From Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven inside the walls of the Koningshoeven Abbey in the Netherlands comes the Official Trappist Ale “La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged” from batch #21.  The beer pours a brown colour with a very light brown head.  The aroma consists of dark fruits, plums caramel, and bananas.  The flavour is of dark fruits, plums, banana, caramel, yeast, bubblegum, caramel, oak, vanilla, sweetness and some mild alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 11% with an IBU of 16.  This is a great fully flavoured quad and I am glad that I came into possession of a bottle.

Commercial Description:  This unique Trappist ale owes its balanced flavour and woody aroma to the aging on wooden barrels. The taste varies from batch to batch and depends on the type of barrel in which the ale has been matured.  This beer can be stored for many years, continues to ferment after bottling and is a real treat for the true beer lover.  Several different types of barriques are used for the oak-aging process, both new and used ones. New barrels impart the tannins that give the beer a flavour that is reminiscent of vanilla and almond. The use of different kinds of barrels leads to surprisingly interesting flavour combinations. These flavours depend on what drink these barriques contained before, such as port, whiskey, wine, cognac, or bourbon. And the type of oak also comes into it. This beer’s final taste therefore varies from one batch to another.

BATCH 21 (blended on 24 september 2015) was distributed as follows:

The Oak Aged Batch 21 has a dark brown mahogany colour and a beige brown head. The soft aroma immediately reminds you of walnuts. Accompanied by a slightly smoky aroma, you can detect oak, caramel malt, alcohol, vanilla and, of course, French brandy. The flavour, although balanced, is not particularly mellow. The brandy barrels have clearly left a lot of wood influences, which manifest themselves in vanilla and almond. Additionally, the Quadrupel has a caramel-like, slightly sweet flavour with a good, full body. The flavour ends with a slightly burnt tone and a hint of wood tannin. Due to the light tingling of the carbonic acid, combined with the wood flavour and sweetness of the beer, the sensation in the mouth is full and pleasant.