33 cL bottle. Pours unfiltered orange with a huge off-white head. Aroma is most of all hoppy, what a difference from the other trappists, but it also has so many other components: YEAST, fruits. spices, slight sweetness but most of all: the aroma is dry. Flavour is citric, malt sweetness which is good for balance to the sour/bitter hop notes. Strong bitterness into the finish. First time I had this I was in awe, I had found the perfect beer and no one around me could understand the same thing. I’ve come back and been in doubt several times, but this one deserves to be in the same league as the golden 12. There doesn’t seem to be an "inbetween" with this one, either you like it and wholeheartedly appreciate it, or you move on - I stay still, this is my beer for an evening on the balcony as the sun sets...

Re-rate 11/13: Bottle sample at a tasting at Beer Market Jaffa. Thanks Noam. Bottled 12/5/12. Hazy orange with a huge off-white head. Aroma of barnyard, oranges, floral notes and some hops. Rather dry flavor with very light sweetish notes, a touch of malt, fruitiness, flowers, yeast, earth and a nice bitterness. Medium-bodied, lively carbonation. 7/4/7/3/14=3.5
Re-rate 11/13: Bottle shared at a tasting at Beer Market Jaffa. Bottled 3/14/02 (11 years old). Cloudy orange with a nice off-white head. Musty aroma of old horse blanket, barnyard and floral notes. Slightly sourish flavor, very dry, funky, bretty, with a bitter hint in the finish with a bit of cardboard. Medium-bodied. Nice and interesting. 8/4/7/3/15=3.7

Re-rate 4/1/12: Bottle shared at the 3rd Israeli Sour Tasting. (10 years old. Bottled on 3/14/02). Murky dark orange. Pleasant funky aroma with barnyard and lots of citrus. Sourish flavor with brett and a dry, somewhat bitter finish. Medium-bodied. Past its prime, but still nice. 8/3/7/3/14=3.5

Re-rate 2/4/10: Bottle (almost 8 years old. Bottled on 3/14/02). Heavily carbonated clear orange to deep golden color with a fine huge white head. Big barnyard aroma with some perfumy and flowery notes, lemon, citron, grapefruit, apricot, green apple hints, some malt and some medicinal notes. Dry earthy flavor with a bit of background sweetness, citrus, some brett and a bone-dry finish, a bit acidic, with herbal notes. Smooth mouthfeel with lively carbonation. Good, complex and unique, but the yeast character seems to get a bit out of hand at this age. 8/5/7/4/15=3.9

Re-rate 12/26/09: Bottle sample at a tasting. Thanks Dror. Bottled on 10/27/08. Cloudy orange with a huge rocky beige head. Perfumy aroma with honey, flowers, spicy hoppiness and funky notes. Flavor is sweetish and slightly bready-caramelly at first. Continues dry with citric bitterness, light tartness, fruits and a nice, lingering, hoppy finish. Silky mouthfeel. 8/4/8/4/16=4

Re-rate 3/8/08: Bottle at De Heeren van Liedekercke in Denderleeuw. Bottled on 2/24/05. Appears on the menu as "Orval Joost 35 Jaar" but I don’t know what it means. Slightly hazy orange color with a big consistent white head. Aroma of fruits, some bretty funk and some hoppy notes. A completely dry flavor with lots of citrus (grapefruit, some orange peels), some wonderful bretty touches, a bit of spices and some hops. Medium-bodied. Wonderful. Not as good as the older bottles I’ve has but very close. 8/5/9/5/18=4.5

Re-rate 1/17/08: Bottle (almost 6 years old). Magnificent appearance of hazy orange color with a big and thick off-white head. A really bretty aroma with some barnyard, loads of citrus and some other fruits. Very dry flavor with a good dose of funky sourness as well as some fruitiness and some malt. A dry finish with some citric-lemon touches, a bit of spice, and (surprisingly at this age) some hops. Medium-bodied. Wow, very close to perfection. Funny how I gave this beer the same score now and when I was rather new to good beers. I’m almost tempted to open another bottle but I want to save the two bottles I still have in case the only store in Israel that still carries this (all bottles at this age by the way), doesn’t have any more left. 10/5/9/5/19=4.8

Bottle (almost 5 years old). Dark cloudy orange with a medium head. A very complex perfumy aroma with malt, hops, citrus (a lot of orange). Flavor is unlike any beer i’ve ever tasted - sweet, fruity, citrusy (orange and a bit of lemon), and a bit spicy. Finish is wonderful dry hop bitterness with a bit of sourness. A very pleasent mouthfeel. A full body. Amazing and unique. 10/5/9/5/19=4.8

bottled on 10/24/2002 - This brew pours up a huge white head that leaves some nice lacing. The yeast sediment is very fine. The aroma is complex is notes of yeast, citrus, spice, and a bit of the funk that I associate with lambics. That last was a surprise, but not bad. It’s in the taste a little bit too. The flavor is dry and very well balanced with those citrus, spice, and funky notes all in there. Medium bodied and lively on the palate, this is a very drinkable ale. It’s also held up well over time. The Trappist monks have done it again.