Hibiscus Tripel
Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
- From:
- Hardywood Park Craft Brewery
- Virginia, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Tripel
- ABV:
- 8.2%
- Score:
- 82
- Avg:
- 3.56 | pDev: 10.11%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 14
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Sep 13, 2020
- Added:
- Aug 01, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 8
SCORE
82
Good
82
Good
No description / notes.
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Reviewed by Profundobaso from New York
3.64/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.64/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured into a stem glass from a 500 ml bottle. Beer is light amber in color, slightly cloudy, and has a small one finger head. Looks nice overall, but losing a little bit of points from the smaller head.
Smell - strong scent of toasted malts and biscuits. Light, almost undetectable hops. The smell is actually close to a clean pilsner/blonde ale. Not much alcohol detected from the nose. Some Belgian yeast also detectable.
Taste - tastes like a blonde ale with a bit more fortification. the hibiscus flavor is really light, and comes with just a hint of tartness towards the end of the taste. virtually no bitterness, and the slight warming of the back of the throat gives away the booziness ever so slightly. I like it, but it feels like just a bit is missing.
Feel - light bodied, average carbonation, and boozy at 8.2% (though not for the style). Alcohol is well masked and not very detectable.
Overall - tripels are rarely cheap, so for the price ($4.99 for a 500ml bottle), this is excellent value. However, the Belgian yeast was not showcased at the forefront, and the flavors of the beer are not especially complex, making it not the best representation of the style. The hibiscus is a nice addition and I enjoy the tartness in the balance, which is why I'm giving this beer the benefit of the doubt. I might not get it again anytime soon, but it's worth trying at least once.
Jun 02, 2019Smell - strong scent of toasted malts and biscuits. Light, almost undetectable hops. The smell is actually close to a clean pilsner/blonde ale. Not much alcohol detected from the nose. Some Belgian yeast also detectable.
Taste - tastes like a blonde ale with a bit more fortification. the hibiscus flavor is really light, and comes with just a hint of tartness towards the end of the taste. virtually no bitterness, and the slight warming of the back of the throat gives away the booziness ever so slightly. I like it, but it feels like just a bit is missing.
Feel - light bodied, average carbonation, and boozy at 8.2% (though not for the style). Alcohol is well masked and not very detectable.
Overall - tripels are rarely cheap, so for the price ($4.99 for a 500ml bottle), this is excellent value. However, the Belgian yeast was not showcased at the forefront, and the flavors of the beer are not especially complex, making it not the best representation of the style. The hibiscus is a nice addition and I enjoy the tartness in the balance, which is why I'm giving this beer the benefit of the doubt. I might not get it again anytime soon, but it's worth trying at least once.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
3.15/5 rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.15/5 rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Brief impression from a bottle:
Not as boozy as many tripels, and the hibiscus lends it a nice fruity floral taste that you wouldn't normally get in a traditional tripel on account of the (relative) lack of hop flavour.
It does lack the complexity and depth of flavour found in the very best expressions of the style, as well as the delicate fragile mouthfeel. But it's drinkable and approachable. The price isn't as fair (read: incredible) as many Trader Joe's branded/exclusive beers, but it's worth trying once if you're in the mood for the style and surpasses many domestic attempts at the Belgian tripel style. I'd like to see Hardywood ditch the bomber format in favour of the more reasonably priced six pack of 12 oz bottle format, but I doubt we'll see them do so anytime soon. Not a brew I'd buy again over Ommegang (also sold at Trader Joe's), but I like what hibiscus brings to the table and I have to admit it works better than I'd have anticipated in a tripel.
C+ (3.15) / ABOVE AVERAGE
Oct 11, 2017Not as boozy as many tripels, and the hibiscus lends it a nice fruity floral taste that you wouldn't normally get in a traditional tripel on account of the (relative) lack of hop flavour.
It does lack the complexity and depth of flavour found in the very best expressions of the style, as well as the delicate fragile mouthfeel. But it's drinkable and approachable. The price isn't as fair (read: incredible) as many Trader Joe's branded/exclusive beers, but it's worth trying once if you're in the mood for the style and surpasses many domestic attempts at the Belgian tripel style. I'd like to see Hardywood ditch the bomber format in favour of the more reasonably priced six pack of 12 oz bottle format, but I doubt we'll see them do so anytime soon. Not a brew I'd buy again over Ommegang (also sold at Trader Joe's), but I like what hibiscus brings to the table and I have to admit it works better than I'd have anticipated in a tripel.
C+ (3.15) / ABOVE AVERAGE
Reviewed by HalfFull from California
3.6/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.6/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
From T Joe's August 2017. Bottle date unknown but first time seeing this. Pours a clear deep gold in color with a fleeting inch of whitish cap. A light gasp when opening was a good indicator of the relatively light carbonation on this beer.
Aroma of sweet green apple, yeast esters and a hint of spice and ethanol. More enticing with a good spin yet fleeting and the outgassing harms the rest of the glass. Hibiscus not really notable but a pleasant spice character is there.
Taste follows with said spice. A sweetness is there but pleasant and not candy like, yet enough to cloak the ABV fairly well on the palate. Well rounded per se but a bit shy on refinement. A tad more carbonation would surely firm up the taste and mouthfeel of this brew.
Overall this beer improves with warming and has no flaws other than the carbonation thing. A bottle conditioned version would be quite interesting.
Aug 13, 2017Aroma of sweet green apple, yeast esters and a hint of spice and ethanol. More enticing with a good spin yet fleeting and the outgassing harms the rest of the glass. Hibiscus not really notable but a pleasant spice character is there.
Taste follows with said spice. A sweetness is there but pleasant and not candy like, yet enough to cloak the ABV fairly well on the palate. Well rounded per se but a bit shy on refinement. A tad more carbonation would surely firm up the taste and mouthfeel of this brew.
Overall this beer improves with warming and has no flaws other than the carbonation thing. A bottle conditioned version would be quite interesting.
Reviewed by LMO1190 from Florida
3.84/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.84/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
I tend to give trader joe's beers a higher reviews due to there really low prices.
This beer was about 7 or 8 dollars. 750ml bottle with 8.2% ABV.
Smell-very sweet fruity bubble gum / banana.
Taste- super sweet, fruity, gummy, smooth bitterness at the end. No Booziness.
Feel- Nice body. No alcohol burn( especially since this is a low priced beer)
Overall- This is pretty solid. A nice bang for your buck. I recommend this to anyone who has a TD's near by.
Jan 07, 2017This beer was about 7 or 8 dollars. 750ml bottle with 8.2% ABV.
Smell-very sweet fruity bubble gum / banana.
Taste- super sweet, fruity, gummy, smooth bitterness at the end. No Booziness.
Feel- Nice body. No alcohol burn( especially since this is a low priced beer)
Overall- This is pretty solid. A nice bang for your buck. I recommend this to anyone who has a TD's near by.
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