Tesco Finest Belgian Abbey Beer
Brasserie Du Bocq

 

 

Poured from a 750mL bottle into a wine glass.

Notes: Considering the kitschy label with a Gothic architecture photograph, the tag "Traditional Trappist style," and Tesco's reputation for being cheap, my hopes are not high. Nevertheless, I am determined to enjoy this beer.

A: The bottle opening nicely, with a pop and some fizz. However, outside of the brown-orange glass, this 'Abbey' beer looks exactly like filtered apple juice -- same colour, same clarity. The thin head is just bubbles and pops quickly.

S: It actually smells like a Belgian tripel; orange peel and coriander (I don't even need the ingredient list on the label to pick these out) dominate the nose. There's a bit of roughness that I attribute to alcohol, although the bottle claims it is only 6.0%.

T: At first I though, "Oh hey! This is really nice!" But then I had another sip. The flavour itself isn't bad; for about half the taste Tesco manages to convincingly mimic an abbey tripel. It's fruity, spicy, and very sweet. Then the last half of the taste happened. It's difficult to describe, but trust me -- it's bad. The aftertaste is...chemically? Rough? Unnaturally bitter (that is, there is a bitter flavour which is not due to hops or other natural flavour, but seems medicinal or artificial). I suppose artificial is the best way to sum it up -- this is definitely not a quality beer.

M: No complaints here. Bubbly, spicy, with only a little edge of the rough unpleasantness detected in the smell and taste.

D: It's not undrinkable. Really, it's pretty okay. The price is decent (~$4.25 for a big bottle). Still, I'd rather spend that money on a better, albeit smaller, beer. Whatever makes this "Finest Belgian Abbey Beer" end the way it does completely ruins the experience for me. I'd serve it non-beer snobs (maybe), but I wouldn't recommend it.

Bought 2 bottles for £5, best before Feb '11 6.3% ABV.

Presented in 75cl brown bottle with alternative method for holding down cork than the Leffe "champagne" type. They use a single band across the top of the cork, this caught my attention and probably influenced the purchase.

It has an initial spicey nutmeg/clove aroma that masks the alcohol.

Pours a golden honey colour, a bit too gassy, but loses the head within a minute or two and maintains a thin film head.

The taste is certainly acquired, I found it to be very spicy, even to the point of medicinal, in saying that It's very pleasant and leaves a sensation in your mouth for quite a while after drinking. A tingle on the tongue!

Apologies if the review doesn't conform to the usual terminology, I've been drinking beer for a long time (and I don't mean tonight), but only recently became more discerning, hence the review.

750ml bottle, corked and caged

Poured into a large leffe chalice

Pours with a rich amber body, yeast patchy thick tight head with good retention, some attractive lacing on the way down the glass

Smell, sharp alcoholic esters, sweet dried fruit, melon, some rich toasted almonds also. Some hint of spice, little bit of faint clove, asian five spice, fresh corriander. Some biscuity bready malt in there too

Taste, crisp almondy initial flavour, some dry sweet phenolic esters, dry biscuity mouthfeel, slightly watery finish not much lingering flavour, some liquid malt extract flavour also

A solid and fairly drinkable belgian ale. Worth the money but a bit sweet to be very drinkable. I see they include sugar as one of their ingrediants, whether its candied or not I don't know...

Contract brewed for the Tesco supermarket, it comes in a 750ml slim brown bottle, corked and caged. BB July 2008, served lightly-chilled in a large Burgundy bulb wine glass.

A: dark orangey golden to amber in colour, poured with a thick, creamy off-white beer head with good retention, leaving even sheets of lacing as it retreats; moderate carbonation.
S: abundant fruit esters--banana, sweet oranges, a touch of mango, sour-sweet yeastiness, plus a phenolic/chemical note... on top of semi-sharp and rich candyish+caramely sweetness and sugar-cane-ish maltiness. Overall, quite malty, sweet fruity, albeit not unpleasant.
T: semi-sweet and thin-bodied bready malts upfront, followed by a hefe-weizen like savoury-sweet yeasty flavour, sweet citrus, a mild hint of phenol, sprinkled with touches of coriander+clove spiciness... a dryish palate of yeasts and hops lingers in the end, before a residual flow of thin-ish sweetness, like aspartame, prevails down the sides of the tongue... quietly, some warming alc. creeps down the throat as well.
M&D: for a Tripel-style beer this one is quite one-dimensional and too timid in flavour profile--though by no means unpleasant, while the dry-ish palate in the finish lends a niche to the overall dull performance; the mouthfeel is reasonably refreshing and not too fizzy, making this medium-minus bodied tripel-like pale ale pretty easy to quaff. Overall, not complex enough to assume a special place in the Tripel tradition, but quite easy-drinking.