Style of the Quarter

Let’s brew some Trappist-style ales for the 2nd quarter of 2021. These beers are all characterized by very high attenuation, high carbonation through bottle conditioning, and interesting (and often aggressive) yeast character.

Technically speaking, Trappist is a protected legal appellation, and cannot be used commercially except by genuine Trappist monasteries that brew their own beer. However, we can use it to describe the type or styles of beer produced by those breweries and those of us who make beers of a similar style.

26A. Trappist Single
A pale, bitter, highly attenuated and well carbonated Trappist ale, showing a fruity-spicy Trappist yeast character, a spicy-floral hop profile, and a soft, supportive grainy-sweet malt palate.

26B. Belgian Dubbel
A deep reddish-copper, moderately strong, malty, complex Trappist ale with rich malty flavors, dark or dried fruit esters, and light alcohol blended together in a malty presentation that still finishes fairly dry.

26C. Belgian Tripel
A pale, somewhat spicy, dry, strong Trappist ale with a pleasant rounded malt flavor and firm bitterness. Quite aromatic, with spicy, fruity, and light alcohol notes combining with the supportive clean malt character to produce a surprisingly drinkable beverage considering the high alcohol level.

26D. Belgian Dark Strong Ale
A dark, complex, very strong Belgian ale with a delicious blend of malt richness, dark fruit flavors, and spicy elements. Complex, rich, smooth and dangerous.

If you wanted to review the slides from our last club meeting put together by Ed Chainey and Paul Picazo, it is posted here.

Have fun making this style in Q2. If you feel like submitting the beer for our friendly, internal competition and/or constructive feedback, please submit 2 clean, unmarked bottles with the BJCP bottle ID form affixed to either Ian’s bottle-share box or OakBarrel by the end of June.