The Bar Towel

KW1 wrote:Many people will buy rather than pay to fly and go get it. Simple economics here. Move on.

OK then. KW has spoken! We are to move on.

I'm not sure where this should be posted, but ....

St. Veronus in Peterborough is having a "Trappist Quad Chellenge"

When are you going to get in line? Camping all weekend in front?

Is there an age category? Like weight in boxing? That would make it a fair fight. I can't imagine that these new westies would stand a chance against a st. bernies with some age on it.

The 2+ year old St. Bernadus I had on new years was incredible. But a two year old westy vesus a two year old st. bernadus? That would be a good fight.

JeffPorter wrote:Is there an age category? Like weight in boxing? That would make it a fair fight. I can't imagine that these new westies would stand a chance against a st. bernies with some age on it.

The 2+ year old St. Bernadus I had on new years was incredible. But a two year old westy vesus a two year old st. bernadus? That would be a good fight.

and rochefort 10 would still beat them both

Baulz wrote:When are you going to get in line? Camping all weekend in front?

I doubt I'll go. I have some St. Bernardus already, and I can't justify $35/bottle just for the hype.

matt7215 wrote:

JeffPorter wrote:Is there an age category? Like weight in boxing? That would make it a fair fight. I can't imagine that these new westies would stand a chance against a st. bernies with some age on it.

The 2+ year old St. Bernadus I had on new years was incredible. But a two year old westy vesus a two year old st. bernadus? That would be a good fight.

and rochefort 10 would still beat them both

Rochefort 10 my least favourite for the quad style. I've had cases of them all and Achel Extra is probably my favourite.

TheBeeraholic wrote:I've had cases of them all and Achel Extra is probably my favourite.

That one is very good. It's funny the hectoliters of Achel Extra and Westvleteren 12 are similarly very low, yet Achel Extra is not raved about nearly so often for its 'rare' flavor.

atomeyes wrote:grub has keg access.
so thank you in advance for making a keg of quad for us. so...May 2013 for the sampling?

Nice to meet today, we'll make sure to post our notes after the next tasting



edit: sorry guys, images always look fine on my tablet, but huge on the laptop...

Re: The quadruple challenge at St. Veronus. Here are Roland's comments from Facebook:

"Quadruple Trappist Challenge took place last night and here are the results!

12 of 23 participants preferred St Bernardus Abt 12 over Westvleteren 12.

14 out 23 tasters where able to correctly identify the beers.

Tasters pointed to a slightly rounder and earthier taste as well as oilier mouthfeel in the Westy, despite a small majority preferring the much less rare St Bernardus."

As a participant, I have to say that it was an entertaining evening, with Roland telling the stories of the beers, and why he chose the Abt 12 for this, and the servers presenting the properly poured cellar temperature beers. I don't believe that St. B was particularly aged; I think they go through it fairly quickly. There was a little heat to the Westy though, which wasn't there in the St. B. The Abt 12 was earthier, while the yeast added a dimension or three to the Westy that wasn't there in the St. B. It was almost as much fun watching people swirling and holding their beers to the light, and debating as to which was which, as it was drinking the beers themselves. Thanks Roland!

Brand new to Bar Towel (and Ontario...was in California prior). Thanks for all your great info on Westy 12. I managed to secure a few with coworkers and have organized a tasting with friends this weekend. I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Here's what we have to taste so far (2 of each):

1) Westy 12
2) St. Bernardus Abt 12*
3) Rochefort 10
4) Westmalle Trippel
5) Orval
6) Chimay Grand Reserve
7) Achel Triple

We had planned to include the La Trappe Quad, but it's been discontinued at the LCBO. I don't love it enough to rent a car and drive to Markham to get it, which is the only place that has inventory. Any suggestions for finding this locally somehow?

We acquired everything but the Westy 12 outside of the country. Alas we couldn't find the Achel Extra in any of the stores.

So here's where I'd love some advice:
--Any suggestions for cheese or other food pairings?
--Any suggestions for procedures for comparison tasting?
--Any local beers that might be added for a comparison?

I'm looking forward to enjoying the BarTowel community...thanks for your help finding the Westy!

*St. Bernardus, while being delicious, is actually not an official Trappist beer

napoleon wrote:We had planned to include the La Trappe Quad, but it's been discontinued at the LCBO. I don't love it enough to rent a car and drive to Markham to get it, which is the only place that has inventory. Any suggestions for finding this locally somehow?

First of all, welcome! Hope you enjoy it out here.

Second, the LCBO page seems to show stock at Bayview Village, which is totally TTC-able (get off at Bayview Station on the Sheppard subway line). Even the Highway 7 and Warden LCBO isn't impossible to get to (there are multiple equally not super convenient ways to get there), so you could do that if you really wanted to. Plus, there's a Whole Foods in that plaza if you want to go grocery shopping as well. Check the YRT site for bus info.

For your taste comparison, you could try adding Le Trou du Diable's La Buteuse Triple, but that's also getting hard to find (Bayview Village has 5 of this one).

napoleon wrote:Brand new to Bar Towel (and Ontario...was in California prior). Thanks for all your great info on Westy 12. I managed to secure a few with coworkers and have organized a tasting with friends this weekend. I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Here's what we have to taste so far (2 of each):

1) Westy 12
2) St. Bernardus Abt 12*
3) Rochefort 10
4) Westmalle Trippel
5) Orval
6) Chimay Grand Reserve
7) Achel Triple

We had planned to include the La Trappe Quad, but it's been discontinued at the LCBO. I don't love it enough to rent a car and drive to Markham to get it, which is the only place that has inventory. Any suggestions for finding this locally somehow?

We acquired everything but the Westy 12 outside of the country. Alas we couldn't find the Achel Extra in any of the stores.

So here's where I'd love some advice:
--Any suggestions for cheese or other food pairings?
--Any suggestions for procedures for comparison tasting?
--Any local beers that might be added for a comparison?

I'm looking forward to enjoying the BarTowel community...thanks for your help finding the Westy!

*St. Bernardus, while being delicious, is actually not an official Trappist beer

I could bring a bottle of La Trappe Quad to this tasting

Second, the LCBO page seems to show stock at Bayview Village, which is totally TTC-able (get off at Bayview Station on the Sheppard subway line). Even the Highway 7 and Warden LCBO isn't impossible to get to (there are multiple equally not super convenient ways to get there), so you could do that if you really wanted to. Plus, there's a Whole Foods in that plaza if you want to go grocery shopping as well. Check the YRT site for bus info.

Thanks for the welcome and the suggestion. My friend actually went to the Bayview Village store and it turned out that all 8 bottles listed in stock did not actually exist. I guess their inventory process must not be quite that accurate. We found some La Trappe Tripple to take their place...not as good, but it will do for now. What I really would have loved would be to have some of the barrel-aged La Trappe...that's next to impossible to find in the US sadly.

icemachine wrote:

napoleon wrote:Brand new to Bar Towel (and Ontario...was in California prior). Thanks for all your great info on Westy 12. I managed to secure a few with coworkers and have organized a tasting with friends this weekend. I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Here's what we have to taste so far (2 of each):

1) Westy 12
2) St. Bernardus Abt 12*
3) Rochefort 10
4) Westmalle Trippel
5) Orval
6) Chimay Grand Reserve
7) Achel Triple

We had planned to include the La Trappe Quad, but it's been discontinued at the LCBO. I don't love it enough to rent a car and drive to Markham to get it, which is the only place that has inventory. Any suggestions for finding this locally somehow?

We acquired everything but the Westy 12 outside of the country. Alas we couldn't find the Achel Extra in any of the stores.

So here's where I'd love some advice:
--Any suggestions for cheese or other food pairings?
--Any suggestions for procedures for comparison tasting?
--Any local beers that might be added for a comparison?

I'm looking forward to enjoying the BarTowel community...thanks for your help finding the Westy!

*St. Bernardus, while being delicious, is actually not an official Trappist beer

I could bring a bottle of La Trappe Quad to this tasting

And I could bring the Achel Extra.