Tripel G - Red Wine Barrel-Aged
Sketchbook Brewing Company

How on earth did this win a gold medal at FOBAB? Reddish golden body with a white head. Pretty prominent vinous notes leading the nose, but some playful red current goes along with the grape and flowers, so far so good. Very much has the wine and the tannin laden barrel, overpowering all but a touch of the floral yeast. Feel is very warm for style, thins up through the sip with the barrel controlling everything with lots of tannins. Barrel balance is off. That being said FOBAB, hit me up, I will happily judge to back this up! LOL

Canned 7/24/23; drank 9/27/23 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque dull orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a huge, noisy khaki head; strong, frothy lacing remained.

Apple cider, banana, mild clove & faint oak notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Apple cider & mild oak flavors up front; banana & a hint of white wine notes on the finish. Booze heat emerged as this warmed.

I don't see "red wine" anywhere on the can, but I'll take the original poster at his/her word, but I get more white wine vibes with this Tripel. It's an interesting experiment, but I think I'd rather just have a regular ol' Tripel. Worth a try.

Bought at Beermiscuous. A 12 ounce can packed 7/24/23, my initial response was this could sit for a while longer to meld all the phenols. While this rendition already is a slightly lower ABV (10.3), the one review (2018) before me indicates a similar, if not same, recipe. I'd like to try Sketchbook's base tripel.

This recent Barrel-Aged rendition Looks above average; a nice red tinge added to the pale and the foam is equally above average for North American tripels. Smells don't kick up the expected fruit and spices, perhaps because of a modest yeast. But Tastes are balanced, or will be soon when all these ingredients meld after a sit. This rendition has a full Feel; sufficiently rich and viscous.

Three years ago, I panned Sketchbook's dubbel; primarily because of the yeast. I'm glad to see that in their 10th year, Sketchbook is working with a more active yeast here... albeit for a pale.

Will I have Tripel G BA again? Probably not. But that is more me than Sketchbook. Too little time and too many tripels; best to spend my calories on the Belgian masters. But, I admire Sketchbook's brewing versatility in the land of the WCTU.

 

 

16 ounce can into a tulip glass. Canned 9/14/17, had 1/7/18.

Pours a somewhat hazy golden color, with a one inch head and some foamy lacing. Aromas of Belgian yeast, malt, light wine, coriander, cloves, other spices, light banana and black pepper. The taste is Belgian yeast, some wine and oak, wheat, malt, coriander, other spices. Smooth, a good medium body, well carbonated.

This is a very nice effort, very enjoyable. The wine is restrained and blends well with a good base Tripel.