Beer of the Month (January 2019)

[braziliain]

The idea of this thread is that we pick a commercial beer each month and you have a month to source it, try it and review it here. We can then compare notes and maybe even come up with some recipe ideas.

For January, it was decided that beer of the month should be the winner from the recent beer world cup tournament.

January 2019's beer of the month is.....

Rochefort 10



So, a quick Google reveals that it is a Trappist Quad at a cool 11.3% abv and has been brewed at the Brasserie de Rochefort at L’Abbaye Notre Dame de Saint-Remy since 1952 in its current form.

Some more info by clicking here

So that's it. If you want to play along, go find the beer in January, drink it and come back with your thoughts. Let the beer hunting begin!


Previous Beers of the Month:
December 2018 - Weihenstephaner Hefe Weiss

 

[Graz]

One of my favourite winter beers though quite hard to find in the UK.

Beerwulf have them at a semi reasonable price but still much more than you'd pay in Belgium.

 

[strange-steve]

Not the easiest beer to find but worth the effort. For those of us in NI, the Vineyard on Ormeau Rd or the Lighthouse in Greenisland should have it.

 

[-Bezza-]

Guessing that's not going to come cheap in the UK!

Might get the 6, 8 and 10 and do a 'vertical tasting' if I can.

Looks to be bottle conditioned from a quick read, so any ideas on whether to rouse the yeast on this one?

 

[braziliain]

House Of Trembling Madness in York have got it if anyone is in the area in Jan. It's around £4 a bottle I think.

 

[Leon103]

I have a £10 off beerwulf voucher. I will check if it can be used multiple times

 

[mitchmalt]

House Of Trembling Madness in York have got it if anyone is in the area in Jan. It's around £4 a bottle I think.

Spot on, been in there today, £4. I nearly bought one as well! I got Orval, Westmalle triple and a Sam Smiths Pale. My dad was with me and got a few bottles a Golden Dragon glass and paid for a smashed bottle courtesy of my mum’s handbag! Had a meal upstairs as well. Highly recommend Steak Pie with RIS gravy.

 

[Lawrence22]

Not the easiest beer to find but worth the effort. For those of us in NI, the Vineyard on Ormeau Rd or the Lighthouse in Greenisland should have it.

Gap Wines in Madigans Court on the Antrim Road have it in stock, I got a bottle there a couple of weeks ago to try. Very nice beer.

 

[strange-steve]

Gap Wines in Madigans Court on the Antrim Road have it in stock, I got a bottle there a couple of weeks ago to try. Very nice beer.

Good shout I forgot about that one :thumba:

 

[MagnusTS]

I love Rochefort 10.
I got a couple in an Abbey/Trappiste selection pack from BeerWulf last year.

BeerWulf do it for £3.99 a bottle.
But £4.95 shipping, or free shipping if you buy 16 bottles (of any variety)

 

[Zephyr259]

I've bought from Beer of Belgium (£2.64) before but their shipping is quite expensive, Beers of Europe (£4.17) are a bit better as they're UK based but the beers are more expensive. Then there's Belgium in a Box (£2.68), who I've not ordered from before but plan to due to a good sour selection.

Fortunately I have 2 Rochefort 10's (and a 6 and 8) in the cupboard which I've been keeping for a while, think they're approaching 18 month now so I should probably drink the lower abv ones.

 

[MickDundee]

The bottle shop at my local microbrewery has it. £5 a bottle according to their app but I’m sure I only paid £3 when I bought one there before Christmas.

 

[BassoonBrew]

Beer Gonzo in Earlsdon, Coventry have a few on the shelves (yes, picked one up yesterday).

 

[Nicks90]

Bierhaus in ossett has some

 

[MagnusTS]

Thanks for the list of Belgian beer sellers @Zephyr259

I've just seen that Belgium in a Box do a Rochefort bundle:

6 Rochefort 6
6 Rochefort 8
12 Rochfort 10
In a lovely Rochefort beer crate
Plus 2 Rochefort glasses
and a Rochefort cheese!​

All for €85
That's about £3.15 per bottle
and free cheese, glasses and Rochefort crate.
I'm tempted.

https://belgiuminabox.com/shop/brew...-rochefort-cheese-2-glasses.html#.XDi7dy2cYUE

 

[Petrolhead]

I like the idea of this thread so I have picked up a couple of bottles to try and will sit down for the grand opening on Friday night.

 

[beertrap]

I was gifted the 6 and 10 a while back. Very tasty brews.

 

[MagnusTS]

I'm going to try this one in February, not January (sorry).
I've asked for the Rochefort mixed crate plus cheese for my birthday next month.

 

[Zephyr259]

When I felt like a beer to curl up on the sofa with tonight I went for my Rochefort 10. Here's my not very in depth notes.

Appearance: dark brown but actually very red when held to the light. Thin head which slowly died off.

Aroma: typically Belgian, fruit cake (dark fruit and spices) and some malt.

Flavour: Very sweet, raisins and some red fruit, like a blend of cherry and blacurrant but not quite either. Rich malt, used to think this flavour was from the yeast but it's a malt flavour which presents in strong beers since they have more malt. Previously the only really strong beers I'd had were Belgian so got it confused. Again, very sweet on the finish. Not cloying or sugary, just an intense fruitiness.

High carb but doesn't foam up on your tongue so just right I'd say giving it a decent body for what are often drier beers.

Enjoyed this one a lot more than the last I had, that was fresh, this one has been in the cupboard 18 months or so. Date is 19.09.22 so if they have 5 years on the date then mine is 2 years, almost 2.5 old, which is odd as I wouldn't have expected the shop to have that age of inventory. Other bottles have been more recently brewed.

Hope everyone enjoys this great beer.

 

[-Bezza-]

Just popped out to grab the 6, 8 and 10 so will give them a try tomorrow or next weekend.

Also grabbed a steam beer, kolsch and that tonko stout (Or whatever it is).