, the more you realize the delicate and balanced flavors of it. 4.8

Nice brown color, medium head. Aroma: Sweet, malt, raisins, prunes, figs, cherries, burnt sugar. Palate: Dark fruits, plum, chocolate, warm alcohol, bitter, liqourice, very complex. Fantastic beer. One of the best that I ever tried.

Best Belgian I’ve ever drank. Very dark, almost an apple cider look. Aroma and taste: a cornucopia of malty fruits and sweets. Apples, plums, bananas, licorice. Alcohol is masked beautifully, and the finish is spectacularly smooth and pleasant. Leaves taste of a creamy, nut brown. One of the best, most complex beers I’ve ever had.

Bottle. Pours brown with a average size off-white head that is mostly diminishing but leaving good lacing. The aroma is of cereal and the belgian yeast. The flavor is of belgian yeast, along with some banana, raisin and hints of vanilla. The body is medium to full with a creamy texture and soft carbonation.

I was surprised that I hadn’t rated this. It’s the first time I’ve had one by myself and slowly enjoyed all its nuances. I’ve usually had it with friends in comparison with Westy 12 or St Bernardus Abt 12 and it always wins. Most of my drinking friends are wine people who I have converted to beer and they like the fruity winelike qualities of this beautiful beer. Even love that label and it gives me great pleasure to see a couple of them staring at me when I open the refrigerator door.