Space Pirates Ltd.

That which is different tends to interest me. This beer, Rochefort Trappistes 8 is a beer brewed by monks in an abbey in Belgium. Only six or so of these abbeys have the right to apply the term “trappistes” to their beers, so this is some pretty esoteric stuff.

Maybe it’s just because I’m not a beer snob, but I didn’t find this beer particularly enjoyable. This is disappointing, not only because it received such rave reviews on ratebeer.com, but also because of the bottle’s price tag (elaborated below).

So here’s the premise: it’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon, around 4:30. I decided that I’ve worked hard this week thus far, which merits a trip to a bar for a high-quality beer. Zeno’s is one my two favorite bars in State College. It is located right off of the main street in State College and stocks over 200 kinds of beers, so it’s a convenient and great place for someone who doesn’t adhere to a certain brand of beer. Since I turned 21, this is the bar that I’ve been to the most and have had several different kinds of beers there.

On recommendation from the bartender on a previous visit, I ordered a Rochefort Trappistes 8, which ratebeer.com classifies as a “Belgian Strong Ale.” The bartender looked somewhat shocked when I ordered it; I was even more shocked when I signed the $10 credit card slip. That said, I had high hopes for this beer. It poured a dark color, somewhere in between brown and purple (mind you, the bar isn’t very bright so it could be lighter than I described). The aroma was quite enticing; I caught whiffs of plum and other dark fruits which I couldn’t quite discern.

Then came the tasting. The ale attacked my taste buds with a salvo of flavor.

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted sweet and bitter in the same drink. I didn’t know what to make of it. The beer was very fizzy, kind of like Pop Rocks if they were in liquid form. The flavor was very strong, and seemed to change as time went on. By the end of the beer, it was slightly more bitter than sweet and there was sediment in the bottom of my glass.

It’s certainly an experience to drink Rochefort 8, but what kind of experience is entirely up to you. Overall, I’m still in limbo about this beer. In the end, though, I’m giving it a slightly less than gratifying review simply because of its price. This is not a college kid’s beer.

I don’t know the criteria for what makes a good beer, since it’s always in the eye of the beholder, but on a scale of 1-10, I’d give Rochefort Trappistes 8 a 6.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Pirate Brew Ha-Ha. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.