Finally able to taste this beer! I hope to make this rating as informative as possible, but this is obviously one of the top beers people are willing to try. I bought and tried the Westy 12 because it was ranked so highly...and I recommend it to everyone I see, it is still the best beer i've ever had. So, with that said, here is the review for the Rochefort Trappistes 10. First things first, the temperature of the beer is 63 degrees Farenheit. Dark black colour with a slight tan head and zillions of small bubbles rising up on the side of the glass...very neat looking. The beer is almost completely opaque and even as you stretch it at the sides, no light shows through. Smells of ripe dark fruits, such as raisins and black currants dominate the aroma. Malt and chocolate also show through in the nose, but very minutely. A very complex smelling beer, which definately leaves your mouth ready to taste the beer. And the taste? Complex at first...but almost exactly the same as the smell. Hints of chocolate and malt undermine the taste, while ripe fruits dominate the flavour of the beer. Plums, Raisins and even cherries are in the taste. A very malty beer with that being a definate character of the overall taste and palate. The aftertaste leaves you wanting to taste it again, to see what other flavours and characters you can find in the beer, and this one always keeps you guessing. A very complex beer, both in the smell and in the taste, but done very well. Some hop character, but definately malt overwhelmed. The alcohol is somewhat noticable, but not in a bad way at all. A great texture in the mouth...very carbonated, yet coats the inside of the mouth and the tongue very well. I poured this very slowly down the sides of the goblet until a major amount of sediment came out, then I stopped the pour with probably only 5 to 10 millilitres of liquid left in the bottle. After a few sips, the sweet characters shine through in the aftertaste: chocolate (the major player), roasted flavours, ripe fruits all team up very well to make it a pleasant aftertaste. Due only to personal preference, I believe that the Westy 12 is more of a 'perfect' beer, but that could be only because I like hoppy, lighter, less-malty beers more, but this is still one of the best beers i've ever had. On a quick side note, the inital flavour I had in my mouth after tasting the first sip reminded me very much of the 'meatyness' of the Sam Adams Triple Bock (which I HATED), but those memories quickly faded with the good characters of this beer. If someone asked me what the best beer i've ever had was, I would still say: Westy 12, but this one ranks very close to that. I bought this bottle at Beers of the World in Rochester, New York and the price was $10 I believe. Definately worth a try, especially if you want to sample some of the best beers in the entire world!!!

Thanks to Darkover for the trade. This wasn't quite as good as the "10" but still a very good beer. Pours a pretty dark reddish-brown with a very thick and foamy beige head. Aroma of chocolate, cherry, malt and cloves. Smooth-drinking, with flavors of banana, malt, sherry and chocolate all vying for attention. Great finish, if a little carbonated toward the end for my tastes. All in all another fine effort from Rochefort.

Beautiful dark colour. Pleasing aroma. Unfortunately I burned my tongue this morning, but I still enjoy the very complex flavour.

Looks pretty much identical to the 10, deep ruby color. The smell is yeasty, sweat and fruity. There are a lot of subtle notes in the flavor - apples, chocolate, grapes, raisins. This has very well-masked alcohol. Slightly different from the 10, but, in my opinion, just as good.

I had to save something special for number 100, and this was it. But I must say I was a bit disappointed (though not much). This has a great appearance - dark, brownish-red with a nice lacing. The aroma is full of chocolate and plums. The taste is very vinous, with raisins and dates, and a slight maltiness. The flavors weren't as full as I was expecting, but the soft, dry finish was somewhat pleasing. The fullness in the body just didn't seem present in this, but the alcohol was decently masked. It is good, but I was hoping to give this a still higher rating based on the hype. I actually think Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru is better than this.

Looks just as Maredsous 8. But its smells quite different. It has a very good aroma indeed, very mixed. Satisfyng flavour, little bit spicy. Very nice palate.

Updated: Light plummy aroma. Metallic? Dark cloudy brown - near opaque, large stiff head. Strong and easy. Complex nutty caramel and plum flavors. So smooth with a kiss of lip-smacking dessert wine sweetness that I couldn't put it down. Warming finish.

Rerate: what a godlike fluid this is! Dark color, with longlasting firm head. Bready, malty aroma, with hints of chocolate. Malty taste, chocolate. Long lingering palate. Hoping it to last forever...