Trappist Ale

Only a brew made at a Trappist monastery can use the word Trappist to label their product. While the other monastic breweries, in Austria and Germany, make beers in the typical styles of their countries, the six Trappist monasteries, five Belgian and one in the Netherlands, have evolved a range of highly distinctive products with at least some shared characteristics. All Trappist Ales are top-fermenting and bottle-conditioned. Some are dry, but more are sweet. All are strong. I am not familiar with all of them, but of those I have sampled my favorite beer comes from Chimay. In fact it is one of my all-time favorite beers. There are three varieties of Chimay, of them I recommend the Grande Reserve. It is their strongest beer and can be aged. It is a flavorful ale, very chewy, with a perfect balance of sweetness and dryness. Fantastic!