[Big Monk]

The way I've always tried to think about it is this:

Chimay - the most consistent, the biggest and somewhat bland (very relatively speaking here in terms of Trappists). I know exactly what I am going to get every time I crack one. Note that when I say "bland" I typically mean a suppression of some of the characteristic esters and phenols from the Belgian yeasts.

I love them. Here I am sipping a Premiere:



Westmalle - very, very consistent as well on account of being the second largest after Chimay. The Dubbel is incredible with a fair bit of age on it. The Tripel speaks for itself. I enjoy the 750 ml bottles.

Rochefort - very tough to classify with any certainty. There seems to be a consistent characteristic phenolic character that I don't enjoy all that much. It's been stated that fast fermentation is the cause but I can't say for sure. Rochefort seems to be the least consistent of the "big 3" (Westmalle, Chimay, Rochefort) but is the most glorious when presented with a prime example. As much as I enjoy Westmalle, a prime Rochefort 8 is the most incredible of all the Trappist beers.


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Rochefort is not big. ~18,000 bbls year. Much smaller than Chimay or Westmalle. Königshaven is the biggest.

I didn't mean size. They are just the most popular and well known of the Trappists. That's why I used the quotation marks. Orval is definitely bigger than Rochefort as well.

Big 5 then?

Works for me!

[Phil_M]

Is everyone else finding Chimay without issues? It's disappeared from all my local stores, trying to figure out if the importer or the distributor is to blame.

[reverseapachemaster]

Is everyone else finding Chimay without issues? It's disappeared from all my local stores, trying to figure out if the importer or the distributor is to blame.

Yep, their beers are pretty much the only Belgian beers I can reliably find most places (not counting Stella Artois).

[HoosierBrew]

Yeah, even at some of the cut rate places here that have limited craft and imports, Chimay is often the only Belgian.

[Big Monk]

Is everyone else finding Chimay without issues? It's disappeared from all my local stores, trying to figure out if the importer or the distributor is to blame.

Yep, their beers are pretty much the only Belgian beers I can reliably find most places (not counting Stella Artois).

I get the whole line including the Doree at my local grocery store.

[narcout]

It's been a since I've had a Westmalle Dubbel.  The flavor is sharper, flatter and dryer than I remembered.

[Big Monk]

It's been a since I've had a Westmalle Dubbel.  The flavor is sharper, flatter and dryer than I remembered.

I'm admittedly much more of a fan of the Westmalle Tripel than the Dubbel. I prefer Rochefort 6 or Chimay Premiere.

The best examples of the Westmalle Dubbel I've had have always had a fair bit of age on them. I'm not sure if it's because they lose some carbonation over time or if it just melds a bit more, but I always get a more chocolately nose and smoother malt flavor with a few years on it.

[skyler]

When in Belgium, I found Westmalle dubbel to be the "go to" beer if the place didn't have a printed menu and wasn't particularly beer-centric. I knew without fail that I could easily order it and it would be great and would go well with almost any Belgian food I ate (their food is heavy and sweet). If I am slowly drinking 5 beers in an evening out (I am not usually a fast drinker), Westmalle dubbel and trippel are not too bold for me to continue enjoying and the high alcohol allows me to get somewhat intoxicated through slow drinking.

The bigger trappist beers that I enjoy so deeply like Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus 12 are too rich to have more than one of, usually. Orval is a very specific beer. I actually far prefer it fresh over aged, so I don't really drink it outside of Belgium. Achel is okay, but clearly inferior to the others, aside from Koningshoeven. I think Koningshoeven sucks - like it is genuinely not very good beer and well below average in any beer bar in Belgium (yes I know it's Dutch). Westvleteren was very good, but not worth the hassle/$$$ - unless you can drink the blonde fresh.