Bohemian Edition Tripel
White Birch Brewing

Batch One: 3/3/10

Appearance: Pours a clear golden color; starts out with a decent head but fades quickly, leaving very little lacing behind

Smell: Vaguely sugary and rather aqueous; perhaps a hint of pear

Taste: Vaguely sugary malts, up front, with growing sweetness and oxidation building, in the middle; some solvent flavors in the finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Sure doesn't taste anything like any Tripel I have encountered before; tastes more like an American Macro Lager with some off flavors

 

 

Bottled 3/3/2010 Batch 1 so this one has been aging for a bit, and apparently this is how long it takes for a bottle of this to fall clear. Pours a brilliantly clear medium golden color with a decent snow white head that has moderate retention and lace. Smells of lemon, green apples, pepper, spice, yeast, and a hint of light sugar and tart funk. Taste has a bit more sweetness than I expected from the nose. Light malty honey like sugary sweetness mixed with tart fruit, pepper, spice, and a touch of ethanol. Medium body with a spirited level of carbonation and a sweet sugary malt mouthfeel. I can appreciate the out of the box thinking here, but I'm not a huge fan of this one. When it comes to tripel's I prefer less pepper and spice and more dark fruit and sweet sugar. I am also not a fan of the yeast profile on this one, it's too funky/phenolic for my palette.

 

 

 

 

 

Chilled bottle into a glass. Courtesy of ShogoKawada. Thanks, dude.

This is always a great way to start a tasting. It can only go up from there.

A: Pours a murky straw body with off-white head. Short-lived bubbles that collapse into a thin film on the beer.

S: Musty spice, suggesting some Belgian yeast may have been used in this one. Cleaning solution, suggesting they incorporated a nice dose of Star-san into the wort. It's harsh, as tripels should be.

T: A combination of musty spice on the front end, unfocused malty sweetness in the middle, and a clear, harsh finish of cleaning product and chalk. I am in love. <3

M: Light-medium bodied, soft carbonation. The cleaning product harshness does take this down a bit, though.

O: White Birch continuously disappoints me in new and exciting ways. I look forward to the day when I can regularly drop $12 to $15 on these beers at a gas station, then walk outside and use them to clean my car.

Thanks for sharing this, Bobby.

A: Like the barrel aged tripel, this is a pale yellow color with a white head.

S: All sorts of fun aromas. Lots of lemon for some reason, a bit of pale malt, some yeast, and a mild spice note. There are floral and grass scents in there as well.

T: Not really any better on the palate. It's got an out of place, though mild, bitterness along with lots of grass and lemon. A decent yeast flavor and some pale malt and bread sweetness.

M: Fairly light in body with medium carbonation.

O: Not sure what to say about this one. The variants of the tripel have not been very good.

Pours a pasty white fizzy head that fades at a med pace with some light lacing, over clear pale watery yellow color.

Nose has the house style belgian yeast to start, the light Belgian yeast like from the Belgian pale not the darker yeasty dubbel like yeast, light wheats and pilsner like malts, light pale and golden Belgian malts, light Belgian fruits, light spices and lemony citrus, hint of banana and cream ale like.

Taste starts light with some light Belgian malts, touch of wheat, light spices and a light lemony citrus, bit of creamy malts and banana, clove, etc, light toasty malts, with some light fruits from the yeast, again with the house Belgian ale yeast, some booze and hints of esters, light earthy and floral hops, juicy fruits, and a touch phenolic. Finishes a bit sweet and slightly bitter, light spices, hints of citrus and lemon, and some booze.

Mouth is med bodied, lighter but decent carbonation, and some warming almost tingly booze.

Overall not bad, drinkable for 11.8%, some interesting flavors, lighter overall, nice fruits, a bit low on the malts overall though.

Poured into a Smutty Big Beer Series Tulip.

Bottle # 147 of 516, Batch 3, Bottled 6/8/10, Consumed 4/23/11

Pours a light, pale-ish, golden color. Pure white head, with some lasting power. I had at least minimal head throughout the glass. Crystal clear. Someone else mentioned Miller-Coors products, and I get the same impression.

Aroma reminds me of acetone. Sharp, sweet and sour, little to no hop aroma. It doesn't really give me the desire to put it anywhere near my mouth. But I do, 'cause thats what we do.

Malty sweet, some yeast buffering the end. Initially, it tastes exactly how nail polish remover smells. As it warms, some (read: barely any) nuttiness begins to blend in. Little to no hop flavor. "This isn't great..."

Luckily, though the mouthfeel is sufficient, and does a decent job of covering my tastebuds, the flavor doesn't exactly linger.

Overall, I'm not impressed. I feel like I've had much better beers from White Birch before, and that this one just fell flat. Looking at the other reviews says I'm in the minority, though. Maybe it doesn't age well? While it doesn't turn me off White Birch, it's not on the list of beer's I'll be looking for again.

Bottle 236 of 471. Bottled on March 3, 2010.

A: Clear straw/yellow with a sparse white head.

S: Grainy pilsner malt, belgian yeast, light sugar and some sourness.

T: Sharp pale and pilsner malts catch your attention, followed by a light hop bitterness and a just a touch of sweetness. Other than maybe a bit apple, this isn't coming across all very fruity or phenolic to me. In fact, the alcohol is very well hidden. Finish is crisp, clean and dry.

M: Medium to light body with ample carbonation that works well with the dry character of the beer.

Definitely a slick, drier version of a tripel. I wasn't expecting much considering the other three beers I have had from White Birch were not great, but this was interesting.

Got this bottle from bauermj, part of a really awesome box. Im excited to try my first bottle from White Birch.

Lots to jot down here:
Bottled March 3, 2010
Batch One
Bottle 376 of 471
ABV Alc. 11.8% by Vol.
Volume 1 Pint 6 Fl Oz
Interesting, this bottle is a full year old now.

Poured into a Mardesous glass.
A- I've seen Tripels range from pale yellow to a rich gold, but all of them have had at least a moderate haze to them. This one pours out looking more like a Miller product than any Belgian style I've ever seen. Its a totally clear, pale, pale, pale yellow. Hardly any color to this stuff. The head isn't nicely rich like I have come to expect from the style either. Its minimal with no retention and only one or two broken rings of lace. Not off to a good start, I must say. I can only hope the second pour will be nicer.

S- The aroma is very malty. Where's that rich estery yeast that a Tripel should have? Where's the juicy hops? Well perhaps they have faded, but a good Tripel should age gracefully. Really its pretty weak. Pilsner malt, to me, isn't that strong in the way of aromatics anyway, and this seems to be mostly Bohemian Pils malt. A little bit of pear peaks out but its mostly grainy and husky. Dare I say like steamed corn? I guess it doesnt stink, but thats probably because it essentially doesnt have a smell.

T- Nope, nope, nope. This is a Tripel? It could pass as an iced malt liquor or some train track juice like that. Steamed corn, husky grains, a flash of alcohol and an afterthought of chalky Belgian yeast. The back end has a very off putting flavor similar to grits or something.

M- Very dry, but thats a good characteristic of the style. It just has a thin, prickly feel. Again, very much like a malt liquor. Just a "Belgian" malt liquor of 12% abv.

D- I only drain pour Southern Tier Creme Brulee but this stuff is making me reconsider my screening process. Shit, I'd be better off with a tall boy of Steel Reserve.

This might be my lowest score for an actual, serious craft beer. What a shame, I hate to put this down with the Hell or High Watermellons, Mamma Mia Pizza Beers and Atwater Blocks but there's not much I can do.

I'm befuddled by this. How could it reach a B+? Ohhh yeah, the bottle numbers are less than 500. Right.

Drank from a 1 pint 6 fl oz bottle
Bottled: March 3, 2010
Batch: One
Bottle: 325 of 471
Served in a chalice

Hazy, pale straw yellow in appearance with a short-lived, frothy, bright white head. Some yeast particles and dark specks (possibly spices) collected in the bottom of the glass.

The aroma was crisp, clean and moderately sweet. Wheaty and lemony. Yeasty and phenolic. Honey notes came through strong. Some white grapes as well. Quite floral, with hints of lavender. Spicy and slightly fruity.

The taste was similar to the aroma, except perhaps a bit drier and more restrained. Soft pilsner malts were noticeable up front. Some wheat too. Crisp and lemony. Slightly fruity in the center. A touch spicy. The finish was dry and refreshing with grassy hop notes rounding things out.

The liquid was medium bodied with a modest amount of carbonation for the style.

Drinkability was unquestionably this beer's strongpoint. I was astounded that this tripel is 11.8% ABV. Had I not known, I would have guessed it to be in the 5-7% ABV range.

White Birch Bohemian Edition Tripel tastes like a witbier/tripel/Bohemian pilsner hybrid of some sort. A very interesting beer, to say the least.

A - Murky golden yellow colored with a big, long lasting whitish head. Little lacing.

S - Clean pilsner malty sweetness, fruity pear/apple esters. Lite spicy hops. Otherwise quite clean.

F/M - Candy-like sweet pilsner malts, fruity esters (pears and a little bit of citrus). Spicy hops with a medium-low bitterness. Clean and dry finish. Medium-light bodied (kinda thin) with medium carbonation which is a little too low for the style.

D - Clean, refreshing and easy drinking. Just okay.

22oz bottle from batch one.

Pours hazy yellow with a quarter inch of white froth. Retention was short lived and a placid surface developed with no lacing to speak of throughout the glass.

Aromatics are a blend of cloves and proofing biscuit dough. Quite yeasty with hints of honey and antiseptic.

Light bodied with a thinnish mouthfeel. Carbonation is very light for the style.

Wet dough and biscuit ends start the palate. Cloves and peppercorns follow through with sweet honey.

Finishes with some mild heat on the throat, fairly sweet, and doughballs.

I like the regular Triple better. Drier, cleaner, and more carbonated. Still interesting though, and I could see this malt working well in a German style lager.

A bottle, #88 of 516 from Batch Three courtesy of Bill himself at BCTC 2010.

A: Like the regular tripels, this one has a pale sickly look that would be more appropriate amongst witbiers. It's full straw color is opaque and supports two fingers of head on initial pour. A bit of lacing follows the head. The ale gets progressively darker as more yeast is poured out.

S: The nose is bready, pale malts, with a unique spice profile. Black pepper stands out amongst the malts, as do pale fleshy fruits and citrus.

T: The tripel offers more of the citrus theme in the taste. Orange peel and lemon stand out amongst the prickly body. More pepper adds to the zesty flavor, which is further accentuated by low carbonation levels. The pils malts add a different breadiness, one that is drier than normal pale malts. Sweet sugars hang around, appearing after the initial mustiness of the yeast (I say yeast because it is the same presence as in the WB Belgian Pale Ale). The start is unusual, but by the end of the bomber it seems to fit in well with the melange of tripel flavors. By the end of the bomber, the odd flavors are gone, replaced by the tripel sweetness and pils breads. A serious evolution.

M: The mouthfeel, like several other WB brews, has an unusual start, musty and dirty, before settling down into the style's flavors. An interesting take on a tripel.

D: The tripel doesn't feel like an 11% (10.80% per the label). I've been taking my time with it and like how the flavors continue to evolve.

Sampled from a 22oz bottle in a standard pint glass. Bottled on date was 3/3/10. Acquired in a trade with LarryG.

A - Yellow with good clarity and little to no head.

S - Belgian spices with a touch of fruit (lemon and apple).

T - Crisp with a hint of sweetness, some black pepper and a moderate, lingering bitterness. The 11.8% alcohol is surprisingly well hidden.

M - Low carbonation. There were very fine bubbles but they had little impact. A moderate consistency.

D - Smooth and enjoyable. I had this by my parent's pool after work and it certainly hit the spot.