La Trappe (Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands)

La Trappe beer garden with brewery
in background

7/1/14 and 3/8/03 visits

A few weeks before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the price of airline tickets to Europe plummeted and we flew nonstop from MSP to Amsterdam for a long weekend because it was cheaper than any domestic vacation we tried to book. One of the best trips we've ever taken, a highlight was a train to Tilburg to taste La Trappe at Koningshoeven.

Returning this summer to the Netherlands with our niece for her college graduation trip, we took the opportunity to stop again for the tour. La Trappe was both familiar and changed at the same time.

First round of Wit and Quadruple

In 2003, we walked into the tasting room and the tour guide, Berrie Verhagen, asked if I was Cal on the first beer I ordered. I asked "How did you know?" We were the only Americans there. We toured the brewery with Berrie giving English translations of the previous Dutch explanations from each stop. Today's tour is very similar minus the walk through the bottling room. Also, at the end now, there's a video covering all things La Trappe while samples are poured. English speakers drank first, which was a nice bonus for coming so far.

Salad with fenugreek goat brie, apple, nuts
and apple-syrup dressing (minus bacon
to be vegetarian)

If my memory is correct, the present gift shop was the old tasting room.  Back then, cheese made with the quadruple and brewery bread, while great, was the best on the menu. For this trip, we showed up early enough for the 2 pm tour to have lunch first. My salad was pretty incredible, but my wife hit the jackpot by ordering the raisin-nut bread with Brabant blue goat cheese, pear compote, and nuts (grantinated in the oven). Not even sure what to call it, but the bite I was allowed to savor was spectacular. After the tour, I had Brabant strawberries with "hang-op," a uniquely Dutch topping according to the waitress. Even without the trappist ales, this is a place worth visiting just for the food. Magnificent. If you make the trip to Tilburg, please leave enough time to eat. And, of course, there was beer: before, during and after the tour.

My wife predictably started—and stayed—with the Quadruple. Easily distracted by something new, I got the once brewed 25th Anniversary Ale called Jubilaris and followed with Puur, La Trappe's organic pale ale.  Ended with a bottle of the Oak Aged Quadruple, batch 16. According to the waitress, each batch of the oak aged quad is tweaked a bit differently. In beer press, La Trappe sometimes doesn't get the respect of other trappist breweries, but I love their line up, especially the quad.

Tilburg is a bit off the beaten tourist path, but public transportation to Koningshoeven is easy. Bus 141 drops off right in front of the abbey and it's an easy walk to the tasting room. The bus runs hourly, so timing is important. To return, the bus pick up is across the road and down a little bit.  In 2003, I read the time wrong because we didn't realize that the return bus was on the other side of the road, which resulted in a us walking back to the train station in a light rain. Our first trip, we took an easy train ride to Tilburg from Amsterdam for the day and returned that night. This trip we had rented a car for a few days, so simply got a room at the Bastion Hotel (cheap, basic but perfectly adequate) because it's the closest one to the abbey. We just missed the bus from the hotel to the brewery, so we walked the 20 minutes rather than wait for the next bus. In the end, we've ridden the bus each direction—just a decade apart.

Two years ago, my wife and I visited Westvleteren in Belgium, which was also a great day, but much more difficult to get to with public transportation. While I've only been to two trappist breweries, La Trappe is an easy visit and well worth the effort, especially with the serious upgrades to the food and tour structure. I encourage you to settle in for an afternoon and leisurely enjoy the full range of La Trappe beers.

Chicago 2013 Day 3

La Trappe Bock at the Map Room

6/12/13

Chicago 2013 Day 1
Chicago 2013 Day 2

We took it slower today and started with the morning at the Art Institute of Chicago.  The, we did a late lunch at Piece Brewery & Pizzeria.  I seem to love this place, as I've been to it on several trips in a row now and just keep wanting more. I decided on this incarnation that it is the combo of New Haven style pizza and a better than average brewery that gets me.  Either alone wouldn't be enough, but together it's a fun combination for a new beer or two, generally one that I like well enough for a draft and that wonderfully hot, thin crust pizza.  Easy recom for any Chicago visit.

Al wanted to visit the Map Room, which is a fine local bar that does a great job of handling the beers that they have.  I took the opportunity to try for the first time a La Trappe Bock Bier. Beautifully served but I wasn't crazy about the beer. From my notes, I was in the Map Room ten years ago with my wife and the the place is very similar today.  I would be happy to live nearby but it's not the destination bar like Hopleaf.

The Map Room

Revolution Brewing was next on our stop for some hoppy brewing swagger, starting with Triple Fist and Double Fist, triple and double IPAs respectively.  The double was disappointing but the triple was significantly better.  Ended with a saison named Coup D'Etat that was my favorite Revolution brew. We intended to eat dinner at Haymarket, so we ordered just an appetizer of Smelt and Fried Lemons with Sriracha-Lemon aioli sauce. I took some ribbing for never having had smelt before—evidently, a deficiency of my Iowa upbringing—and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Last November, I had a great time at Haymarket with my wife, niece and nephew for our Thanksgiving dinner, one of the only places open. Looking forward to our return, we showed up just before the start of the first game of the Stanley Cup with Chicago and Boston facing off.

Revolution brew house

For dinner, I went light with a bowl of Vegan Chili and a side of Mac 'N Cheese.  Both were excellent. Haymarket tries to push the limit with beer, so decided to try the Girl & the Goatee, a Belgian ale with rhubarb.  Not every experiment goes well, and this one was a mediocre success. The white peach wit Mash Made in Heaven VI was far better. Our main issue for the night was the extremely loud television for the hockey game that made it uncomfortable to sit for the evening. We left as the Blackhawks started to come back for the eventual triple overtime win.

Revolution Brewing main bar

Al had a friend who said he needed to hit Au Cheval.  We were a bit chagrined looking at our phones to realize that we had walked past it on the way to Haymarket; it was on the opposite corner from where we were sitting.  So, we stopped in for one.  I added a new brewery with a draft of Against the Grain's Tickle Me Ale-Mo, an excellent wild ale.  We shared the crisp fries with mirnay sauce, garlic aioli and fried farm egg on top. To my surprise, I like egg on my fries. Too dark to take a picture—or really see for that matter, Au Cheval is an upscale bistro that happens to have a pretty good draft list.  Stopping for one didn't really do this place justice, though I will probably pass on stopping for a full meal since the menu isn't very veggie friendly.

That's Chicago!  At least, our version of it.  A great time with friends and I feel like I have only scratched the surface of this quickly developing beer city.  

Delirium Monasterium (Brussels, BE)

The "list" for the Delirium bars

7/26/12

On my third beer, I realized with the help of the bartender that I was in a smaller version of Delerium Cafe called the Delirium Monasterium that specializes in Trappist ales and vodkas. Hmmmm. Interesting. The sign out front of the former entrance to the  Delirium Cafe said "around the corner" for the Cafe, but I didn't go far enough.  It's two left hand turns to get to the actual entrance.  After the first left hand turn, I saw Delirium in the name and stopped for a beer before investigating further.

So, this was just some trappist pre-gaming. :)

The Monesterium is a small bar with ten taps by my count that faces directly to the busy seafood restaurant row known as Rue des Bouchers. The dark wood of a beat up bar has a monastery feel with some church like arches filling out the decor. Slow in the early afternoon, which was nice for chatting with the friendly punk bartender.  I noticed during the week of visits to the Delirium bars that the Monestarium is often quieter and less full than the other bars, which is one of the reasons that I took Gloria there instead of the main cafe when we returned to Brussels briefly for the flower carpet.

For my first visit, I stuck to the taps, a treat by itself for traveling to Belgium. Plus the famous list overwhelmed me initially. The Monasterium also doubles as a vodka bar, which doesn't make much sense until I saw the crowds of young folks later in the evening.  I started safe with a La Trappe Quad: one of the very freshest that I've ever had, full of life and body. Nearly as good as having it on site years ago.

Since it counted on the list, I ordered a Chimay Red for the second draft in spite of the bartender's warning: thin on taste and light bodied.  Perfectly adequate, but I wouldn't order it again.  My final draft of this visit was better: Val Dieu Tripel has a thick white head that falls to half in an instant and then lingers with a heavy lace. Shimmering orange beer that's beautiful in the glass. Big spicey nose that lessens on the tongue and is over shadowed a bit (not in a bad way) by the earthy base of the beer.

Overall, a great first stop at Delirium in spite of my confusion as to where I was actually drinking.  I corrected the error several times during the week by visiting each section separately.  Before taking off, I gave the copy of All About Beer magazine that I read on the plane to the bartender, which he seemed to appreciate.  The Monesterim is not the stop I expected but one I very much enjoyed.

La Trappe Quadrupel (Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands)

Sharing a bottle of La Trappe Quad tonight with my wife.  As the only Dutch Trappist brewery, I am admittedly smitten with Koningshoeven beers.  Our first trip outside of the United States was to the Netherlands to visit the home country.

Hazy copper ale with a light brown head that pours thinly into my La Trappe glass I bought at Koningshoeven on our visit in 2003.  Dates, figs with oak and light spice in the nose.  Dark fruit with a hint of black cherry, heavy caramel and an oily resin taste.  Dry finish that counterbalances the sweetness of the malt.

Classic example of a Trappist quadrupel that should be tried by all who pursue beer knowledge.