The Prior is the leader of a smaller abbey community. He’s the “primo inter pares” (the first among equals).
With its 9 % this dark ale with has a bitter sweet taste due to the roasted malt. A slightly creamy body, with an aroma of roasted malt, yeast, caramel, & toffee; Flavours of roasted sweet malt, yeast, rich caramel, light fruit, raisins, and some spice
The hoppy characteristics of all the Watou ales are prominently present, to be recognised by a persistent creamy foam.
Our Prior is refermented in the bottle, only good to drink after a few months aging, which is done at the brewery, and ready to be aged and enjoyed for many years.
Nick Bremner –
Kapittel Prior 9% is brewed by Van Eecke who have an address in Watou and they brew also Het Kapittel blonde which in amongst my all time favourite draught beers in the world! There is also available a Dubbel and a Tripel. It is described on the bottle as an Abbey Beer which means it is brewed to an abbey recipe by a commercial brewer for that abbey and also sold to the general public. Prior is what the Germans call a ‘red beer’ and is a similar colour to a strong British bitter. It has a dense off-white head when first poured into a glass. It tastes sweet, but not overly so for a beer that is refermented in the bottle to a magnificent 9%. There is sediment from the secondary fermentation in the bottle so careful handling and pouring will be rewarded with a clear beer. An outstanding beer from a wonderful brewer, but be careful and remember how strong it is, it would never be classified as a ‘session beer’.
John Sanders –
This beer pours a somewhat muddy chestnut colour with a huge, beige head that lasts very well. The aroma is quite fruity – plummy even, with a faint, malty background. The taste follows the nose – full plummy fruit and malty toffee/caramel flavours with the hops eventually elbowing their way to the foreground as part of a long aftertaste. As the beer warms, the flavours grow even more intense. Delicious.
Xavier Crepin –
Definitively better in taste than the Pater I disliked previously. An uncommon taste for a classic Triple but very enjoyable to drink