Erastus
Schilling Beer Co.

L: Inviting pale hale color. Mild bubbles visible and cloudy. Foam dissipated quickly. Amazing presentation in wine-like glass.

S: Lovely aroma. Lively, strange scent, clove like, yeasty and funky. Exactly what I expect for a tripel.

T: Bananarama. Love the taste. Funky, little citrus, maybe even peppery. Fits the style. Would not guess its 9%.

F: Silky mouthfeel. Nothing that surprises me or wows me.

O: Outstanding beer. Big of a tripels and this delivers big taste.

a) Opaque hazy yellow pour topped with a 2 finger thick white head, fades quicklky to a ring, laces a bit. Less than a true Belgian.
s) Aroma blends peppery spice, soft malt, white fruit, pear, and Belgian yeast dominant.
t) WIne-like, loaded flavor follows with a sweet, yeasty bill backed by a hoppy, fresh bitterness.
f) Almost burning while also cooling in nice see-saw of pepper, yeast, bread and fruit.
o) Dry, spicy, and complex Belgian-style ale inspired by Trappists. Aroma and flavor marked by the marriage of peppery spice, citrus, and pear. Noble hops utilized to create balance.

Slightly hazy yellow pour topped with a medium white head. The aroma blends Belgian yeast, peppery spice, soft malt, and a touch of fruit. The flavor follows with a moderately sweet, yeasty profile balanced by a clean, steady bitterness. Well executed and very satisfying.

Can to a tulip.

Clear as green tea. Head dissipates rather quickly. Deceptively thick-bodied: it's quite spumy in the mouth. Deep, sweet, and almost brothy, somewhere between a coriander seed and edamame. The alcohol is welcome and is no more overbearing here than it is in Fin du. Aftertaste is bitter and leaves enough of an impression that I can comfortably sit for a moment before having another go.

I'd absolutely come back to it, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Poured from a can into a snifter

Appearance – The beer pours a lightly hazed golden straw color with a small head of puffy white foam. The head fades rather rapidly leaving a small amount of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is big of a bready and cracker malt mixed with lots of pear and apricot. Along with this comes a big yeasty smell mixed with a whole lot of candied sugar and some orange marmalade. At the same time there is a nice level of Belgium spice, with a good showing of clove and coriander with some light notes of honey rounding it all out.

Taste – The taste starts with a sweet cracker and doughy flavor with lots of apricot, pear, and peach sweetness. At the same time there is a candied sugar sweetness as well, along with a strong showing of the yeast and the clove and coriander spice that were in the nose. As the taste advances on the tongue, the doughy flavors fade a tad, while the sweet gets even more intense. Notes of hay and some light grass join in, all while a touch of alcohol arrives on the scene. At the same time, light flavors of melon and grape open up, mixing with the rest of the tastes and leaving one with a sweet, and very pleasant and smooth taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body is medium to thinner in nature, while the carbonation level is moderate with fine carbonation bubbles.

Overall – A very flavorfully sweet but still highly balanced and drinkable Tripel. Rather nice and certainly one to take on if you can find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are 2 Belgian styles I am always fussy about when drinking American versions - Saisons and Tripels. Many brewers fail to capture the essence of these styles and produce decent enough, but disappointing, brews. Not the case here!!! Erastus captures all the basic elements of a good Tripel. Poured from a 16 oz. can into my Chimay goblet, this beer features a medium sized bubbly white head with average retention. The lacing is mostly a film with some flecks of froth in it, Aroma and taste include "apples and pears" fruitiness, Belgian yeast and a mild peppery spicing. Very tasty!! The only thing that separates this from my favorites (St Bernadus and La Fin Du Mond) is a "ripe cheese" rich aroma and taste. Everything else pertaining to a decent Tripel i there. Mouthfeel is rich with the alcohol well hidden. The carbonation and peppery spicng are well done!!!! If you are in the mood foraTRipel, this will do it!!!!

 

 

Poured from 16oz can into my BeerAdvocate teku. Canned 1/10/25.

Appearance: a pale light-golden hue with just a dash of haze and a thick head of frothy eggshell foam, with a nice lace left on the glass as the head dissipates.

Smell: sweet malt, though with a bit of drying astringency. There’s a subtle but nice pear aroma here, along with a hint of boozy spiciness. It’s pretty decent, though it lacks the smoothness I like in a true Belgian tripel.

Taste: quite malty, as it should be; sweet, but pretty well balanced with bitterness. There’s an orchardy fruitiness here that doesn’t have quite as much peary goodness as the aroma, but is still pretty good. Booze factor is high on this one, though — it could definitely be gentler.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a good carbonation and a big, rich creaminess. Capital!

Overall: I really want to like this beer more than I do. It has all the building blocks of a great tripel: balance, a lovely pear character that I always like in the style, excellent texture. But it is a bit boozy and rough-around-the-edges, though pretty decent for an American-made tripel.

A; slight chill haze in this copper yellow. 1/2 finger white film head

S: tons of banana and clove upfront. Lemongrass and earthy malts. Belgian yeast and grass

T: banana, clove, and cardamom upfront. Belgian yeast, pepper, and earthy sweet malts. Lemongrass and sweet grains finish

M: fuller side of medium with strong carbonation

O: nice Triple. Sweet esthers and grainy. Flavorful but not cloying. Nice stuff