Gregorius - Stift Engelszell

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.73/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Bottle from The Birch in Norfolk, Virginia. Served in a cervoise.

Pours a dark chestnut brown with a lasting off-white head. Nice lacing on the sides of the glass and a cap throughout.

The nose starts with some toffee, honey, bread, earth, and a somewhat-woody note. Molasses, brown sugar, and a touch of clove. Slight date character. There's also something in the background that's slightly reminiscent of root beer. Sassafras, maybe? All in all, pretty well integrated and fairly intriguing.

Flavor has a nice honey component alongside some bread and light caramel. Molasses with notes of clove in the background. Not terribly fruity. Dry and toasty.

Medium body and a fairly-dry finish. Ever so slightly astringent. Moderate carbonation.

Overall, very interesting and certainly unique for a Trappist beer. The honey and molasses notes were interesting, with slight spice through the background. I'm looking forward to seeing how this beer/recipe develops over time.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 02:32:48 | More by Thorpe429

UCLABrewN84

California

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Brewed in 2012.

Pours a murky brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, dark fruit, and some earthy hop aromas. Taste is much the same with toasted bread and fruity flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp but medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but it's much more earthy and slightly rough compared to how I thought it would be.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 03:55:43 | More by UCLABrewN84

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.25/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

As the "little brother" of the Trappist brewing, Stift Engelszell steps into the Strong Dark Ale arena with a bold and majestic ale that carries a regal sense of complexity and with superb drinkability.

Gregorius pours with a deep dark russet brown hue and the expected yeasty rust haze. The beer calmly builds a creamy but short off-white head. Though the beer is restrained with its foamy lacing, it does celebrates brandy-type legging that coats the glass with malt oils with a gentle swirl of the chalice.

Creamy candied aromas and taste begin with an elegant sweetness that's reminescent of grape, hard candy, and powdered sugar. Combined with the robust tastes of grilled dark fruit, blackcurrant, cabernet, mild chocolate, light coffee grind, cola nuts and cashews- the taste is varying but savory and sweet. Added complexities arise with raisin, plumb and prune as the beer warms and the taste buds invite more delicate character. A balance of vinous woods and black pepper balance the sweetness and fruit and close the beer with a dry sweetness that's every bit as wine-like as ale.

Its firm and creamy body is rich, savory and succulent with its initial sip. But finishing warm, its evident that the malts have receded, the bitterness of wood oils rises, and the alcohols pronounce.

And with the same type of satisfaction of Koningshoeven La Trappe Quad, Gregorius has fit the Trappist Strong Dark Ale taste, complexity, and drinakability to a tee.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 07:01:41 | More by BEERchitect

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in a tumbler at Local Option.

I had to start off with the newest Trappist brewery, didn't I? This stuff pours a clear topaz topped by over a finger of khaki foam. The nose comprises caramel, toffee, stone fruits, fig, and light clove. The taste brings in more of the same, though unfortunately accompanied by some musty apple/white wine grape character throughout. This flavor just ruins everything, literally leaving a bad taste in my mouth. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fluid feel. Overall, it seemed as though the Local Option crew agreed with me that this beer, though well-looked-forward-to, really fell flat on its face, especially with that weird flavor in there (which is exacerbated by the alcohol level). Without any hesitation, this is the worst Trappist beer I've ever had. Hopefully I can try more from this brewery in the future, though (meaning: Engelszell, don't try to be Orval, 'cause this nonsense ain't no Orval, homies!).

Serving type: on-tap

11-30-2012 22:07:09 | More by TMoney2591

metter98

New York

3.69/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A: The beer is very dark brown in color (black when viewed from afar) and has a moderate amount of carbonation visible from the bubbles rising near the edges of the glass. It poured with a two finger high beige head that took a long time to die down and consistently left a thin head covering the surface.
S: There are moderate aromas of Belgian yeast and dark fruits in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell but also has some additional flavors of dark malts. Earthy flavors of yeast linger through the finish. No sweetness is detectable.
M: It feels medium-bodied, slightly smooth and a little dry on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: Considering its strength, the alcohol is remarkably well hidden from the taste, which makes this beer very easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 04:08:13 | More by metter98

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

330ml bottle. It's not every day that a new Trappist brewery hits the shelves, so a bit of fanfare is in the air, folks.

This beer pours a hazy, dark reddish mahogany hue, with three fingers of tight, densely foamy beige head, which leaves but a few instances of sea spout lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of dark, lightly toasted caramel malt, sozzled black fruit - prunes, wild cherries, and raisins - a molasses/treacle sugar-spike, mild clove and black pepper spice, a slight earthy mustiness, and faint warming alcohol. The taste is somewhat tart dark fruitcake, the essence of honey, as in the way of mead, diluted molasses, a hint of crème fraîche, packaged dates, caramel squares, toasted dark bread, subtle clove, and a further weak mustiness, equaled in its understatement by the very wallflowerish booze.

The carbonation is fairly tame, and at the same time kind of frothy, the body a hearty medium weight, and generally quite smooth, even if a pervasive sourness takes its (less than a) pound of flesh. It finishes off-dry, the fruity, malty, and sugary notes all well tempered by their corresponding sour/tart offsets.

An interesting, and tasty enough take on the entrenched Trappist BSDA - the initial delta indicated on the label - the honey - really taking a back seat to the skulking sour fruit character that comes to fill one's perception of this offering. Which I suppose is just fine, as who really wants another Rochefort/Westy/La Trappe clone (as good as those are), when there's new ground to break? Beer-speaking, of course, as the Abbey itself was founded back in 1293.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 04:54:28 | More by biboergosum

jdhilt

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a five+ finger light tan head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Opaque dark brown color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Dark fruit and honey nose, flavor is more molasses than honey and earthy coffee. Pricey at $6.99 for a 330ml bottle from Julio's Liquors Westborough, MA. Brewed Nov 2012.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 22:22:52 | More by jdhilt

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.73/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1st beer of 2013: 33cl bottle poured @ home into a Westvleteren chalice, just to make it feel at one with the Trappist world. Some sediment got into the chalice but the beer still looked fine: reddy brown body with a full tanned foaming head.

The nose is malts all the way: molasses and a yeastiness with red berries actually lead the aroma stakes with traces of off Port notes adding a slightly vinegar feel to the overall smell.

The taste was a heavenly blend/mix of flavours: matly, fruity and yeasty. Semi-sweet with that aforementioned Port off-vinegar feel keeping the brew interesting and different.

Body wise it is fine and I thought the beer well worth finding and tasting. A long way from being the best or even one of the best ’Trappist’ brews but never the less a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 22:33:11 | More by BlackHaddock

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at Monk's, Philly, PA

Dark brown pour, seemingly opaque in the dim light of the bar, topped with a small, wispy head. Aroma of dark bready malts, fairly roasty, coffee and cocoa, yeast, leather. The taste reflected the aroma, pumpernickel, leather, coffee, unsweetened cocoa, prunes, raisins, slight notes of toffee and leafy hops, and some distant fruity phenols that didn't really seem to add or detract from the taste, they were just there. A nice beer overall, very dry, a little alcohol heat, medium body, nowhere near as full as many of the other "big" names in trappist beer, but still nice and drinkable.

I have a couple bottles of this, and I'd like to cellar at least one to see how it holds up over the years, seeing how it is the first commercially available batch from Stift.

Serving type: on-tap

11-15-2012 02:00:32 | More by Rifugium

avalon07

South Carolina

4.26/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: Poured from a bottle to a goblet. Had a dark brown color and a cloudy texture. There was a small amount of off white, foamy head that quickly dissipated. Fair lacing.

S: A nice aroma of dark fruit, yeast, and malt.

T: Tasted of Belgian yeast, cherries, caramel, apples, and some malt. A complex, focused, enjoyable flavor. Very easy to like this one.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a smooth (bordering on slick) finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly made, drinkable beer. I'm surprised this one has as low a rating as it does. Still, a tasty beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 23:45:13 | More by avalon07

dgilks

Australia

4.08/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A big thank you to Brabander for this bottle.

A dark, somewhat cloudy mahogany brown colour with a small, but tight, tan head. Nice.

Intense fruity aroma. They are fermenting this high. Nice nutty malt notes and a solid toffee note. Very good.

Malt and fruit dominate. Well balanced like the Belgian Trappists. Nice raisin and date flavour. Some cherry and banana. A little like some of my homebrew with its high sweetness.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Nice and dry.

A lovely Trappist Ale. This is from an early batch and given that is very good. The ester profile is a little excited but I do like it.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 08:21:52 | More by dgilks

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4.06/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

new trappist brew, cool! pours super dark brown, pushing black, no glow at all, with a few inches of bubbly khaki head with fine retention. the nose is quite understated, with some smoked malt and Belgian yeast being the only real obvious notes. the flavor is very opposite, extremely robust and aggressive. its malt heavy, but not sweet, its moderately smoky, but not heavy, its really roasty, but not bitter, just chock full of contradictions. complex and will all the fine mouthfeel characteristics we now expect in trappist brews. its brightly carbonated and its fuller body is made light in this way. texture is a little runny, but it doesn't hurt the outcome. kind of a hard beer to classify, but the alcohol is extraordinarily well hidden and the yeast used is new to me, and I like it a lot. overall a tasty brew, new to shelves, and im curious to see what else they make. would not have known this was made with honey if it didn't say so on the label.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2013 19:44:48 | More by StonedTrippin

ehammond1

California

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle (2012)

Thanks for opening this with me, JealousChalice!

Mahogany and dark brown with a creamy brown head of very small bubbles. Leaves sheets of stick down the glass.

Roasted malt, dark fruits, distinctive Belgian yeast, and some ash and char round out the aroma.

The flavor is very reminiscent of a Belgian dubbel, with dark fruits and distinctive, earthy yeast making up the bulk of the flavor, along with a coffee/char/ash tray flavor lingering in the background.

Medium bodied with creamy carbonation.

Good, but nothing paradigm shifting.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 19:08:01 | More by ehammond1

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.05/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Gouyasse tulip glass. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with a fine two finger light tan head with great retention and lacing. Aroma of dark fruit, dark malt, winter spices (clove and cinnamon), slightly vinous. Dense flavor of concentrated dark and dried fruit, dark malt, chocolate, aged wine, hints of cinnamon and clove. Integrated and woody flavors similar to a barrel aged ale. Medium to heavy bodied with excellent creaminess. Complex, unusual and interesting, I enjoyed this new entry into the Trappist beer world very much.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 04:50:06 | More by LiquidAmber

thierrynantes

France

3.96/5  rDev +7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Beer bottle (33 cl.) purchased from La Cervoiserie, and tasted in 2013.

Appearance : dark red brown color, with thin beige head.
Smell : malty and burnt caramel aromas.
Taste & mouthfeel : sweet malty and yeasty flavors, alcohol presence leading to a bitter finish.
Drinkability : a good beer in the style Belgian quadruple (trappisten bier)

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 19:53:47 | More by thierrynantes

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

From the 11.2 fl. oz. bottle that is stamped "Brewed in Year 2012/11." Sampled on May 20, 2013.

It pours dark brown with a lingering mocha head and a slight cloudy look. Decent lacing.

The honey with which it is brewed does introduce itself in a low profile sort of way after I get over the boozy hump. It evolves into something sweet. Also noted on the nose is coffee and dark fruit like cherry or currant.

The body is pretty bold.

The honey is a little difficult to find in the flavor. Instead my taste buds are teased with dark malts, cherry, licorice, coffee, and a slightly lingering bitterness at the end. There are some characteristics that I like about this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 22:05:52 | More by puboflyons

Brenden

Ohio

3.71/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

This ale from the world's most recent trappist brewery is a thick medium brown color. It develops a moderately-sized light brown head with equally moderate retention and a pretty good bit of patching on the glass.
This beer has hints of the sweetness I'd expect from the style without going full on with it. It makes for an interesting character, perhaps something a little different in the trappist arena. There is honey used in the brewing process, something that shows in a particular character without the sweetness that's lost in the brewing process. There are, however, notes of toffee and molasses along with the earthiness and bready malts. Just a hint of dark fruits are in there also. There's an earthiness from both yeast and hops that comes out more strongly on the tongue. The note of clove is subtle. While unusual, it does make for a pretty good beer.
This one doesn't have all the big but balanced richness of the greats, but it's certainly not bad. It has enough body, though I might prefer a touch more, and displays a little dryness coming into the finish.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 17:05:53 | More by Brenden

popery

California

3.38/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Pours a deep, rich brown. Thick beige head. Sticks around well. Very good looking beer. Unfortunately, the rest of the beer didn't live up to that appearance for me. The aroma is a mix of medicinal yeast and toasty malt notes. Little bit of nail polish remover and wood. The malt has some nice things going on - toffee, dates, plums, caramel, bread and molasses - but it's still kinda simple. There's just too much sweetness mixing with those medicinal Belgian esters, and it doesn't really work. The taste is quite sweet. Somewhat cloying. Oddly vinous and still fairly toasty. It's kind of a mess. Fair bit of booze. Fairly heavy feel. Coats the mouth more than I'd like, but that might be more a flavor issue than feel. Carbonation is normal. This was a disappointment. I was pretty excited to find this beer and try a new Trappist brewery, but it's just not very good.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2013 09:01:40 | More by popery

Jeffo

Netherlands

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Present from Sinter Klaas a few weeks ago. Thanks Doops!

From a bottle into a snifter
Best before 08.11.2014
10 cent refund in Quebec

APPEARANCE: Pours a small, looser, fizzy, cream-white head with lousy retention for the style. Fizzes away to a faint wisp and ring rather quickly. Clear, dark ruby or chestnut red with medium levels of carbonation. A ring remains but leaves no real lacing down the glass. An unimpressive head, and actually looks like an old Rochefort 10.

SMELL: Caramel, toffee, light butterscotch, some fruit notes, like raisins and red berries, as well as some spicy yeast qualities. Milder, but definitely different and interesting, especially in the malt bill.

TASTE: Caramel, raisins, as well as some red fruits and berry notes before a boozy and spicy finish at the swallow. Quite bold in flavor. Aftertaste is very spicy and yeasty, with some sweet caramel, a touch of hop bitterness, as well as a good dose of alcohol. Lots of clove, coriander, and yeasty spices. Boozy as well. Really nice, though a touch too boozy for top marks.

PALATE: Medium-fuller body with medium levels of carbonation. Quite creamy smooth for sure, goes down smooth and finishes slightly dry. A bit of a scratch at the swallow and some heat lingers. Weighty and creamy smooth with a full body. Solid.

OVERALL: This is quite good and somewhat unique in flavor for the style. Good and interesting flavor profile and a full, creamy feel for the style. The look could use some more work, but this is still a solid, solid beer. A wonderful addition to the trappiste lineup. Cheers again Doops!

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 20:49:32 | More by Jeffo

PDXHops

South Carolina

2.63/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

11.2 ounce bottle poured into a St Bernardus goblet. Deep hazy brown with an initially puffy cream-colored head that dies down disappointingly quickly. A bubbly skim clings tenaciously, and a bit of crackly lacing is left up top.

The chief aromas are bready malt and a pronounced woody character that seems out of place, although not altogether unpleasant. Lighter medicinal, dark fruit and leafy notes.

Tastes a bit messy and disjointed. Perhaps some aging would help smooth things out. At this point, though, it's a mishmash of massive candi sugar and dark corn syrup sweetness coupled with a somewhat artificial tasting tangy fruitiness and a ton of alcohol. Just big and boozy vs warming. Milk chocolate, vinous, sugary, woody, cherry pie filling. A lot going on here. It's kind of a mess, truthfully, although I suspect it might be a pleasantly surprising cellar experiment. Pretty nice coating mouthfeel. I find myself unusually intrigued by a mediocre beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 00:22:14 | More by PDXHops

Brabander

Netherlands

3.89/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

I got this bottle (in a sixpack) from a Dutch guy who went to the abbey in the time the first batch was sold. I gave away five of the six bottles and the sixt was saved for a special occasion.

I was in Austria last week and i decided to take back the bottle to it's country of origin. Drank the bottle in the lovely village of Neustift in the Strubai valley together with an American Facebook friend who was there @ the same time.

Poured out of the bottle into a wine glass, did not have the appropiate glassware with me. Nice head but not spectacular. The smell is normal with a bit caramellic malts in the nose. Taste is not very spectacular when you compare this one with other Trappists.

Glad i got to try this one and that's it!

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 21:06:58 | More by Brabander

jtierney89

New Jersey

3.3/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

deep semi murky brown fluffy off white head that dies rather quickly. smells nutty rich and earthy smells sweet musty and woody.

tastes a lot like the smell. a bit medicinal and booze, very musty semi vinious but not like a good wine. drinkable and good but I'm not sure if it's up to trappist standards

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 05:11:54 | More by jtierney89

WillCarrera

Illinois

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Churchkey in DC, poured into a balloon glass.

A- Pours nearly black, held up to light it reveals some burgundy hues, produces a thin khaki head.

S- Mix of dark fruits (fig, dates, raisins), and roasted malt, maybe some coffee and dark chocolate.

T-Big sweet flavor, at first I'm getting a lot of roasted grain with coffee and chocolate, almost porter-like, but on subsequent sips the dark fruit becomes more prominent. Lots of figs, raisins, maybe some leather. There's a bit of sweet, fruity alcohol on the end with medicinal phenol flavor.

M- Medium to full-bodied, creamy, rich feel.

O- A very interesting beer, it definitely sets itself apart from its Belgian counterparts, definitely give this a try, although the fruity, rich sweetness makes it a sipper.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2012 03:22:03 | More by WillCarrera

Etan

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Roscoe Village Pub, in conjunction with WLV for Zwanze 2012.

A: Brown with purplish hues.

S: Yeasty aroma with heavy vinous notes. Grape, raisin, brown bread.

T: Grape, bread, hint of booze, candi sugar, slight hop bitterness.

M. Medium-bodied with zesty carbonation.

O. Fits the trappist mold pretty well, especially for a first try.

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2012 05:55:57 | More by Etan

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

(found and consumed a bottle at Belmont Station, Portland)

A: dark brown and opaque.... leaves molasses-y legs

S: smells of latrine.... caramel/cream-infused coffee, with the roast sanded off

T: Belgian brown, immediate prejudice... kinda like the lovechild of Gouden Carolus Classic and Orval?... mellow sour/tart tinge, sweet phenols, long toffee finish - sum of the parts balance well in the aftertaste.... later, getting more of bubblegum and grapefruit cushioned by thick, velvet malt

M: smooth-ass, med-full body... not hot

O: not bad at all... a little rough around the edges... all in all, Trappist worthy?

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 04:13:46 | More by Bouleboubier