750 mL corked & caged from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA.

A new Trappist, always a time for general excitement …

… actually … hold on!

Pour gives a very dark orange/brown body with some high, ice-cream like head. The head is poorly retained though and the lace disappointing. I have no idea why they would want the beer to be as dark either – for me, the color is a turn-off considering the style.

Nose and tastes are really quite sweet. Bubble-gum, yes, but as others have said, I get a lot of pears too. The beer is very mild and sweet and lacks much of an alcohol edge or anything very distinguishable in the Belgian candy or yeast department. The whole thing feels a touch clumsy and without much subtlety or craft. Sweetness has little to temper it and the beer feels unbalanced, almost under-attenuated.

Disappointing. In a word, unimpressed.