I bought these 4 La Trappe ales because I had only tried one of them before, and I hate being too uneducated; 😉 they are brewed at the Brouwerij de Koningshoeven (website) in the Netherlands. In 1881 French Trappist monks sought refuge in Brabant, setting up residence at farm cottages and a sheep barn (the temporary monastery) on farmland once owned by King Willem II, at Koningshoeven, which means "King's Farmhouses" in Dutch. In 1884 they started brewing beer to sell for an income and to support their charitable work.
They built a new brewery in 1891, increasing production to raise funds so they could build a new abbey, which they started building in 1894. It wasn't until 1980 that the brand name La Trappe was created, and in 1989 the brewery was completely modernised. To be an authentic Trappist ale, the beer must be 1) brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery either by the monks, or the work must be supervised by the monks, 2) the brewery must only be of secondary importance to the monastic way of life, 3) the brewery must not be a profit-making business, but its income must only cover living expenses and the maintenance of the monastery's buildings and grounds, whatever remains is donated to charity/social work, and to help people in need (website).
The first ale brewed under the name La Trappe was a 7.0% Dubbel in 1980, and I do need to get hold of a bottle, hopefully more of at some future date, fingers crossed. But, back to these ales. The monks originally brewed a 4.0% Blond ale back in 1928, but the present day 6.5% La Trappe Blond has been brewed since 1992, no doubt with a different recipe. I cannot find details of the hops used for the Blond, sorry. It's a golden/yellow colour, and I got fruit in the aroma, particularly peach. To taste, slightly malty, but peach indeed, with hints of citrus, orange, lemon and lime, sweet at first, but drying out in the mouth particularly at the finish, not bad. 😌
My second, the 7.5% La Trappe Isid'or, is the latest of these to be brewed, first brewed in 2009 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the brewery, and named in honour of Brother Isidorus, the first master brewer at La Trappe. A reddish/orange amber colour, the only way I can describe it 😁 with a big fruity, slightly malty aroma. Brewed with Perle hops grown at the monastery (hopslist), and tasting of rich dried fruits, slight caramel, and I got apricot! Sweet at first, but with a refreshing finish drying out to very slightly bitter, and very nice indeed! 👍
The 8.0% La Trappe Tripel was the second of their ales to come out under the brand name a little later than the Dubbel in 1980. As you can see, a golden blond colour, with apricot and pear in the aroma. I've seen reference to the hops used being the same as for the Quadrupel below, which may just be AI gleaning information incorrectly, or lazy journalism from others, but similarities exist, despite the difference in colour, which makes me wonder. There was a hint of apricot and banana in the taste, with a big fruity dry finish, I like it! 😁
I've written about this before, and I've seen La Trappe Quadrupel described as an amber beer, but it pours out so dark it looks more like a dark reddish brown colour, it is that dark an amber, see my photograph above. Brewed with Hallertau Northern Brewer (hopslist) and Slovenian Super Steirer (also known as Super Styrian, ie Aurora grown in Slovenia - hopslist), this Quadrupel has a fruity, notably apricot, and slightly vanilla aroma. I detected apricot and banana in the taste, and dark fruits too. Rich, complex, slightly sweet and smooth to drink, with a warmth from the alcohol, but dry enough finish to ensure this is a very good ale to knock back! 👍
My La Trappe ales and glass arrived in a box unsurprisingly like in the above image, cheers!
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