Stellar
Urban Family Brewing Co.

L: Poured from a bottle to a goblet. Had a golden yellow color and a very cloudy consistency. There was a 3/4", creamy, very long-lasting head. Below average lacing.

S: A decent, but slightly odd and unspectacular, aroma of yeast, spices, light fruit, and grain.

T: Tasted of a bit of spice (coriander, in particular), a good amount of yeast (present throughout; the dominant ingredient), a slightly grainy quality, some apples (a subtle presence), and a little bit of light fruit (pears, especially). Not a bad flavor, but kind of unbalanced. It's more yeasty and grainy than fruity and spicy. Still, not bad.

F: A good amount of carbonation with a sharp finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly done, if uneven, beer. Worth a look.

 

 

 

I had it on draft at the brewery. Interestingly, the chalk board said "Belgian Tripel" and not "Spiced Belgian Tripel." For the first half of the glass I tasted, smelled deeply, peered through it thoughtfully, and just couldn't find anything Tripel about it. Having just brewed a Tripel I know that the grain bill is all simple light pilsner malt except for less than 5% of a medium crystal -- more color than anything. As much as 20% of the fermentation sugar is from the addition of Beltian candi sugar. Hopping is very scant. The standard characteristic flavor of a Tripel comes from the yeast and is as much about fermentation temperature as anything. Yep, this is a style defined more by the type of yeast and temperature of fermentation than any other component.

I couldn't find any of the tones from the yeast I expected. There were some standard ale esters in the aroma, but I couldn't find them in the flavor. Then I walked up and asked about the beer. The person behind the bar described a standard Tripel as far too sweet, sothis one was full of Thai Ginger and a couple of other flavors. I wish I could find that written down somewhere to know what is in the beer.

Interesting beer. I don't mean to sound corrective, but I wouldn't call it a Tripel. Lots of IPAs and other beers have the same grain bill as a Tripel and don't get called a Tripel becuase they aren't about what a Tripel is about -- yeast and temp.

Visual -- small head that dissapated, very clear, light staw color leaning toward amber
Aroma -- a little bit of fruity ale esters, some kind of light spice aroma that was almost hop-like
Flavor -- couldn't find the Tripel, but it was an interesting beer. It was bitter and bracing, almost astringent. This would be a pleasant beer for those that reject and avoid cloying sweetness (of any kind)
Mouth feel -- typical for this style and weight of beer, pleasant and not too thin

Serving temp -- far too cold, had to hold in my hand to warm and get the flavors to become available

Poured from 500mL bottle into a tulip. This is billed as a "Belgian-style spiced tripel ale", so I guess we'll find out what that means!

Appearance: light golden hue with a dash of haze, a strong effervescence and a massive head of like four fingers of frothy white foam. It's what I look for in a tripel.

Smell: malty, sweet and orchardy with plenty of notes of pear; the spicing is mild, complementary and hard to identify: just what it should be! This is really, really nice.

Taste: there's a little bit of a bite here that's not in the aroma; kind of a sharp finish that reflects a more farmhouse character than a traditional tripel. That said, its tripel credentials are still top-notch, with a smooth sweetness and pear character. I dig it.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a great big carbonation and big, ephemeral creaminess.

Overall: there are some stylistic choices here that I don't necessarily agree with, but otherwise it's a superbly well-crafted example of a tripel and is massively drinkable to boot. Kudos!