Beer Stories #1

Some beers provoke memories. They may be from the first time they were drunk, or they may be from a special time in which that beer was prominant. It's not an exclusive phenomenon to beer of course, but as this is predominantly a beer blog (I still reserve the right to post about other things if I feel like it) those are the memories I will focus on.

I'm currently drinking a bottle of Trappistes Rochefort 8. This is the second time I've had this beer. The first time I had Rochefort 8 was during a late shift at work in August of last year. I had spent most of the evening watching News 24, and the riots had hit Ealing. It was a genuinely frightening evening, having no idea where things would move to next.

I had bought the bottle of Rochefort 8 earlier that day before my shift from the newly opened Beer Boutique in Putney. It was sat in my bag along with a Dark Star Imperial Stout. Towards the end of the evening I'd had enough. After an afternoon and evening watching rolling news coverage of the riots, I needed a beer.

I found the best glass I could, and used a spanner to prise the bottlecap off before pouring the beer into the glass. Not only was it incredibly welcome and relaxing, it was also the beer that proved to be my Belgian beer epiphany.

I'd had a few Belgian beers before, some of the few you can find on supermarket shelfs like Chimay and Duvel. At the time I tried them they didn't really do much for me (I'll have to try them again, to see if my tastes have changed). Rochefort 8 though, made me take notice. I instantly wanted to try the 6 and 10, which I have since tried and neither of which I preferred to the 8.

When buying from bottle shops now I always try to pick up at least one Belgian beer that I've not tried before, and on my two trips to The PO Vaults in Birmingham so far it has been the selection of bottled Belgian beers, rather than the cask ales, that I've been drawn to.

So, there it is, my Trappistes Rochefort 8 story. Here's a picture...