by Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven
A slightly more mainstream beer, but one that we enjoy.
The beer pours an orange gold, with a white head. The aroma is a mix of classic abbey yeast notes and biscuit malts.
There is a strong bready malt backbone to the flavour, with fruit sweetness in the form of pear, white grapes and orange citrus. A decent hop bitterness compliments the soft spicing of coriander, clove and cardamon.
The beer dries out as it progresses, to leave a pleasant lingering bitterness, with a slightly earthy minerality.
About the Brewery: until recently, the only Trappist Monastery outside of Belgium. The past has seen production agreements with brewing firms Artois (now AB-Inbev) and also Bavaria in 1999, which led to the withdrawal of the right to use the official Authentic Trappist Product logo. In 2005, there was agreement that the monks would take a more active role in the day-to-day operation of the brewery, allowing reintroduction of the Trappist rights; though there is still a level of commercialism to the brewing arrangements.