Rochefort 8

[stronk]

Is this the double or the single?

I had this a few hours ago and it was a defining moment for me, being the 3rd good belgian abbey beer (a trappist, no less) I have tasted. It added a 3rd dimension (in that I now know that the other 2 can't just be rated on a good-to-bad scale).

I'm not exactly an expert on this, so I'll make it brief:

Not a very aromatic beer, it pours with a thick head, which sticks around for a good while. The colour is dark brown and lightly cloudy, with a thick grey sediment in the bottom of the glass. On tasting, the 9.5% is very well masked, but so (apparently) are the flavours of the beer. The experience is very mellow, with a meaty overtone (I don't know how else to describe it) and a dry, musty aftertaste.

Anyone else have an opinion on this beer? I preferred Gulden Draak (but I'm open to persuasion).

[Theakston]

Originally posted by stronk
Is this the double or the single?



This is the double. Rochefort produce a 6 and 8 and a 10
They weigh in at 7,9 and 11 ABV. So you can call the 6 the single the 8 the double and the 10 the triple. The 6 and the 8 are a little over strength for that classification though and the 10 is darker than a classic triple. But the 8 is definitely stronger than a single.
( a classic single would be the stimulo from witkap.

I like the 8. I find it very "bread" like.

[jsmurphy]

My wife just returned from UK bearing gifts. Some Rochefort 8, a bottle of Calvados and Cuban Cohibas. Life is good...:)

[Richard English]

Quote "...My wife just returned from UK bearing gifts. Some Rochefort 8, a bottle of Calvados and Cuban Cohibas. Life is good......"

One of the interesting facts that I learnt only recently is that the UK is the world's greatest trading nation - by several orders of magnitude - measured on a trade per person basis. That means we export and import far more than any other country and thus the range of products we have available to buy is very broad

Having lived here all my life I have accepted this plentitude without comment, although I had already noticed that most other countries do not seem to have the range of booze available that we do. In my local (small) supermarket I can buy wine from over thirty different countries and beer from over twenty and consider that quite normal.

I don't smoke but know that tobacco products, such as Cuban cigars, are easily available to anyone who cares to pay for them - and it has always been so.

With airfares to the UK now so cheap I strongly recommend a visit to London, there to stock up on those goods that Uncle Sam has decided are not suitable for Americans!

And I'll be glad to buy a pint for any of this board's members as and when you do come here (as I already have for two of you!)

[chazwicke]

Thanks Richard, But I believe it is my turn to buy. I will definitely be there in May and possibly in February. I suspect the Feb. trip may be diverted to some warmer climate as my wife and son will have a say in the final destination. I am pulling for London. I have been there twice in February and it is not a bad time of year to visit. I always manage to bring home a few bottles of beer and even once a growler from the Orange Brewery. And I met a couple of guys from the Cornwall area in a pub near my hotel ( after GBBF) and they gave me a bottle to bring home as a gift. They were impressed that I had traveled to London just for the GBBF. I also aquired through a deal with a guy in the Batemans booth A bottle of Rosey Nosey Christmas Ale which I will be sampling in a few weeks.

[Richard English]

Quote "...I have been there twice in February and it is not a bad time of year to visit..."

Probably the coldest and wettest month but, after all, that's the month I was born so there's always something for me to celebrate.

And the better pubs will always have a nice open fire to toast the toes!

[stronk]

Really? Me too; what day?

[Richard English]

24th.