Trouble
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

 

a tasty tripel here, sort of americanized, but drinkable and well made, not too sweet, and a fine compliment to some of their heavier food like the mac and cheese (which remains one of my favorite mac and cheeses anywhere). this was on tap at the westminster location. golden and fairly in color, looks somewhat lighter looking than other tripels out here, but its got a nice head and looks good. smell and taste is pretty straightforward, the belgian yeast is the driving force here, but its not way over the top with the fruit esters or anything. instead there is a nice white grape and pear element, a little banana, not much spice, and there is a grassy earthy element, maybe hops, in the finish where these styles normally get sweet. i kind of like it being on the drier side, it makes it more drinkable, and the alcohol is quite well masked. good carbonation too, it feels appropriately belgian. these guys really do make very good beer, at least at this location, and the corporate nature of it doesnt really bother me much, the beers are always solid and ahead of expectations. give these guys a try if its been awhile.

On tap @ Rock Bottom KOP on 3/4/11. Served in a tulip glass.

Pours a hazed paler gold, with a thin covering of bright-white head. This stay rich around the rim and flares up to a robust ½ finger, leaving back a foamy cascade that slowly slides down and leaves back some light spotty lace. The aroma is floral and spicy, with notes of egg and bread from the malts. This mixes with some ripe fruitiness to impart a robust tanginess, while yeast also adds a light dustiness to the nose. The fruit flavors are very strong here.

The taste has a honeyed sweetness to it of sugars and bread, which melds with a rich yeasty fruitiness (apples and banana really pop). This is mostly balanced by a sharp earthy bitterness, with strong spicy clove and yeast that lingers with a steady pithiness. The finish is moderately dry, as there is still a good bit of residual sugars and fruit that hangs around as well. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, maybe a little fuller feeling, with a sharp creamy feel that expands out into the mouth. This maybe gets a little slicker towards the back of the swallow but the overall feel stays pretty lively throughout. The 8.3% ABV here is extremely well hid, except for adding some extra sweetness to this, as this is overall one smooth sipper for the size.

There was a little more sweetness present here (especially from that fruit) than I usually like for this style but there was just enough bitterness, spice, and dryness to keep things in check. This one hid its high ABV extremely well though and there is no doubt that you could in trouble after a few of these. This is a totally serviceable Tripel from here. I'm glad I have it a try.

Pours a great scintellating burnished blonde color with good head and excellent lacing. Huge deep malt scent with aromas of plum, cherry, and apricot. Great flavor, with huge sweet malts and great fruit flavors, such as in the scent, along with a nice slight and tiny peppery hit in the end, from the yeast I'm guessing. Goes down wonderful for a 9% ABV brew.

Ok, Rock Bottom has done well with the American, English, and German style beers. Hopefully with the Belgians, they will fare better than most embarrasing American brewing attempts.

The beer begins with a bright straw-golden hue, modest with carbonation, head formation/retention, and very light on lacing. Not the ideal impression thus far.

Very floral, honey-like, nectar aromas of pilsner malts, confectionate sugars, and perfumy hops. Light berry-like tartness comes through but not with the sharp acidity or earthiness that I expect from Belgian Tripels.

Flavors are very sweet with a honey-like taste mixed with pilsner malts. Sweet apples, raspberries, apricots, and over-rippened oranges give the esters a good representation. But only a light white-pepper note give the phenols any showing. Tough to find much under the nearly cloying sweetness.

The beer feels heavy with the big sweetness and low carbonation. Somewhat resiny, as honey feels, in the end. An alcohol warmth helps to thin the beer but also lends toward hotness. Ultimately the mouthfeel suffers the most.

The beer reminds me of a Leffe Blonde, except this one is a lot sweeter, heavier, and with lighter carbonation. A decent beer, but difficult to compete with great Belgian varieties.

"Trouble brings experience, and experience brings wisdom."

--Anonymous

Murky orange-caramel with bright tangerine and amber accents at the margins. The small, pale gold crown lasted several minutes at least and left mere smatterings of sea foam lace that followed the receding beer down the glass.

I've mixed up my notes about aroma and flavor, but I do remember that "Trouble" smelled like the beer equivalent of caramel apples. It was also floral in an 'apple blossom' kind of way (that was better than it sounds).

In addition to the usual malt, hops, yeast and water, the brewer used orange peel, flaked corn and cane sugar. Germans may be big on the Reinheitsgebot, but Belgian brewers (and, thankfully, Americans) decided long ago to use whatever makes good beer.

Taking a big mouthful of "Trouble" was similar to biting into a big, juicy, caramel-covered apple. To be more specific, the caramel had a small amount of melted chocolate swirled through it and the whole thing was flecked with orange zest. Other flavors included toasted brown bread and dark honey.

Obviously, then, this is a sweeter than usual Belgian dark ale. Although purists might have a problem with it, I thought it was just right. A subtle clove-like spiciness was a perfect complement to the above flavors and gave the beer that authentic Belgian vibe that it needed.

Things changed in an interesting way as I drank the final third of the pint with my lunch. The subtleties went into hiding (naturally) and the beer's spiciness seemed to increase to keep pace with the spiciness of the food. I love versatile beer.

Given the ingredients and the description of the flavor profile, it wasn't surprising that the mouthfeel was medium-full. The end result was a moderate amount of mouthcoating and a light lipstickiness on the finish.

I don't normally go looking for trouble, but you can be damn sure that the next time I'm in my local Rock Bottom, I'll go looking for "Trouble". Good stuff!

Appearance - a deep golden hue with a moderate bead, a thin partial covering of lazy foam wisps about the top.

Aroma - bubblegum, alcohol, banana, candi sugar. This stuff smells pretty good, it might also take the polish right off your boots, so don't spill it!

Taste - a malt element is trying to forge its way through but it can't quite make the radar. A champagne start, bubbly, sweet, with good flavors of yeast, Belgian candi sugar, and an unmistakeable but deliciously blended alcohol warmth. The swallow allows just enough room for a brief show of hops. No attempt to balance this big beer, but they make for a little dryness in the palate on the finish. Some numbing of the palate is unavoidable, what holds up is the Belgian-like sweetness and the very boozy warming effect.

Mouthfeel - very crisp and bubbly, a great party beer!

Drinkability - quite tasty and quite potent. I'm still debating a growler of this but still not sure. I definitely do not recommend more than two at the RB if you're driving.