Blair on Beer: Tynt Meadow
A "new" Trappist beer
I have a vision of England but I don’t know if it’s real. There are low hills, rolling landscape, dotted with standing stones and the vista in the distance joins mildly, a lime-hued pasture to a blue-grey horizon.
That’s just imagination.
All I’ve ever seen is Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton airports. I spent a night in London, but it was in a hostel and everything looked garish—there were a lot of Indian food places, maybe it was Piccadilly Circus. I was mildly hungover and everything seemed loud.
Trappist Beers
Trappist Beers are brewed under a particular, protected designation.
It’s not a style. Most, but not all, are found in Belgium, so often they correspond with the Single, Dubbel, Tripel, and Quadrupel styles which Belgian Abbey Ales (different but related to Trappist Ales) are known for…
But, not always.
So, all Trappist beers are Abbey Ales, but not all Abbey Ales are Trappists, and some Trappists are Belgians, but not all Belgians are Abbey Ales or Trappist.
Don’t worry about it too much.
Trappist beers are brewed by Trappist monks which are part of the Cistercian order. Most of the Trappist breweries hark back to the 1800s, but some are newer, a couple are older than that. There are also some very new entries in the Trappist beer market—Tynt Meadow is one.
Since, Trappists don’t conform to a style, I give you the guidelines for the Authentic Trappist Product label.
All products must be made within the immediate surroundings of the abbey;
Production must be carried out under the supervision of monks or nuns;
Profits should be intended for the needs of the monastic community, for purposes of solidarity within the Trappist Order, or for development projects and charitable works.
Tynt Meadow, Trappist
Pours with little head, though this might vary, since it’s bottle conditioned for the second fermentation. Ruby, dark brown color. A spice unidentified, not clove, something less abrasive like licorice. Caramel sweetness, sugary but not cloying. Moderate carbonation.
This is a characteristically English beer. They really did well capturing that. The monks who brew at the abbey said they wanted something recognizably English when they formulated their and they accomplished that. It’s homey, cozy, not audacious. Brown sugar, caramel and warm banana bread. You can imagine drinking a couple and walking slowly down a country path, to a quiet village home, to find a cat on your lap, a fire in the place, a home.
The hops are perfect. They balance the malt, which I assume is partly a chocolate malt, maybe a Vienna malt?
It’s a bit over 7 ABV. That’s a perfect ABV if you plan on drinking only one beer. I weigh upwards of 200 lbs. (how many stone is that?) and I usually keep myself to one beer, so I like a bit of ethyl in my nightcap, thank you very much. It’s good.
(I don’t always need a 12 ABV beer. THEY ATTAK! Very unEnglish.)
I wish the monks of Tynt Meadow well. Their hearts are evident in their works. Something about Trappist beers I like. I get the sense that if they spoiled a batch, they would take the loss and not try to pawn it off on consumers. Maybe, that’s an idyll, maybe that’s not true, but I’ll believe it. I like the idea of monks making my beer. It feels proper.
I’ll enjoy this beer again, maybe someday in England.
Blair’s Decision:
Great rating scale lol.