Trappe-d

La Trappe Oak-Aged Quadrupel

This favorite of mine is packaged in corked (synthetic these days) and caged 375mL bottles, and is expensive. This particular bottle is from Batch 16 (my favorite is of course Batch 7, aged in whisky barrels. From reading descriptions, it seems possible that Batch 8 might be similar) and is a blend of brandy, Oloroso sherry, late Burgundy, and two levels of toasted new oak. With a five-way blend, the monks (though La Trappe is one of the more commercial trappist breweries) must be zeroing in on something; this batch was blended last year.

I should note that La Trappe used to be named Koningshoeven, but the Batch 7 bottles bear the La Trappe brand, so it is possible that the name change predates this barrel aging project (which seem to be a more recent development in general.) So I believe any Koningshoeven bottles you find are guaranteed to be several years old. Also, due to pricing, La Trappe can sit on shelves for a while—not  always a bad thing as their quad has aging potential. I have a recollection of a tripel (I think it was La Trappe) which was markedly superior on draft to in bottles, which surprised me. Try for yourself and let me know; it's a bit of a rarity in this market either way.

The cork smells okay even though it is difficult to remove and feels almost waxed. The pour smells hot, but with the nutty oxidized (the sherry, not the beer) character imparted by the fortified wine barrels. Tastes pretty good, and there's a lot more grape here than I'd have expected, which might explain the significant (20% overall) presence of new oak in the blend. The finish has that nutty sherry character as well as a bit more heat than I'm used to from this line. I have to really pay attention for it to taste like beer at all, but there's a great quad buried in there somewhere!

Ultimately, this beer is good, but not 'Batch 7 good' and not something I'd seek out or buy again. Conversely, I'd be willing to pay more for Batch 7 than this, provided I could afford it.