La Trappe Tripel

This was supposed to be my good luck beer for watching Holland play Germany the other night. I've got family over in the  Netherlands and despite being armed with inside information that the Dutch defence might not be up to much (a text from my brother; he was right) I settled down with a fair degree of optimism.

It pours a lovely dutch royal orange colour. Although that may be more bronze if you're not affected by the all-pervading glow that is the current Dutch home kit - which I'm guessing is designed to lessen the carbon footprint of the Netherlands by reducing the need for landing lights at Schiphol. The coriander is noticeable on the nose, and initial flavours are of apple and spice. As it warmed a little (It lasted me until the second half) the sweetness on the mid-palate came through; I got Satsuma and Brazil-nut notes. It's dry and malty with a pithy-orange finish. All rather Christmassy really! I love Trappist beers, it is probably these more than any that got me really exploring the world of beer, taking me away from my comfort zone of British beer when I was working in pubs. While this isn't my favourite, I still enjoyed it and I'm going to make an effort to try the others in the range if I can.

So as a talisman for a Dutch victory it didn't work; the Germans were too good. As a beer for the match? Well, it was orange, and it left something of a bitter taste in the mouth. Which is kind of appropriate I suppose.

Here's to a victory over Portugal on Sunday. Hup Holland!

8% abv. £2.81 (33cl) from Beer Ritz.

The De Koningshoeven brewery that brews the 'La Trappe' range is well known as being the only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium; this official status allows them to describe their beer as 'Trappist' on their labels and use International Trappist Association logos - although this has been a point of dispute in the past). However, this may all change with the Stift-Engelszell monastery in Austria now brewing, As far as I understand it they might have to wait a while before being able to take advantage of full Trappist status and it isn't necessarily a given. It seems that the Abbaye du Monts des Cats that brew 'bière trappiste' and are listed on the ITA website under 'Trappist Breweries' will not be granted that full status because of the beer not being brewed within the abbey walls. If you'd like to know more have a look at Chuck Cook's Belgian Beer and Travel Blog. Finally, rumours also abound about the set-up of a Trappist brewery in Massachusetts, although it seems this might well be the world's ninth once things get moving.

I apologise if any of this information is incorrect, it's just what I've been able to see on a brief look around on the web - and I'm sure everyone knows how reliable that can be - any further links/posts/information will be accepted with the grace it is offered.

Fyne Ales 'Avalanche'

Well my first beer of the weekend, during my third game of rugby of the day, ended up being one to toast the only home nations victors of the week. On the weekend of the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival, I would have loved it to have been the Purple Moose beer I've had sitting around for a while in anticipation of an historic Wales win. It wasn't to be, and once again it was Scottish beer, and Scotland were the only winners of the week. Fair play to them. Although I'm sure it'll be dismissed because of the conditions, both teams had to play in them, and Scotland coped better. Roll on the Melbourne test, and in the mean time apparently there's some football on.

Back to the beer, since this isn't a sport blog. It pours a lovely pale straw-yellow with a slight haze. Initial aromas are all hops; fresh lemon and gentle pine. This continues through on to the palate, backed up with a some rich-tea biscuit flavour which helps give it a bit of body. Overall this beer's all about that freshness though; the finish has even more citrus, grapefruit, bitterness, and it rounds off a perfect summer session beer. Fine Ale indeed.

4.5% abv. £2.76 (50cl) from Beer Ritz.


A bit of a diversion from the beer 'in hand' as it were. Wednesday's Thornbridge trip was pretty inspirational. Mark commented on the post that he'd like to go on more brewery trips, and I think I'd share that sentiment. Even if you are not necessarily that excited about or inspired by the beer itself, talking to people involved in making something that they have pride in and a passion for is motivating in itself.

The fact of the matter is that there is a lot of beer out there that, on its own, isn't really going to motivate you to get the keyboard out and write - as Nick points out over on his blog there is an awful lot of uninspiring beer about. I tend to default to hand-pulled beer if I do get out (which isn't that often) if only because it's something I can't get at home, but sometimes I find myself wondering why I bothered. This can of course all change if you bump into the right person, or you are out and about and find a new pub that just lifts your spirits; an escape from the mundane, or maybe just a timely roof to protect you from the equally wearisome British summer. In the right moment, a beer you might otherwise overlook can provide something that the most flavour-packed 8% hop-monster you've been looking forward to for ages might not.