Review: Trappistes Rochefort 10

Welcome back old friend, I haven't seen you since you were on clearance back in Fall 2010. I had no idea that the very popular Rochefort 10 from Belgium would ever make a return to Manitoba, because frankly.. it just didn't sell. Now days, Belgian beers do much better than Manitoba than they previously did, just going to the local liquormart, Unibroue beers sell quickly.

When I first tried Rochefort 10 in 2010, It was $2.65, very affordable. This time, it's now $4.58 before tax - pricey but worth it for a solid Belgian beer, and still cheaper than you can find it in my stomping grounds in North Dakota.

Appearance: Pours a muddy brown, incredibly muddy. Good amount of carbonation, to the point that the head diminishes immediately to the point that there's only a hint of head around the rim of the glass.

Aroma: Dark fruits, grape, incredibly strong and a bit reminiscent to Trois Pistoles - sweet, in your face and not for the weak-paleted drinkers. Quite an alcoholy aroma as well, but hey.. what do you expect when the ABV is 11.3%!

Taste: Really in-your-face, even much more than the standard Unibroue beers, there's the obvious alcohol taste that slams your tongue against the roof of your mouth immediately, as well as a great deal of dark fruit. Quite sweet, powerful and in ways has a bit of a similar profile to a barley wine - that sweetness that immediately hits your tongue, that. A bit of prunes, there's a great deal of bitterness that lingers around after the sweetness diminishes. The sweetness is also a bit caramelly, which I love in any good beer! Oh hey.. I can actually feel myself getting buzzed as I review this, and I just started sipping on it, and you know that tingling feeling you get in your stomach as soon as you take a sip of a beer, I'm really getting that during every sip.

Overall Thoughts: Warning - I'm getting buzzed incredibly quickly and I've only had 3 sips so far, so if you have plans to do (or need to operate heavy machinery) - don't drink this until you have several hours of free time. Quite an incredibly strong tasting Belgian dark ale. While every time I mention this beer, friends always go "well, Rochefort 8 is much better," I don't care, this is actually a damned tasty beer, the closest beer I can compare it to is Unibroue's Trois Pistoles, which I said in my previous review as well but Trois Pistoles is quite mellow compared to this. You want a Belgian ale with in your face taste and aroma? This is your beer!

Previous Rochefort 10 review: Link (2010)