14|02 Tripel (Wai-Iti)
Brew By Numbers

 

 

Big, white, gloriously tripel-icious head. The kind that actually grows a bit after you finish pouring. It lasts and lasts, standing tall and proud atop a slightly hazed sunflower-orange body filled with bubbles. Smells of bubblegum, lemon, pineapple, and coriander seed. Quite pleasant. The flavor is quite similar to Duvel, in that it is quite clean and dry compared to some of the more earthy or outright yeasty tripels out there. The bottle says it has been lagered for six weeks, so perhaps that has something to do with it. Still, there is a depth to it, with some slight bread-like savory yeast notes, and the hops and lemon provide fruitiness and tang. Reminds me of honeydew, pineapple, lemon (of course), and curaçao. In other words, it is almost like a dry, frothy, beery version of a proper 1930s mai tai. Which is brilliant. Lovely stuff! Possible food pairings: crab rangoon, satay, pork ribs, rumaki, and char siu bao.

L: Pours a lovely, cloudy gold, with a thick white head.
S: Sweet and sour notes, with floral hops
T: Less sweet maltiness than a traditional tripel. Great hop balance, with floral-bitter Wai-Iti and some lemon as well.
M: Lively carbonation, but with a lovely creaminess as well.
O: A great, more well-balanced take on the traditional Belgian tripel. I've had this on tap at the BBNO brewery and now in a bottle, and both times it's been a thoroughly good-looking and tasty beer.