Delivered into a traditional style goblet glass (pictured), this strong golden ale appears quite cloudy with a crisp-white, porous head.
On the nose; it surreptitiously emits a light floral-hop aroma, concealing the fact that this is actually a quite complex and very alcoholic beverage.
To the taste buds, this beer elegantly introduces her toasted malt/butterscotch and bitter flavours in a way that can only be compared with a french champagne. Really, this beer shares many of the characteristics of a dry sparkling wine, especially when served at a cold temperature. Once the beer has acclimatised up towards the 10 to 12 degrees Celsius mark, it starts to bring out the more raw flavours that remind you that you are drinking beer, a very special beer.
Being a beer from one of the 6 remaining Trappist breweries in the world, this Belgian beer is brewed in small batches by monks and their profits go towards local charity.
"...making a profit is not their objective. Hence they spend what is left over on charitable work and people in need." (excerpt from the Westmalle website.)
Ideally this beer should be enjoyed in a Belgian beer cafe at brunch (why not? you are on holiday after all!) with a Westmalle Trappist cheese platter (yes, they make cheese as well!) or any cheese platter for that matter. The only thing missing from this equation is good company...
330ml Bottles (and occaisionally 750ml corked bottles)
9.5% Alc/Vol
Approx AUD$8 per 330ml bottle