Ok, Just in case you were wondering, I’m still around. lol. I apologize for the long time between posts — I have absolutely no excuse — however, I have still been exploring the World of Beer during this time. This year, 2021, I’ve determined to focus on Belgian-style beers, with an emphasis on two categories: a) Trappist-style, and b) Lambics.
For this post I will stick to discussing the Trappist-styles, leaving Lambics for a follow-on.
The two ways I’ve been focusing on Trappist-styles are a) drinking them (haha) and, b) brewing them. I’ve already brewed a “Single/blond,” a Dubbel, a Tripel, and will be brewing a Dark Strong Ale tomorrow.
The Single/Blond Ale was a strange brew … it was hard to characterize it … the yeast I used had been cultured from an Achouffe strain (WLP550) [of course, that’s like saying I came from Europe even though my family has been in the USA since the 1700s] — so not a Trappist yeast. Originally, I wanted to clone the Poperinge Hommelbier … I put together my recipe and brewed it up — it is (characteristically) like the Trappist Single but the ABV is too high for that style … but too low for the Strong Ale category … Oh well! It tastes great. I love that yeast! I brewed it on the day my Grandson was born — so I named it after him (Keoni Blond) …




Before I brewed that one, I brewed “Sainte Dubbel” … this was my attempt at a Westmalle-clone. I used the WLP 530 yeast … definitely the right strain. I did have an uncontrolled temperature spike the first night, but everything came back under control … the flavor is very similar to the Westmalle Dubbel … however, it lacks that subtle oxidation character … it needs a little more time in the bottle, I think.
The next beer I brewed was the Drei Punkte … my Trappist Tripel … I went for another Westmalle-clone … maybe leaning a little towards the Chimay. I’m still trying to dial in my new brewing system … more about that in another post … so I didn’t hit my targets, but this is a nice Tripel. I used the WLP 550 yeast (I captured some from the Blond-brew). It is a very nice yeast … great flavor profile in both of these beers.
A couple of bottles seem low in carbonation, but the rest are a nice, big thick head. This is obviously a low carbonation one … haha.

Besides brewing these Trappist-styles, I’ve been able to find bottles from Chimay, Westmalle, Rochefort, and Orval. Also, the St Bernardus Abt 12 and few other Abbey beers. As my beers mature, I’ve been doing some side-by-side comparisons. Additionally, I’ve captured the dregs from a few Orval bottles (my favorite beer). I’m using these in two different ways. First, I captured some of the wort from the Keoni Blond and pitched the Orval yeast into secondary … definitely getting that Brett character … needs to mature a little more, but a really tasty beer. Also, my next beer (after my Quadrupel) will be my attempt at an Orval clone (hence the Label for “Liquid Valor.”) I haven’t designed my Quad label yet.
Here’s a shout out to Stan Hieronymous — his book “brew like a MONK” is a great reference guide when I’m trying to build my recipes, choose yeast, additional ingredients and what processes to follow. Thanks, Stan!
Enjoy!
Beer Mentor


I thought the Three Sheets was an excellent Pale Ale.
I also recommend the Anileation … the Stout. I had high hopes for the Nelson’s Blood, a porter, but it was just a little off. Everything else was really good.

Here’s a panoramic shot of the beach with Icebergs again on the right.
Walking up to Icebergs you get a great view of the pool and the ocean.
Looking back to the beach you can see the folks in the water … surfing. This beach is the birthplace of surfing in Australia.

This Little Creatures Pale Ale hit the spot and the service was excellent. Very nice folks and the food was very tasty.
I can see why this place is on the list … well worth a stop …













You can tell that I was drinking them …
But for sure, they are lagers. So … if traveling to Malaysia, I wouldn’t make it a destination for craft beer drinking.
My final beer … Yes, it’s a mini-glass, but not from the Mini-C.


This was a Mexican place … Heineken. It was good too.


This Radler had a nice flavor … but I wouldn’t buy more than one.
Yes, you can get Leo beer in the store.
Here it is! The monster can!
This photo shows you the size … I think it was at least 750 ml!
A pop top for those who like it old school. It was quite tasty … I wish I had had the proper glass with which to drink!




However, after drinking it, I could swear this “lion” statue looked like a monkey. Haha.








This was a “beer cocktail.” The first thing it should have is real beer. This Tiger crystal is terrible — it is a poor imitation of bud light.
However, the Tiger beer itself is pretty good. It too is just a firm lager.
This DaiViet (which means ‘Great Viet’ … the great Viet empire) is a dark lager, in the German Altbier style … I enjoyed it as a refreshing alternative to all of the light lagers I’d been drinking.
This is considered the National Beer of Vietnam … 333. It has a long history in Saigon, where it was originally named “33 beer”– a very popular beer with American GIs during the Vietnam War. The government changed the name to 333 after the war. 🙂
Another premium Lager … this one, yes, is from Ha Long.
Finally, I had this beer in Hanoi although it is a made in Saigon. As with most lagers here, don’t you want yours poured over ice? Haha. If you thought it was watered down before … wow. 





We stopped for lunch one day in Saigon … at Gammer Brewery. Here’s a couple of pictures of their brewery setup. They specialized in German and Czech-style beers. I had the dark beer which was in the Schwarzbier style. Definitely recommend. Nice beer. The food was very traditional Vietnamese … and they don’t speak much English so be prepared! 🙂 












