Moa St Josephs
Moa Brewing Company

Moa St JosephsMoa St Josephs
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From:
Moa Brewing Company
 
New Zealand
Style:
Tripel
Ranked #154
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
86
Ranked #18,223
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 10.16%
Reviews:
73
Ratings:
199
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 14, 2023
Added:
Aug 29, 2008
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  21
Moa St Josephs is brewed in the traditional style of a classic Belgian Tripel. Strong spice and clove characters create complex flavours and aromas which are heightened by its extended bottle conditioning, with a combination of malt and candy sugars complimenting the high alcohol content produced by the Belgian ale yeast. Best served at 8°C in a goblet after gently rolling the bottle to distribute the sediment signature.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Dave_Treat:
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Rated by Dave_Treat from Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -2.3%

Apr 10, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.58/5  rDev -32.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
500ml bottle for $10 NZD from a supermarket in Franz Josef, New Zealand.

9.5% ABV. Bottle conditioned.

Sweet; high in honeyed malt sweetness candi sugar, and pale malt. I'd call it poorly attenuated, but at least the sugary sweetness stops the 9.5% ABV from piercing through. Still, this beer's core taste of malt syrup/extract gets old very quickly.

I'd love to wax effusive about the delicate nuances of the Belgian yeast, but the yeast profile is actually disappointingly rudimentary for a Triple...I get spice, clove, and maybe golden raisin but no rich stonefruit, delicate esters, banana, phenols, etc...very simplistic.

Doesn't hold a candle to the best Belgian and Dutch expressions of the style (or, sure, the best ones from Canada).

I guess I'm grateful they aren't pushing this in 750ml bottles given it's a bit of a chore to finish only 500ml of.

I suppose I'm glad to see more accessible Belgian styles brewed in New Zealand (the only good ones I've found so far are all wallet-pillaging sour ales from the likes of Wilderness Brewing, Garage Project, and Craftwork), but this disappoints (especially for the price) - and just misses fundamentally the delicate yeast nuances that make a good Tripel. I've had better homebrew Tripel style ales in Louisiana...

C- / BELOW AVERAGE
Feb 14, 2023
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.72/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Chill hazed brown with a small white colored head. It just doesn't look like that much. I did rest it in the refrigerator for 24 hours so there should be no sediment.

Smells strongly of bruised banana and caramel syrup. Strongly malty. Mild clove. But this REALLY smells like Banana.

Starts out tasting of apple and banana. Slight sour taste like granny smith apple. Fairly sweet but there are sweeter versions of the style.

Mouthfeel average for the style.

Overall an OK Tripel.
Mar 11, 2019
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L: slightly hazy dark amber pour under a 2" foam cap with moderate retention

S: wonderful fruit nose scented with woody earthiness and some berry and a trace of bubblegum

T: slightly sweet infused with fruit, banana, peach and then dries and finishes moderately bitter

F: medium light bodied beer with medium high carbonation

O: easy to drink, nicely put together, very well balanced
Aug 03, 2017
 
Rated: 3.74 by BrentMcQuirk from Texas

Jun 30, 2017
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
**
03/02/2014
Aroma Is fruit, yeast, grains.
Look: Dark gold color. No head.
Taste is bitter fruit, lemon.

A good beer to warm into; a touch bland at first but gets better with each sip and as it warms up.
**
Dec 02, 2016
Photo of Czequershuus
Reviewed by Czequershuus from Minnesota

4.17/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thiis beer pours a slightly opaque deep straw with a smallish head. The smell offers up biscuity sweet malt, with apricot, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mango. The flavor features a lot of spice upfront - nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon - then baked fruit flavors become dominant - apricot, pear, and apple, and the is just a touch of banana at the finish. The mouthfeel features very sharp, assertive carbonation with a medium dry body. Overall this is a really solid tripel - not a world beater, but an very enjoyable brew. The only big knock I have is the odd lack of head on the pour - strange for the style.
Jul 30, 2016
Photo of ScruffySouthpaw
Reviewed by ScruffySouthpaw from New York

4.04/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served in a tulip glass straight from the bottle.

Appearance: Hazy gold with medium bubbles at the very best creating a white head maybe half a finger's length off the body. Drops quick with little to no lacing.

Smell: Light yeast and banana skin.

Taste: Slightly sweet consisting of bananas and light cinnamon. Yeast notes gives a sour character to the beer but offsets the sweetness.

Mouth: Medium bodied coronation but still sticky.

Overall: Nice brew and absolutely incredible find. I picked it up for two bucks and one of the best deals if not the best deal ever in my nine hundred beer reviews. Always in a glass...Salud!
Jun 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.87 by aufie from Texas

May 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

Apr 21, 2016
Photo of Czarkazm
Reviewed by Czarkazm from New York

3.92/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 500mL bottle. Body is an extremely clear, pale gold color with a white head and some carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. The aroma has a pleasant spice to it, white pepper and clove, sweet banana yeast esters, honey, strawberry, oaked chardonnay, and bubblegum sugars. Nearly full mouth feel with okay carbonation and a short-lasting finish. Flavor is sweet malt on the front end, some caramel, sugar cookie, going into an earthy, slightly fruity hop bitterness; the Belgian fruit-forward yeast hit you towards the end with overripe banana, black pepper, and pears. At some points, I was detecting a hint of wet cardboard but at no point was it deterring from the overall beer. Nothing too crazy since it stays typical of the style but I picked this up for < $2.00/bottle, so I'm not complaining.
Apr 18, 2016
 
Rated: 3.59 by mJJJJJJJ from New York

Mar 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.93 by StoutBoi from New York

Mar 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.74 by Gkruszewski from New York

Mar 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by Goatdavemac from North Carolina

Mar 03, 2016
 
Rated: 4.17 by Mnteti from Delaware

Feb 21, 2016
 
Rated: 3.9 by BucBasil from Rwanda

Jan 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.34 by MichialTanner1 from Texas

Nov 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.49 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Oct 22, 2015
Photo of ordybill
Reviewed by ordybill from Georgia

4.66/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 750ML bottle into a pint glass at the World of Beer in Cary, NC. This beer has a great dark golden color that is slightly murky with a large white head. the aroma is full of fruit and spice and is outstanding. The flavor matches the aroma and it is one of the best tripels I have had.
Sep 30, 2015
Moa St Josephs from Moa Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 199 ratings