75 Anniversary Beer
Brouwerij Sint-Bernard (St. Bernardus)

2022 vintage; drank 12/8/23 @ Effie's Church.

Opaque orange appearance.

Nice off-white head; strong, frothy lacing remained.

Fresh apple, banana, mild caramel & faint clove notes in the nose.

Medium thick mouthfeel.

Pear & banana flavors up front; dry clove finish.

This smelled more appealing than it tasted, but it was overall enjoyable.

If you still can find this 75th anniversary celebration, have it next to BSB's tripel. I'd bet both: Look appetizing; Smell similar; Taste balanced with a nice interplay of brewer sugar and yeasty pepper; and cleanse the palate well.... But that is just my guess; based on my memory and not-too-recent review of their standard tripel. So beware.

Tonight's copy of 75 appropriately was shared at a dinner party for a couple recently engaged. 75 complemented well a medley of appetizers from a Greek restaurant. Specifically, 75 cut through the fat... and encouraged talk.

As means of saluting the Belgian standard, I use BSBNV's chalice more often than I drink their ales. My reviews also indicate I've been a fan of BSBNV for a while. While they might use the merry monk too much in their branding, they have commercialized abbey brewing pretty well; which is to say, successfully showing sufficient dignity for traditional recipes. And that comment coming from a purist like me should be considered high compliment.

 

The cork seemed eager to stretch its legs and had a loud pop once it was free. The initial pour was not gushing, but definitely foamed up aggressively, with a slightly softer second pour having strong, but more tame head production. Dirty penny color (a bit lighter than the photo) with a bit of haze beyond just chill, which is obviously present, the bubbles atop the beer coalesced into sandy sea foam before I check out other aspects of the beer.

There is a mix of honey caramel grain and dry grass and fall spice in the aroma. It seems to me that I should expect it will be a little sweet to open with a drying spice in back, aided by strong carbonation. Digging in, the beer had even more effervescence than I expected. It was pretty dry, with a thread of light brown sugar that works its way into the finish. It doesn't start out quite as sweet as I expected - a golden raisin and barley porridge that is battered down a bit by the strength of carbonation. Spice notes come in mid-palate and linger with a light numbing effect in back.

I quite enjoy this beer but wish the carbonation wasn't quite so aggressive.

 

Bottle pour - dark golden honey color with thick white head leaving scattered frosty lacing. Nose is full of yeasty esters and taste follows with a bit of spice. Finish is slightly dry.

The beer pours a nice foamy white that dissipates fairly quickly while the beer itself is a clear golden amber that looks very nice.

The smell is good. It has a fairly sweet and fruity smell with banana and orange that are followed by nebulous bread note.

The taste is good. It has blend of earthy hop bitterness upfront with a variety of fruity notes such as banana and orange alongside a bready malt. There is also the sweetness from Belgian yeast.

The feel is good. It has a very fluffy and carbonated feel to it. The beer has a medium body and a slightly sticky finish to it.

Overall, this was a fairly delicious and festive beer worth getting if you can. It's definitely one of the better Tripels I've had in a while.

Not an ABT 12, one of my favorites but worth trying while it lasts. Solid Belgian.

 

Pours a nice golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has fruity hints
Taste has a pleasant fruity flavor
A light bodied decently carbonated beer
A good Tripel

Only 11.000 75cl bottles.
Nice tripel.