TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT 10 - A TOP-SHELF BELGIAN

Remember that ad campaign for Blake Edwards' "10" back in 197-whenever it was? Bo Derek? Remember? "If 8s make you tingle, and 9s make you gasp - what will you do when you see a "10"??". Well, that came to mind as I drank this TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT 10, a beer that was on my targeted hit-list after being absolutely bowled over by how great the Trappistes Rochefort 8 is. That one did more than make me tingle; it’s quite easily one of the best beers I’ve ever had, and one of these days I’m going to buy a case of ‘em and keep them in my beer cellar aka the garage. I was presented with the “10” by a friend whom I’d done something nice for – sorta – and was told at the time that I’d need to “cellar” this one as well for a while. I said "screw that, esse". I busted it open with chicken & veggie BBQ skewers the other night and let the goddamn good times roll.

Well, it’s a pretty stellar Belgian beer, a “Quadrupel” from one of the big 6 monastic brewers. It’s a deep, dark brown pour (nearly black, actually), and the first thing you get out of it is a real rich, dark fruit taste – along with lots of carbonation and a real complex but smooth feel. I imagined another skewer of dried dates, prunes and pomegranates roasted on the spit and then extracted quickly to make this beer – and oh yeah, it’s a total alcohol bomb too, in all the right ways (11.3%!). You don’t know it until you’re halfway done and you feel like you just downed a "Jager" shot. You know what I mean? Of course you do. 8.5/10 – an excellent beer!