Trappist Achel 8° Blond - Brouwerij der St. Benedictusabdij de Achelse

ojclark

California

3.95/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden-orange. Some haze and sediment. Lasting off-white head. Toasty, malty, bready aroma with slight fruitiness. Complex flavor with big spiciness from hops and peppery phenols. Nice maltiness with toasty and bready notes. Very fruity with some alcohol notes. Aftertaste of spice, fruitiness and some alcohol warmth. Long finish. Medium body with rich mouthfeel. Well-carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2008 02:15:47 | More by ojclark

RaphaelSC

Brazil

4.39/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours a golden yellow with a thick white head.

S: Fruity and sweet, with some cinnamon and spices.

T: Follows the smell with a fruity and spice flavour, has a good carbonation and hides the alcohol well.

M: The carbonation don't interfere in the aftertaste that is rich and complex with a mix of fruity and moderate bitterness.

O: Achel 8 is a Trappist Trippel of high class, very smooth and very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 16:03:38 | More by RaphaelSC

HollyHops

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-22-2013 04:50:30 | More by HollyHops

hotsudge

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-15-2013 01:14:20 | More by hotsudge

JackOfAll

United Kingdom (Wales)

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-12-2013 08:46:51 | More by JackOfAll

SStein

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

05-09-2013 09:48:46 | More by SStein

TallSaint

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

05-07-2013 23:35:08 | More by TallSaint

Noyt

Quebec (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

05-04-2013 00:31:31 | More by Noyt

bump8628

Oklahoma

4.31/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Nearly clear gold with a creamy white head that remains dense throughout the session. Excellent balance between fruity esters, hop spice, and a slightly rustic but crisp malt. Faint banana, coriander, nutmeg, pear, black pepper, with a slightly chalky bitterness. Dry and airy in the mouth. Goes down way too easy. An excellent Trappist ale.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 00:30:45 | More by bump8628

randylangford

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.7%

04-26-2013 23:33:25 | More by randylangford

alex_hart

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

appearance: a translucent orangey yellow with a half finger snow, white head that quickly dissipates to a thin layer. Extremely high carbonation visible.

Smell: Pretty simple. Belgian yeast, a bit of sweetness, and a slight wheatiness.

Taste: Much of the same. Pretty simple in flavor, but it is successful in its subtleties.

Mouthfeel: Great carbonation upon the tongue with little to no residue left in the mouth upon the swallow.

Overall: This is a good tripel, not great, but good. Not sure it is worth the $5 per 12oz price tag, but if you have the extra cash, go for it.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 03:15:39 | More by alex_hart

ZethOfTheNorth

Louisiana

3.48/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle, $4.

This was matched against Chimay White in the first round of my all-triple bracket.

A: Opaque gold, a shade lighter than the Chimay. Extremely clumpy, cloudlike head and a swirling sediment cloud just below it. No visible carbonation, but it's a storm in there.

S: Sweet bread, honey, red bean paste, and an unappealing plastic flavor.

T: Initial prominent sweet bun taste, unpleasant to this reviewer. It spreads out and improves somewhat, but remains problematically sweet even through the multiple layers. A tick of booze at the end.

M: Nice and full, appropriate carbonation.

O: A disappointment for a Trappist tripel and the resounding loser to Chimay White, which I scored 4.23. The unappealing plasticky sweetness is the memorable feature, and that's a drag,

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 16:02:54 | More by ZethOfTheNorth

JeffTheJuice

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.7%

04-17-2013 16:08:07 | More by JeffTheJuice

jroberts8811

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

04-14-2013 00:45:49 | More by jroberts8811

Parrotshake

Australia

2.68/5  rDev -33.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Aside from Westvleteren I thought I'd tried at least one beer from every Trappist brewery until I saw this in the store this evening and realised I've never had an Achel beer either. Off we go, then.

Pours a clear... golden colour. Cripes. For some reason I thought I'd bought the Brune. Huge marshmallowy head and lots of little bubbles, looks good at any rate. Smells nice too. Candi sugar, underripe peach, sweet spices, something a bit vinuous.

Taste is a bit of a shock at first. Boy this is sweet. Hard candy, cantaloupe, wet grain and entirely too little spice. A bit of bready pale malt presence but not enough to stop it from being super cloying. Not really noticing the alcohol but in this case it might have given it a bit of sharpness that it seems to want for. Nice finish of medicinal herbs takes your mind off the sweetness until the next sip, which is admirable.

Mouthfeel is a bit sluggish, could use a bit more carbonation, but not bad for the style. Overall a bit of a sweet mess. I wouldn't know what to do with another bottle of this. The kind of thing that that gives Tripels a bad name.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 16:45:52 | More by Parrotshake

cbnz

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

04-11-2013 00:46:40 | More by cbnz

matthewweippert

Virginia

4/5  rDev -0.7%

04-08-2013 14:50:41 | More by matthewweippert

Ciocanelu

Romania

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

04-07-2013 11:35:14 | More by Ciocanelu

RD1163

California

3/5  rDev -25.6%

04-06-2013 03:45:55 | More by RD1163

korene84

California

3/5  rDev -25.6%

04-04-2013 23:09:06 | More by korene84

jbertsch

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

03-30-2013 21:21:49 | More by jbertsch

JosefSabl

Czech Republic

4/5  rDev -0.7%

03-30-2013 11:45:51 | More by JosefSabl

BAsbill

California

4/5  rDev -0.7%

03-30-2013 04:08:42 | More by BAsbill

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

03-11-2013 04:36:40 | More by spycow

Will12

Ontario (Canada)

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

03-03-2013 20:09:14 | More by Will12