New Dutch trappist brewery de Kievit

Underwhelming brew; safe and easy and another fine example of the overratedness of the Trappist logo as a quality indicator.
Nothing wrong with it besides that.

 

This is the first time I have ever heard of this brewery. I wonder if this will be coming to the US.

 

isn't this all trappist beers? I like them and buy them, but they're just not the type of beers to blow your mind

 

Really? Have you had Orval? or Westmalle triple?
Perhaps just not your style of beer...

 

Thing is (and I know this comes up time and again but I'll reiterate if only because it's a pet peeve of mine): trappist isn't a style, so there's no way to say anything meaningful about them if style's the central point of discussion. Even here in Belgium, I see people ordering "a trappist" in bars, pretty much like they order "a glass of white wine". Basically, both orders come down to "pour me something. Anything really. Then I'll bitch about it because I really wanted something else. Anything."

But, for arguments' sake: are all trappists underwhelming? I think not. Orval blows me away every time, and is my default beer in your typical Belgian bar if they serve only macro. Westmalle Tripel is deelish but not for every day, and if you can get the Dubbel on tap then don't hesitate. Chimay rouge will do just fine and you can't go wrong with Rochefort. From there on downward it gets a bit so-so and depends on how hyped trappists are in your mindframe. The Westie 12 is examplary of this: it's an okay beer but the hype only detracts from it.

One trap in enjoying beer is that it's easy to expect to be blown away every time. The humble origins of (most) trappist beers imply they'll never be comparable to the extremes and abundances of craft beers. Both can be underwhelming or away-blowing in their own proper context.

But I hear ya

 

I know it isn't a style per se, but they usually make the same style of beers. Quads, tripels, belgian pale ales, etc...

 

yeah they're good beers, but I guess I prefer other styles

 

Also Saison, BA Quad, Wit, Bock, etc.
Yep, totally all the same.

 

I have had Zundert a while back, okay but not particularly impressive Belgian style brew.

Lots of beers like that around in Belgium (I know that Zundert is NL but they are BE-style and less than 5 kilometre from the border) & no one would have payed any attention to it if it didn’t have the logo. Plus one of my local supermarkets seems to have replaced Orval with Zundert which I am not too fond of.

 

Beat me to it.

Trappists make all the same beers, you know, ones that are recognized styles, haha

 

I suspect the new American "Trappist" beer from Spencer Brewery will fall in to that category. It will be available in the coming week and early reviews are that it is good, but just a simple blonde beer and probably would go unnoticed in the beer aisle without its Trappist Logo on it.

 

I wouldn’t mind it so much if people would stop hoarding Orval.

Frankly I prefer that people go crazy over trappist’s because this keeps them for buying up something only because it is rare or supposedly the best ever. I have met too many people who bragged about having had Westvleteren & how they have bottles of it and how it is the best thing ever, how they usually drink Jupiler or Leffe etc. They are a bit like the people who keep talking about having all of these Struise beers, Cantillon & rare USA beers. They just keep them way past prime so that they can remind everyone that they have these beers.

To bad that many bars think that having all the trappist’s equals to having the perfect selection & all good beers in existence. Or how people keep claming that Leffe is a trappist.

 

A large part of the craft industry, especially in the US now is the chase/hunt for a particular or rare beer. Its part of what makes it fun to a certain extent. For us who don't live in Belgium or the Europe for that matter that is something sort of mythical and historical abot Trappists. The age and the beauty behind it is something we will never have which makes it special at least in my eyes. They also can get boring, they make what they make and that's it. Nothing ever changes.

Personally for me, just about all of the abbey styles are some of my favorites more so than IPA's or Stouts. So with that said I really enjoy them. However there are brewerys in Belgium that I would pick over many trappists. I don't think the symbol is what makes them. But like everything in life and with beer everyone wants what they can't have.

 

yes totally the same, same beers for years and years with no drastic deviation in style

 

The abbey disagrees.

 

Disregard.

 

Beer snobs bashing the Trappists. Truly a new level of depravity.

I haven't had this beer yet, hopefully I'll get my hands on it in the next month or so, but I don't have any set expectations for it. The beer I had from the Austrian trappist that opened up last year was an average beer. I tend to treat a new trappist like any other new brewery. It may take them a few years to give us a great beer. Or maybe they wont ever create something of supreme quality like their fellow trappists have. Either way, drink what you like.