Style Details

Name
Trap­pist Single
Cate­go­ry
Trap­pist Ale
BJCP Style Code
26 A
Appearance
Pale yel­low to medi­um gold color. Gene­ral­ly good cla­ri­ty, with a mode­ra­te-sized, per­sis­tent, bil­lo­wy white head with cha­rac­te­ristic lacing.
Aro­ma
Medi­um-low to medi­um-high Trap­pist yeast cha­rac­ter, show­ing a frui­ty-spi­cy cha­rac­ter along with medi­um-low to medi­um spi­cy or flo­ral hops, occa­sio­nal­ly enhan­ced by light herbal/citrusy spi­ce addi­ti­ons. Low to medi­um-low grai­ny-sweet malt back­drop, which may have a light honey or sugar qua­li­ty. Fruit expres­si­on can vary wide­ly (citrus, pome fruit, stone fruit). Light spi­cy, yeast-dri­ven phe­n­o­lics found in the best examp­les. Bubble­gum inappropriate.
Fla­vour
Frui­ty, hop­py, bit­ter, and dry. Initi­al mal­ty-sweet impres­si­on, with a grai­ny-sweet soft malt pala­te, and a dry, hop­py finish. The malt may have a light honey­ed bis­cuit or cra­cker impres­si­on. Mode­ra­te spi­cy or flo­ral hop fla­vor. Esters can be citrus (oran­ge, lemon, grape­fruit), pome fruit (apple, pear), or stone fruit (apri­cot, peach). Light to mode­ra­te spi­cy, pep­pery, or clove phe­n­o­lics. Bit­ter­ness rises towards the crisp, dry finish, with an after­tas­te of light malt, mode­ra­te hops and yeast character.
Mouth­feel
Medi­um-light to medi­um body. Smooth. Medi­um-high to high car­bo­na­ti­on, can be some­what prick­ly. Should not have noti­ceable alco­hol warmth.
Over­all Impression
A pale, bit­ter, high­ly atte­nu­a­ted and well car­bo­na­ted Trap­pist ale, show­ing a frui­ty-spi­cy Trap­pist yeast cha­rac­ter, a spi­cy-flo­ral hop pro­fi­le, and a soft, sup­port­i­ve grai­ny-sweet malt palate. 
Typi­cal Ingredients
Pils­ner malt, Bel­gi­an Trap­pist yeast, Saa­zer-type hops.
Histo­ry
While Trap­pist bre­we­ries have a tra­di­ti­on of bre­wing a lower-strength beer as a monk’s dai­ly rati­on, the bit­ter, pale beer this style descri­bes is a rela­tively modern inven­ti­on reflec­ting cur­rent tas­tes. West­v­le­te­ren first bre­wed theirs in 1999, but repla­ced older lower-gra­vi­ty products.
Comm­ents
Often not labe­led or available out­side the monas­tery, or infre­quent­ly bre­wed. Might also be cal­led monk’s beer or Brother’s beer. High­ly atte­nu­a­ted, gene­ral­ly 85% or higher.
Com­mer­cial Examples
Achel 5° Blond, St. Ber­nar­dus Extra 4, West­mal­le Extra, West­v­le­te­ren Blond
Ori­gi­nal Gravity
1.044 - 1.054 SG
Final Gra­vi­ty
1.004 - 1.010 SG
Color
3 - 5 SRM
Alco­hol
4.0 - 6.0 %vol
Bit­ter­ness
25 - 45 IBU