Classic Belgian Beer and a Cheese Paring : Orval and 5-year aged Gouda

I've got a special beer and pairing tonight. Orval is a Belgian Trappist Ale. These beers are brewed by Trappist monks in the 7 beer-brewing monasteries (6 are in Belgium, 1 in Holland). These monasteries all brew the beer to support the running of the Abbeys, though most produce much more than needed and give the profits to charity. I have had one Trappist beer before, Westmalle Dubbel, which had a very complex, rich, malty flavor which was quite unlike any other beer I'd before, and is definitive of the Abbey ale style.

The beer produced by the Orval Abbey, I have heard, is quite different from other Trappist beers. Apparently Orval has a more pronounced hop character and contains the wild Brettanomyces yeast strain, which is supposed to contribute a funky, horse-blanket flavor to the beer that becomes more intense as the beer is aged (this is also the type of beer you can age much like wine). One more note about Orval before I move to drinking the beer: the abbey's logo, a fish with a gold ring in it's mouth, refers to the myth behind the founding of the abbey. The myth goes that a widow lost her ring in a lake and swore that if anyone found it, she would build an abbey to thank God. A trout brought the ring in it's mouth to lake surface, and the abbey founded became Orval.


Orval Trappist Ale
6.9% ABV, Bottled 1/22/2009

This beer pours (into a goblet for ideal aroma detection) with a huge, frothy head that hastens almost overwhelmingly towards the rim of the glass. The lacing is spotty but noticeable. The beer is a medium amber, and is almost crowded with effervescent bubbles racing to the surface.

The aroma has an almost sour, grape-like note, sweet caramel notes, and has a very foreign almost musky smell in the background which I am guessing to be the Brettanomyces. The aroma kind of starts to sting the nostrils if you keep taking big whiffs. This aroma was very unusual and complex. I can't wait to taste it!

The initial mouthfeel is of sharp carbonation leading into a smooth, velvety area and finishing with a slight hop bite as the beer is swallowed. I expected this beer to be rather bold, but I am very pleased by the complex subtleties of this beer. This beer is a good balance of hop portions, yeast esters, and malt, and does seem to feature some of the earthy, musty funk from the Brett, though it is well balanced and does not overwhelm the other flavors. I certainly understand why this is described by some as a "Belgian Pale Ale"; it has some similarities with British bitters, and is quite drinkable. This beer is very delicious and has a great understated complexity and some very interesting flavor notes while remaining rather light, almost delicate, and very drinkable. You don't really taste the moderate alcohol content. As I get about halfway through the bottle, however, I am starting to feel some of the effects of the alcohol. This beer is very interesting and I would love to see what it would taste like after more than one year of aging.


I grabbed a big cheese to pair with the Orval, expecting this to be a powerful beer like some of the other Trappists. I got a 5-year aged Gouda. This cheese was very bold with a rich, wild flavor. This cheese does have some earthy, musty flavors which complement the Brett flavors in the beer. This cheese is very bold and actually overpowers the beer somewhat. Though there is some interesting interaction between the two, I might initally lean toward a less bold cheese to pair with Orval in the future.

However, when I portion the cheese correctly and let it coat my mouth, sort of soak in, and start to fade out, and then I take a sip of beer, the flavors are much more evenly matched and pair quite well. This cheese is really fantastic; it definitely has some unusual earthy, funky flavors which really intensify the funk from the Brett and the bitterness from the hops in the beer (especially as you reach the end of the beer with it's yeast sediment). Tread lightly; if you are careful about taking very small amounts of cheese per sip of beer, this can be a pleasant and interesting pairing.

All this being said, this was a very interesting, complex beer and a great cheese (which I will reserve and work on more pairings with) and simply a great night of beer and cheese.