Trappist and bock tasting at Arbor Brewing Co.

Perhaps you can have too much of a good thing.

I attended the bock and Belgian Trappist beer tasting at Arbor Brewing this past Thursday. I had a great time, but my goodness, it's tough to sample quite so many huge beers. It wasn't the alcohol. It was the richness! I was walking around feeling stuffed, grossly stuffed, too full to enjoy the nice buffet they always put out at these tastings, which happen on the second Thursday of each month.

I know, I know, poor me.

I am no bock and Trappist expert, though I do remember a lovely evening spent at Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland when I was 21 or so, enjoying a pitcher of their Rockefeller Bock with friends as I finished up college at Oberlin. That was one of the best beer drinking experiences I have ever had. Since then, I've had bock beers and Trappist ales from time to time, but I wouldn't claim much familiarity. Of course, a tasting is a perfect way to change that.

Trappist Ales

A mere seven monasteries, six in Belgium and one in the Netherlands, produce Trappist beers. Elegant and complex, many consider these beers to be some of the finest beverages ever made. I was particularly entranced by the tasting table featuring Rochefort 6, 8, and 10. The 6 was a light-bodied brew that featured a roasted nut aroma that carried into the flavor, where it combined with citrus peel. It was dry in the finish, and burnt sugar was prominent there. The 8 was sweeter, fruity, and medium-bodied. It had qualities of brown sugar and toast. The 10 was amazingly complex, managing to have caramel notes, fruitiness, and dryness in the aroma. You might be wondering how it could be dry in the aroma; I wish I could explain better, but that was the impression I had. It was bready, slightly sweet, and fruity on the palate, and coffee and cocoa featured in the finish. I could have lived at the Rochefort table, but that would have meant missing so much goodness elsewhere.

I had a bock beer produced by the Dutch Trappist brewery Koningshoeven. Malty and fruity, I noted a distinct sherry quality as well as chocolate and spice. This beer was rich and smooth, with a velvety, creamy mouthfeel. A real delight.

An example that featured hops more prominently was the Chimay Blue. It had a floral aroma that also had caramel notes, and that caramel quality was prominent in the flavor profile.

Achel Brune was one I had never tried and had heard little about, but I enjoyed it tremendously. There was orange peel and breadiness in the aroma, and a nice combination of spice and orange was present in the taste.

Two examples from Westmalle were available. The dubbel had molasses in the aroma and toast and some roast in the flavors. Then, in the finish, some citrus came through. The tripel was a hazy, golden brew that was earthy and citrusy. It was bready and somewhat tart and fruity in the finish.

Finally, I tried the Orval. It had some funk and citrus in the aroma. This orange-amber brew was dry on the palate, with a bit of spiciness, followed by citrus peel and earthy hops in the finish.

Bock Beers
The tasting featured a very wide variety of bocks, a veritable festival of these strong lagers. I very much enjoyed Arbor Brewing's own Usktratch Mai Bock, which was deliciously toasty-malty and had a balancing bitterness that created a very clean brew.

Anchor Bock was new to me; in fact, I can't recall seeing it in stores here. It was roasty and malty, but then it suddenly changed in character with a really crisp, dry quality. It seemed to start as a heavy beer and then become much lighter at the end.

There was a table with two Aventinus brews. I first tried their Dunkel Weizenbock. I noted some smoke in the aroma, but also a hint of banana. It was an intriguing combination, making me think of well-made fried plantains that get a nice, chewy caramelization. The banana carried through to the flavor, and then this huge, alcoholic warming finish hit. Wow. As if that wasn't enough, I then tried their Weizen Eisbock. This was an astoundingly delicious, smooth beer (at 12% abv, no less). Spice - particularly cinnamon - was notable in the flavor profile. There was a lot more there, but frankly, words don't suffice. Just have some if you get the chance.

I enjoyed two very different Michigan dopplebocks. Bell's Consecrator had a very fruity aroma and prominent caramel flavor. Dark Horse Perkulator was for the coffee lover: this beer was a coffee brew through and through, from aroma to finish, yet it was smooth and tasty. As the pourer said: drink this one only if you like coffee. Luckily, I do.

Spaten Optimator was a full-bodied malt bomb, rich, caramely, bready, but with a mildly bitter finish. It ended up a nicely balanced brew.

Weihenstephan Korbinian featured caramel and toffee in the aroma. Coffee and caramel, a pleasing combination, were present in the flavor. Another brew that had strong toffee notes - as well as roast nut - was Ayinger Celebrator. It finished with a pleasant hop bitterness.

Finally, I'll just mention Ettaler Curator. This was like beer concentrate, syrupy and thick, with chocolate and dark fruit aromas and roast nuts - perhaps chestnut? - and cocoa in the flavor profile.

To shift gears a moment, I just want to mention that I had a very tasty and provocative dopplebock on my recent trip to Utah. Now, as you can imagine, Utah has some interesting alcohol laws, and there's a fair amount of tension about all things related to alcohol. Wasatch Brewing makes a dopplebock called Devastator. The label features the requisite billy goat, but this is one pissed-off goat, rampaging through the streets of Salt Lake City and knocking aside landmarks like the LDS temple and state capitol. I'm sure that's popular amongst some in the state. The write-up on the side of the bottle is worth noting as well. I've include pictures here (with apologies for the quality).