Trappistes Rochefort 8

Today I'm drinking Trappistes Rochefort 8, a Belgian Dubbel brewed by Abbaye St-Remy in Rochefort, Belgium. The label is very simple with a green circle and the number 8 front and center. A 090216 date us stamped on the front. If I really cared, I'd check to see the order of months, days and years to determine its meaning. I guess I can do that another time if necessary. If you didn't happen to catch it in the name, this is a Trappist beer. It is packaged in a 330 mL bottle.

Very nice spicy and yeasty aroma, with lots of prunes and raisins and just a hint of chocolate with a good whiff. Very spicy flavors with quite the fruity and yeasty components. Spicy black pepper, cloves and cinnamon are apparent right from the start. Those flavors are further accentuated by a kick from the 9.2% alcohol, which provides ample warmth and burn in the throat and chest.

Candi sugar, brown sugar and loads of raisins, figs and prunes come next, all intermingling in an interesting and complex way. Then there's the yeast, very fine, adding even more depth. It's pretty amazing the variety of flavors that this beer has all working in harmony. If the alcohol burn and extremely high carbonation didn't create such an aggressive synergy, I'd have enjoyed this even more. Flavors are terrific, though.