Affligem Dubbel (6.8% ABV)

Wow, did I like this beer. I probably poured it at 12-14 Celsius rather than the 8-10 degrees suggested, but I am exceedingly glad I did.

A woody nose of freshly-split logs and rosemary branches transforms into a taste of peach pits and just a hint of spicy green herbiness, dill weed perhaps. That sounds like a ghastly combination reading it back, but it works, and is quite delightful. I wouldn't necessarily drink more than one of most Dubbels, but could easily see myself enjoying a second bottle of this if I had one to hand.

A nicely balanced sour-sweet finish makes for a great end to a great beer.

92

Augustijn Grand Cru (9% ABV)

Augustijn Grand Cru comes in a Duvel-style squat, slope-shouldered bottle. This blond, bottle-conditioned brew pours a hazy gold with an enduring head.

There's nothing to dislike about this beer, but then there's not a great deal to commend about it either, in my opinion. It has all the hallmarks and characteristics of a Belgian Tripel, but no outstanding features that could be said to afford it an identity of its own.

If this beer had featured in Alex Cox's 'Repo Man' (1984), it would have merited one of the amusing generic labels that adorn the foodstuffs that feature in the film. This is indeed 'Belgian beer', but for me at least it isn't really interesting enough to merit returning to.

60

Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor (8% ABV)

I should say up front that with four types of hop, and being unfiltered and bottle-conditioned, I could have predicted that this beer was going to score highly on the R&A Likeometer before it even got out of the bottle.

I wasn't to be disappointed.

An appealingly full head from a straight pour reveals a golden haze with a full, enduring head and persistent lacing. As the lemon pith and apple storeroom nose subsides, the riotous hops begin their revels. There is so much going on in the glass for hop lovers by this point, it's hard to know where one's taste buds should turn next. Many more tastings will be required before I get any further than that, frankly.

The mouth-wateringly dry finish leaves you ready for another sip. A lovely brew.

93

Trappistes Rochefort 6 (7.5% ABV)

Poured at about 14% celsius into matching glassware, Trappistes Rochefort 6 has the appearance of builder's tea viewed with strong sunlight behind it. This bottle displayed a quickly collapsing head with a gentle bead of carbonation.

This most gentle and elusive of the Trappistes Rochefort brews displayed a dried fruit and Old Holborn-pouch nose, giving way to rye and malt, sweet spice and Muscovado, with a dry, hop-brightened finish. This beer displays a gentle, elegant finish with a deceptively lithesome mouth feel that belies its strength. You could kid yourself into believing this was a seasonal session beer, until you fell over.

Trappistes Rochefort don't seem to put a sandal wrong. This is a house choice.

93

Satan Gold (8% ABV)

This golden ale delivers a billowing, pillowy head from a straight pour into the centre of a tulip tasting glass.

An intensely floral, geranium-scented nose develops into a sweet, lightly toasted nut-and-fruit flavor with a pronounced sour-sharp finish.

Ale Satan!

73

Delirium Nocturnum (8.4% ABV)

There is a dark ruby hue to this triple-fermented beer which pours with a seemingly dense head that nevertheless disappears without a trace almost immediately.

A black treacle and prune nose gives way to a hoppy, fruity strawberry jam flavour which finishes surprisingly dryly.

Delerium Nocturnum tries hard, and whilst the three yeasts and five malts make for a brew that is interesting in each of its parts, it's not a relaxing experience. Rather, this is a beer that clanks and crashes through its gears and gives the palate something of a rough ride.

76

St. Bernadus Pater 6 (6.7% ABV)

Brown. Tastes like beer. Really, this did nothing for me. I'll put it on the 'to be sampled again' list as a false reading.

50

Pauwel Kwak (8.4% ABV)

For my money, which I am more than happy to impart upon this venerable Belgian family-run brewery, Kwak has one of the greatest noses in the world.

On raising the quirky 'yard of ale'-style stirrup cup glass to one's nose (which I do not currently possess, hence the chalice in the photo), relentless waves of boiled sweets and glacé cherry break over one's twice-blessed organ of olfaction.

The cherry morphs to tangy, sour-sweet Morello and prune on the palate, with a confusing and pleasingly dry finish, but the tackiness the brew leaves around the corners of the mouth remind us of the sweet barley malt that gives it its denseness and complexity.

At the currently recommended 5-6 degrees Celsius, this beer would have been even easier to quaff, which would both do its interesting qualities a disservice, and perhaps precipitate a swift encounter with the horizontal plane. I prefer this somewhere in the middle of the 8-14 degrees Celsius range, and suspect that leaving the beer to warm too long would exaggerate its barley wine characteristics. That's not necessarily a bad thing if that's how the fancy takes you - Kwak has some chameleon-like qualities in this regard - but I enjoy Kwak and Belgian beers in general for their alterity as much as anything else, and like to let it speak to me in its own voice rather than re-imagining it as a British barley wine.

That said, it would be a great choice to introduce a hardened barley wine lover to whose preferences seldom extended to the continent.

94

Westmalle Dubbel (7% ABV)

Another Trappist classic, I admire everything about this brand, even its aesthetics. The labels are a model of elegant understatement, and the heavy chalice glassware is redolent of the brew's monastic origins whilst being simultaneously functional, allowing as it does the imbiber to savour its aromas to the full.

The nose is lean, pencil sharpenings and rich malt, with a hint of bitter chocolate. The complex esters of exotic fruit wash over the palate, and once again the sweet-sharp finish is poise personified.

This is another Trappist offering I will endeavour to keep examples of in the house to enjoy with friends in subdued light around a robust fire on bitter evenings.

92

Tripel Karmeliet (8.4% ABV)

An amber-gold beer in the Tripel style brewed from barley, wheat and oats, the latter ancient grain as it appears in this brew is a vast improvement on the oats I had for breakfast.

A bright, Alpine nose of pine and lemon balm yields to clean spice and a balanced bitter-sweet finish. This beer is very similar in approach to Duvel, but displays a greater complexity.

Repeat tastes made me crave tandoori or grilled meat. This could just be because I haven't had lunch yet, but I think this would pair very well with a small plate or starter of that genus, perhaps also oily (but not smoked) fish.

At a hefty 8.4% ABV, however, you may want to encourage your guests to split a bottle between two unless you want them passing out over their entrees.

89

Batemans XXXB (4.8% ABV)

A luminous copper in hue, this alluring bitter begins with crisp malt, delivers sharp, fresh plum notes on the nose and palate, and takes its leave with a pleasingly bitter finish.

This is a beer that develops gracefully in the glass and perhaps merits drinking out of a frequently refreshed Belgian chalice glass rather than a pint pot.

85

Gouden Carolus Christmas (10% ABV)

Gouden Carolus Christmas shows with a darkly rubied hue, and offers up a wonderfully appealing liquorice, cough candy and white pepper nose. The nose really is something to be meditated over; it's quite wonderful.

Liquorice and syrupy stewed fruit follow through on the palate, with a fantastically balanced finish, drying off the sides of the tongue, sweet at the tip at the same time.

A wonderful seasonal ale that I enjoyed early on a mid-December evening as the wood burner roared. A real success that I intend to return to next year in the same month.

92

La Trappe Quadrupel (10% ABV)

There is a very dark, almost mahogany appearance to this Quadrupel, which featured a restrained head that dispersed relatively quickly on this occasion despite quite a vigorous pour.

A lightish but persistent nose for a Trappist beer of this strength with liquor-washed aroma, like Christmas pudding ingredients steeping in bourbon and brandy, with some tropical fruit overtones.

The taste was really rather overpowered by the surge of alcohol in this sample, which did not display the sort of complexity I would have expected. So yes, malt, dark sugar, tangy 'Belgian' yeast (although NB this is actually a Dutch brewery), but none of the interplays and riffing I was hoping for. I am not sure whether this La Trappe Quadrupel might become more alluring after a year in the bottle; I'd like to lay a couple down to experiment.

A blasting finish of raucous alcohol that nevertheless drinks smoothly and without abrasiveness, but doesn't really deliver the sort of satisfaction you'd hope.

Pleasant, but not outstanding, at least on this showing.

70

Achel Bruin (8% ABV)

We're back on track with this tasty Trappist offering.

There is a touch of cough candy and coal on the nose, with a hint of freshly turned sods of grass-topped heavy clay soil to boot.

A hefty shovel of sweet malt is delivered on the palate with a surprising, mouth-wateringly dry departure.

The finish is just delightful, and again surprising in its purity and poise, with your mouth feeling as if you've just had a glass of something cool and cleansing from the Abbey well.

I definitely need to get another couple of these to see if the complexity grows in the glass, because to be honest I drank it in about 5 minutes.

89

Chimay Red (7% ABV)

Goodness me, what a come down.

The Beer Ritz guys tout Chimay's 'standard' house ale as having a copper hue, redcurrant and soft malt on the palate and a dry hop finish.

However, I don't get any of that, dryness aside, perhaps.

First things first: I undoubtedly drank this at above the recommended 10-12 degrees Celsius. I could tell that by the way it exploded all over the kitchen when I took the crown cap off. In directing the beery shower into my glass, I undoubtedly took more yeast into the glass than was my intention.

Normally, I favour a slow pour into the middle of the glass, reserving a mouthful to swill the yeast free with, priming my first taste of the decanted remainder with the yeast to frame the experience. It's a concept a Dutch landlord introduced me to in Maastricht recently, and whilst he was unquestionably a somewhat singular individual (in a dedicated, nice way; Google 'Take One Maastricht' for more on this) I am rather taken with the idea at present, and am riffing on it.

In other words, I'd have been sampling the yeast anyway, and suspect this would have made little difference to my judgment. The divergence in temperature is another matter, however, and I will chill my next bottle rather more judiciously to that which is suggested on the label.

So, copper coloured, yes, but also metallic in taste if this example is anything to go by. Malt, some dryness, not much else to report in terms of nose, taste or finish. Lacking complexity, and surprisingly thin-tasting for a beer of this strength.

40

Trappistes Roquefort 8 (9.2% ABV)

I'm back, baby.

Trappistes Roquefort 8 is a warming, autumnal ale lovingly prepared for you by some of those clever Trappist fellas. 'Warming' as in 'it'll make your face go red' and you may consider spelling it with a silent 'trap' having drained your glass.

It has a complex prune, Armagnac and candied peel nose with a hint of the organic; damp woodland, perhaps. The organic character of the beer presented by the house yeast grows in the mouth, with the aroma translating nicely, supported by a thread of sweet spice and the merest nibble of a corner of the very bitterest of dark mint chocolate.

The mouth-feel is sensational, the soft bead created by the secondary fermentation in the bottle really giving your palate a snogging that will make it go weak at the tonsils.

The finish is perfectly balanced, drying but with a mellow sweetness holding hands with the hops. Outstanding in every regard.

94