Of the many Trappist beers that I have tried, this one I have overlooked may times until I just decided one day, screw it, I’m reviewing it! This along with the other 9 Trappist breweries are some of the best Belgium and other countries have to offer. Centuries of brewing and perfecting the arts have brought these beers out and they still stand strong and delicious among the growing list of craft beers. So here it is, the Orval Trappist review.

Aromas:
Tart dark cherry, dark fruit raisin hints, wine grapes, earthy hop notes, floral hop hints, peppercorns, smokey oak, leather notes, citrus, biscuit bread, brown sugar, farmhouse hay, mushroom hints and brettanomyces.

Flavors:
Dark fruit raisin hints, dark cherry, grapes, mushroom hints, floral and earthy hops, Musty Oak, peppercorn hints, brettanomyces funk, citrus, vanilla, lemon hints, apples, hints of peach, leather notes, smokey notes, biscuit bread and brown sugar.

Aftertaste:
Definitely ending dry with dark fruit, caramel and oaky funk dissipating. No alcohol in the taste, medium to sipping drinkability, medium mouthfeel with a cloudy full golden brown body.

Overall:
A very good beer if you are into the funky wild yeast type of Belgian Pale Ales. Definitely a representative of the evil tart and funky beers of Belgian. While this is not sour it leans more toward a farmhouse ale. This is very reminiscent of the Fantome series but unique in the sense that it seems like they use open air fermentation but still get a beer that is a Belgian Pale but treading into oaky and dark fruit territory. Hard to explain how this is but it works and is most likely why this one is very unique. Definitely recommend it once if you love farmhouse or saisons that lean toward a nice tart and funky zone.

Anime Corner:
Suigintou from Rozen Maiden was used in this pairing to represent the colors, flavors and the evil tart aspect that this beer brings but yet under control of the Holy. Basically, as you can see the Trappist Monastery is here and everything looks sweet but once you taste the beer, you see there is a much stronger and darker side to this (as seen by the dragon). Almost like the beer has been tainted but the fact that it is not sour and balanced, it seems to work fine. It represents light and dark twilight which is well controlled.

Sources:
http://konachan.com/post/show/154755