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Bottle/Tap: Tap

Happy New Year! One thing I always enjoy is a good surprise, especially around this time of year. Before the holidays I happened to be at Strangebrew and ordered a Grimbergen Double Ale. I had never had anything by Grimbergen, and it was a new tap, so I thought it best to become acquainted.

For starters, this was a brown ale. Not heavy like a New Castle, it reminded me of a Leffe Brown or something. Not to say that I don’t like a brown ale, usually they have more color to them. After the first taste I noticed a distinct flavor, and I was hooked. Suddenly I drank half my glass and hadn’t realized.

There seemed to be a lot of carbonation for this type of beer, yet it still went down very smoothly,and I wasn’t complaining. The taste was very creamy, you could mix a cream stout with a New Castle and maybe get the right combination here. Overall, I was surprised and completely enjoyed this beer.

The interesting thing to point out is that this is a Trappist ale, which means it is a monk brew like Chimay. You know, I’m almost considering dropping everything and quickly becoming a monk. I think I could handle my days brewing great beer such as this in a remote area of Belgium. It wouldn’t be New Hampshire, but I’m sure I could live with that. Although the thought of shaving my head and wearing a robe is terribly appealing, maybe I could be a monk with jeans.

Maybe I should just stick to what I know the best. Oh well, I can dream, can’t I?