Falling Into The Trappist

Many times, I’ve heard about the Trappist, a Belgian and specialty beer bar in downtown Oakland, but have never had the chance to make a visit.  Thankfully, as luck would have it, I was able to make a quick stop and meet with William Brand, Bay Area beer columnist, and sample a small bit of what they had to offer. 

Knowing William only through his picture on his blog, I walked into the Trappist and walked right by him.  I ordered up a Hop 15 from Pizza Port in San Diego.  and sat down enjoying this immensely huge IPA.  There are Big IPA and then there are Imperial or Double IPA.  This one is definitely a big, massive IPA.  There’s a lot of piney citrus hops in the aroma and this carries through the entire brew.  The malt is sweet and bready, with a big resiny hop flavor that starts early and carries through the entire beer.  The finish is more of the hops.  Very hard and bitter in the end, this IPA doesn’t have the soft edges that most beers that fall into the Imperial range tend to have.  This is an IPA for lovers of hops and IPA and makes no concessions for those who are not.  I was shocked to find out that Hop 15 weighs in at over 10%, as the alcohol doesn’t come through in the flavor, but definitely affected the remaining tastes I had this afternoon.

While drinking my Hop 15 and waiting for William (who was standing 5 feet away from directly in my line of sight), I took a minute to take in all that is the Trappist.  From the outside, it almost seems as if it’s not open.  The location is a narrow but tall sliver in the side of a building.  The bar runs alone the right hand side and a large brick wall with no tables or chairs is along the left.  It would feel very cramped except for the fact that the ceiling is so tall, offera bit of relief, even if only perceived.  After the bar, there is a step up to an area featuring tables.  as you continue to the back there’s a room which feels like a former stock room with wooden barrels sttod up to act as tables with bar stools around them.  I really like this room, but for some reason, chose not to sit there.  While I took this all in, I sipped my Hop 15 and listened to Jimi Hendrix playing softly overhead.  This could easily be a coffee or bookshop at this hour as it is a very relaxing setting and one I could see myself frequenting.

One item of note is the way in which they pour your pint, or bottle of beer.  In fact, calling it a “pint” is a bit misleading.  Each beer is poured into the glass designated appropriate by the brewer, and in every case I found, this meant a glass directly from the brewery.  The glasses are immaculately cleaned and go through a rinsing process prior to the pour to guarantee the best drinking experience for each beer served.

While looking around I realized the guy with the note pads in his pocket had the feel of a journalist and  probably was Wiliam.  As I stood to greet him, the bartender whom he was talking to asks the room ‘Anyone here named Mario?”  Feeling like a dope, I introduced myself and we went straight to picking out the next beer.  Being on William’s turf I asked for his recommendation and we settled on the Allagash Curieux.  The aroma is sweet ad wine like with a bit of Belgian funk.  The flavor is full of fruit, and feels very light in the mouth.  William tells me the brew was finished on Brett and explains the tart lip smacking finish.  This is another beer that takes me by surprise, as I had guessed it was a strong brew, but couldn’t imagine the 11% punch.

To finish, we decided to try something special, and split a bottle.  We went over the bottle list with the bartender and eventually let him make the decision: Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blue.  This beer poured a deep brownish red, very clear with an aroma of sweet malt and alcohol.  My tasting abilities had been dulled a bit by the previous beers, but I can say this had a lot of sweetness in the flavor.  Chocolate and rasins came to mind.  This one was strong and did nothing to hide the fact.  Sadly, I left some in my glass, but out of a desire to keep my wits as opposed to a dislike of the beer.

I also had a chance to sample Le Freak from Green Flash Brewing, just a sip, and it was enough for me to consider having a full pint.  I had heard very mixed reviews from people on that beer, but having tried a bit myself, I am willing to go forward and try some more.

The Trappist is a great bar for beer lovers as just about everything on tap was “gotta-have” type of beer. As you might expect, with high quality beers, come higher prices, but given the selection and presentation, the price is more than fair.

NEWS:  As I write this, it appears William scored a scoop that day, as The Trappist plans an expansion.

Note: The image of the Allagash is horrible.  I usually take multiple pictures but laziness got the best of me in this instance.

The view of the Trappist from my table.  William and his note pads can be seen peaking out on the left.