Achel Extra Blond
Brouwerij der St. Benedictusabdij de Achelse

Achel Extra BlondAchel Extra Blond
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From:
Brouwerij der St. Benedictusabdij de Achelse
 
Belgium
Style:
Tripel
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.32 | pDev: 8.1%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
72
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 03, 2024
Added:
Nov 14, 2008
Wants:
  64
Gots:
  13
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by markgoodman10:
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Rated by markgoodman10 from Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +4.2%

Oct 02, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Mar 03, 2024
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Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

4.21/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
750ml bottle into a pint glass. Best by 2/21/25.

Excellent looking beer. Hazy dark yellow body with a strong thick foamy white head which leaves gobs of lacing. Aroma is a bit odd, slightly funky. Taste is strong, warming, slightly sweet. Very clean finish, a little boozy. Great beer to relax with after a long day.
Oct 22, 2023
Photo of Herbabee
Reviewed by Herbabee from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Interesting... this is from the recently "defrocked" lot (BB 02/2025)... Pop of the cap issued a menacingly rising bubble-up from the neck when exposed to fresh air (luckily i had the glassware right there at the ready)... pour gave my snifter a bath of thick, soapy suds on the top, eventually dissipating to an effervescent and lingering bubbly film on the surface (and this isn't even nucleated glassware)... entertained by lingering surface gurgles and dried lacing as the glass empties... look was an appealing copper-blonde and, rather surprisingly, juice-cloudy compared to other tripels that i've sampled in my time... nose brings in a pleasant and distinctive yeasty mustiness (17th century heirloom, i wonder...?) ... and now to the serious business, it enters the mouth quite carbonated and dry, nothing overly complex to me at first, but subsequent sips bring out more of its presence - muted with overripe tree fruits and a certain nuttiness, even a little bubblegum... ticklishly tangy on the tongue... this lot swallows very tangy as well (almost like the ol' pop-rocks of yore) and i can feel the fizz as it travels down the gullet. Overall an understatedly tasty experience.

Sampling this as an aperitif of sorts, and now i'm about ready to dig right in! Cheers!
Aug 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.33 by igl from Russian Federation

Aug 12, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by FarmerF from Netherlands

Apr 10, 2023
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

4.2/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Poured from 750mL bottle into my BeerAdvocate teku. Bottled 1/31/22. This one has been on my "wants" list for 10 years and I finally came across a bottle!

Appearance: medium golden hue with a clear body and a good effervescence. Head is three fingers of frothy eggshell foam that leave a beautiful lace on the glass. Pretty indeed!

Smell: quite subtle, actually, with a sweet malt and light pear aromas. There's no hint of booziness, which I really like. I'd love the volume on the pear to be turned up a little, but still, this is great!

Taste: rich malt, just a little spiciness, and definitely some alcohol heat: pretty much to be expected at 9.5%. Some of the nice orchardiness remains. This is a good beer, but I like tripels that hide their heat a little bit better.

Mouthfeel: medium body with an exceedingly good carbonation and creaminess. Love, love it!

Overall: I like a lot about this tripel. It's not perfect -- the booze comes through a bit too strongly for my taste -- but still definitely worth checking out.
Jan 12, 2023
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Reviewed by te99912_123 from Switzerland

4.04/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
best before july/23.

yellow-gold, some haze. very foamy with some lacing. Yeasty.
Smells of citrus, grass, some spices. very fresh.
Herbal, citrus, spices.
Dry, sweet.

I personally did not taste the banana flavor that was obvious on the 8° version.
To me it's not as great as the extra bruin one. Still a great beer though.
Oct 06, 2022
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Reviewed by CoronadoBruin from California

4.93/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
More a story of drinking Achel than a review:

Purchased at the Achel brewery (monastery store) and consumed onboard a five-star river cruise. That may have something to do with my positive memory. :-). This was a few years ago.

Arguably one of the best beers I have ever had. Everything an ale should be, and something the American palate will find most pleasant as it was clean and smooth, even with a bit of crispness, if that's not a contradiction, with the beer all but screaming quality and flavor. I was quite surprised to see such a high ABV as I would've guessed 2% lower. I bought several bottles of Achel bier/biere at the source, the monastery store that straddles the Belgium and Netherlands border. It is by far and away the most impressive beer store I have ever visited (other impressive beer stores in Brussels, as well), with large beer and cheese selections, and particularly beer glasses, in fact, the glass selection was overwhelming, missing only, of course, Westvleteren.

I arrived in Brussels a week early for the river cruise in order to rent a car and visit the six Trappist monasteries in Belgium that brew their world-famous beer, throwing in Cantillon (twice) for good measure as a friend, who forgets more about beer in one night of drinking than I will ever know, swears it is Mecca (I can't believe people pay money for lambics; yeech). As most Beer Advocate readers would know or suspect, the Westvleteren beers were truly other-worldly but this was my favorite. Poured from a large bottle (IIRC, a750ml bottle; it was several years ago), I'm sure the fact that it had not traveled great distances and going through multiple hot-cold cycles and fighting light pollution had something to do with it.

I apologize for not writing this review, if you can call it that, while drinking this beer so I could give all the particulars but, if you're in southeastern Netherlands or northeastern Belgium, make the detour to Achel. If you're driving from Trappist monastery to Trappist monastery on the same quest as I made, please spend the time to pay a visit to Wereth and the shrine to the Wereth 11; it was sobering (please forgive the most unfortunate pun).

Surprisingly inexpensive to rent a car and stay at smaller hostels and visit the six Trappists monasteries. Truly a bucket list for anyone who appreciates the art of brewing, and the pleasure of consuming, outstanding beer.
Feb 24, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Feb 07, 2022
 
Rated: 4.13 by trevorpost from Pennsylvania

Nov 26, 2020
 
Rated: 4.53 by arzt from Germany

Sep 02, 2020
 
Rated: 4.42 by impending from California

Jun 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.5 by steverx8 from England

May 24, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by paulish from New York

Apr 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4.74 by ptarmigan98 from Alaska

Oct 21, 2018
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Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.31/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Grassy and leafy blond tripel, with some clove, banana, belgian spices and yeast, malt sweetness and some black pepper for a kick. Not overly heavy, but body has a bubbly character to it while not losing the darker elements. Little boozy on the nose, but none whatsoever in the taste. Wife love it too!
Sep 24, 2018
 
Rated: 4.44 by jeschaefer from Texas

Sep 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by JOBEERFB from Belgium

Jul 29, 2018
Achel Extra Blond from Brouwerij der St. Benedictusabdij de Achelse
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 72 ratings