La Trappe Jubilaris

La Trappe Jubilaris, for the 25th anniversary of one of the monks. I'd read the label but the type is so small, and I didn't bring my glasses. Let's just open up this bottle and see what's inside.

Bold, bright amber coloring, slim, off-white head. Looks every bit like a Belgian-style pale ale.

Aroma: First sniff: Banana cream pie. Spice. Fruit. Belgian trappist yeast. Yeah, it's got it going on. Just lovely.

Let's taste it: Little bit of grit. Lush, tasty, smooth malt, Minor hops. Very nice, indeed. 6% ABV. Smooth and delicious. Yum. It's a good trappist beer, and you can drink it.

Wish I had more to say, but what I said says it. Enjoy, but don't go in expecting anything awesome. Just really good. And sometimes that's good enough.

Tilburg's Dutch Brown Ale

Notes from August, 2004...

An obligatory comment about the label: what the hell?
 The people of Tilburg are obviously very proud, and justly so, of the artistic tradition of Holland, but I've got to say it takes guts to shush aside Rembrandt or Vermeer, and instead celebrate the painter of "the Garden of Earthly Delights" (Hieronymous Bosch) and isolate a particularly horrific "bird-headed, kettle-hatted monster in the midst of devouring a human, with birds flying out of his/her ass" picture to use as the central label image on, of all things, a beer label. Most bold, Koeningshoeven, most bold!

But, about the beer...

Clear, bright crimson color, dark and nearly brown, not quite, though, with a thick, rich, cocoa-colored, creamy head, very nice.

Aroma is sweet and nutty from the start, with big caramel notes, alert, lively, wide open and awake, ...so far, so good!

Taste: smooth, and slightly sweet, mild hops, lush malt, more caramel in the flavor, bright, fruity, with a significant character.
I was prepared to be disappointed, but I'm not. As a brown ale, this is above par, quite top of the notch. Tasty, medium bodied, with a long, lingering nutty, sweet finish.
 As far as brown ales go, this one far surpasses many more famous versions.

Still scratching my head about that label image choice. Even "Christ Mocked" would be better!