Brewery: De Achelse Kluis
Location: Hamont-Achel, Belgium
ABV: 8%
Version: Bottled
Source: www.BeerMerchants.com

These are almost the last two bottles from the strong Belgians mixed case I bought from BeerMercants.com a while back. I reckoned they’d been sat around quite long enough – and I’d already sampled one of each, but hadn’t made any notes – so it was high time I cracked them open and actually paid proper attention this time.

Of course, I completely forgot the advice that John Clarke gave me a few weeks back re: chilling them down a bit to help with the general liveliness, so the Trappist Achel Brune, whilst not a volcanic over-the-top foam-spewer, was certainly a bit on the lively side. When I started to pour it into a tulip glass I think I achieved a ratio of something like one part body to nine parts head.

Once it had finally settled down enough for me to drink, I discovered a beer that was just incredibly, tooth-achingly sweet, with almost none of the sour edge that I’ve come to expect from the Trappist style. There was a strident, spirit-like sharpness to it, which was interesting and flavourful, but even this couldn’t dent the overall impression of mixed sugar and fruit: a combination of caramel toffee, sherry and over-ripe melon. I actually really liked it (my sweet tooth seems to be back with a vengeance) but if this one bottle is typical and wasn’t just at a weird stage of maturation then I’d say you really do have to brace yourself for the fructose/sucrose/glucose onslaught before you give Trappist Achel Brune a go.

Next up, the Trappist Achel Blonde. Again, I forgot to chill it down and again – even switching to a balloon-goblet glass – there was a huge amount of froth on the initial pour. Flavour-wise, it was a case of almost complete contrast; the Blonde was deeply bitter with just a slightly sweet undertone. I could taste honey and marzipan, but the most memorable element was the long, dry finish and sharp, herbal after-taste. The sweeter elements became stronger as the beer warmed a little, with more sherry flavours coming through towards the end, but generally speaking the Blonde was the antithesis of the Brune.

In conclusion: two very distinct, very complex and flavourful beers and I enjoyed them both for very different reasons. I just wish I’d had them the other way around; I got the impression I’d had the dessert and then gone back for a savoury starter.