2016 Abbaye St-Remy Trappistes Rochefort 10

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 94 points

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  4/8/2017 - forceberry wrote: 94 Points

  Best before December 13th, 2021; thus, this is brewed on December 13th, 2016. 11,3% alcohol. Tasted alongside Chimay Blue, La Trappe Quad, Abt 12 and Westvleteren 12 (Abt 12, Roche 10 and Westy 12 tasted blind in a randomized order).
  
  Deep and very slightly hazy, dark reddish-brown color. Quite restrained, grayish-beige head that dissipates relatively quickly. Sweet and quite characterful nose with complex aromas of perfumed floral tones, some juicy dark fruits, a little bit of fermenting ripe plum, light raisiny notes, a roasted hint of mocha and an estery touch of barely ripe pear. Tons of nuance here. The beer is soft, rich and full-bodied on the palate with bold and relatively fruity flavors of raisins and ripe plums, some peppery phenolic spice, a little bit of pear, light fruit cake tones, a hint of Christmas spice and a touch of syrupy molasses. Both the carbonation and the hop bitterness feel relatively low here. The finish is soft, sweetish and slightly warm with complex, spicy flavors of plum jam, some raisin soup, a little bit of allspice, light fruit cake tones, a hint of cloves and a touch of mushy, brown banana.
  
  A rich, powerful and complex Quadrupel with lots of depth and intensity. Tasting these three beers blind, this one feels very different compared to Abt 12 and Westy 12, which were much more similar to each other; Rochefort 10 was more or less as sweet and powerful as Abt 12 and somewhat sweeter than Westy 12, but in terms of character and complexity, Abt 12 stood no chance whatsoever in this competition. Since both Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12 came across as more or less as complex and impressive, it's quite impossible to say which one I found the best. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful and impressively complex Quadrupel that easily belongs to the top echelon of Trappist beers.

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