The insanely talented and just plain insane Frank Vandenbroucke passed away this week. For anyone unfamiliar with Frank VDB, he was supposed to be the next great Belgian cyclist. In the late 90's he amassed an impressive list of wins, but between outside pressure and doping allegations, he imploded in a mess of performance dehancing drugs, drunk driving, and depression (to name a few of his issues).
Demons aside, the world has lost one of its most passionate cyclists and a strong drink is in order. For Frank, I dug deep into my cellar and pulled out an 2-year-old Rochefort 10. Not only is Rochefort 10 a Belgian quad, the king of Belgian beers, it's also the strongest of the Trappist brews.
Frank, here's to you.
Trappistes Rochefort 10
Brasserie de Rochefort (Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy)
Quadrupel (Quad) | 11.30% ABV
A- / 4.15
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 5
The appearance was a typical Trappist quad, muddy brown with a red tint. The aroma held hints of citrus and was almost milky and cola-like. The flavor was very mellow, almost like a sweet old ale. It feels creamier than the Bernardus, though I unfortunately can't compare it to the Westlveteren yet. There's a little banana with the subtle fruit malt flavors. Like the other quads, this isn't the boldest beer. But despite the alcohol, it's oh-so drinkable if you can afford it.
1 comment:
195bottles.blogspot.com is very informative. The article is very professionally written. I enjoy reading 195bottles.blogspot.com every day.
Post a Comment