Ch'ti Triple
Brasserie Castelain

L- Quite deep amber, clear, some rising CO2, pours with 2mm white head (ps 15 mins later - holds well)
S- Almost quite bright, perhaps some hints of apple juice, surprising for 8.3%, ie it's brightness vs anticipated parallel feel/body/smell. We'll see....
T- Yep, I see the 'apple juice' facet carry over, but it's very subtle and in the mix. My conclusion (in short) is this overall comes over in the style of a Triple. Just a very 'clean' yet quite powerful version.
F- There are zero rough edges here; zero. Zero to object to, ie out of place/out of balance. It hasn't a massively broad flavour to explore but it's clearly pungent and so holding my interest. My palate knows this is all of it's 8.3% ABV yet is intrigued it manages it in quite such a subtle and polite way.
O- Quite an intriguing one. Goes down easily, nothing to register and then object too. A dark horse, good luck to anyone who imagines sessioning this discreet power-house of a brew.
This is overall probably the most intriguing beer I've had from my past '100 new beers', these past 6 or so months say. This beer is a stand out... Not the most different, characterful, stand-out, but just wow how it all comes together into such a lovely whole; like a perfect pinnacle epitome of dreamed of Tripels.
New lable, now still almost circular but with a pale-tan centre, and dark green outer ring.Also, ABV is marked as 8.3%.
Bought from BeersOfEurope/UK for home delivery in the UK. 750ml £6.69. I'm not anticipating staying up much later tonight after enjoying this one.
ps. This is a seriosly fine and refined beer. Why it's lable doesn't sport some 'World Beer Award' logo medals I do not know.... apart from of course that the brewery think such adds nothing to this dazzling offering.

 

 

Poured from the bottle into a chalice glass.

Deep vibrant orange color, mostly clear and shimmering. Creamy white, touches of ring like lace and a thin Puck, with transparent carbonation.

Fragrant aroma. Deep amounts of yeast and bread. Sweet floral character, mixed with candy orange touches on the nose. Excellent and slightly complex.

Palate squeaks in a little than great. Light bodied but also quite dry, with slight more papery malt qualities. Faint touches of neutral yeast, a little hay, finishes also a little boozy but not terribly.

Comes out of the gate pretty impressive but pulls back quite a bit just being slightly above ordinary.

 

 

good example of belgian triple, nice & sweet. Listed as 8.3% abv.

Bottle from Cora-Forbach. Average tripel. Nothing stands out, and head is definitely lacking. taste is average , just a run of the mill tripel. Very drinkable, but lacking in body.

 

 

Random pick up at the market in Paris. Pours amber-gold with smallish head and minimal lacing. Not a big nose...malt, sweet, not much in the way of spice. Flavor is malty and sweet, but not really what I would consider a tripel or a bier de garde. What is it? I don't know, but it was better than I expected.

 

It says Biere De Garde in the label. "Triple" just means triple strength, referring to the 7.5% abv. Unfortunately I think this bottle was a little long in the tooth.

Poured a bright and saturated orange color, an initial fingers width if foam, no lacing however.

Aroma of wet cardboard, oxidized malt, DMS, cooked vegetables.

Taste is a little better, toasted malt with a hint of dried orange peel, possibly marmalade. Medium bodied with carb that seemed to ebb quickly, leaving it a bit flabby in feel. Overall not the best, but I need a fresher bottle to be sure.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours orange (a bit hazy), not much of a head, but some sticky lacing is left.
Sweet malt smell and booze, but pretty weak.
Overly sweet malts in the taste, a bit of corn too. A spicy feel to it, with some nice pepper and a bit of fruitiness (some weird stale red apple?). Bitterness is more than mild, but doesn't really feel good.
Fizzy, a bit syrupy.
Feels very "nutritious", but that's not what i'm looking for. Heavy and clumsy.

 

 

 

It is not a trippel - but the "Biere De Garde" and "7.5 abv" right there on the label should be a clue. I was looking for a biere de garde in my local store all they had was this, I am not reviewing it as a trippel because it really does not fit.

A: Gold-orange, touch of amber. Head is white and thick, but settles quick. Swirling brings about a nice layer of very creamy head back.

S: Simple malt and spice.

T: (After warnimg up) A nice, deep sweetness from the malt. Somewhat mineraliy/salty, wilt a bit of bitter in the finish.

O: I overpaid for it. It is not a trippel, but did not sate my "de garde" taste either.

 

 

Nose quite nice, honey old golden to perfection, with a little brown sugar glucose in the form without it being sickening. Mouth spreads some spices but is generally fairly coated and honey, honey old golden. Finish still quite small but easy to drink.

A - very nice dark golden color with great thick creamy head
S - malt, a little of hop character and dried apples with banana
T - full body of malt with mild carbonation, sweet tones of yellow melon, apples and banana. Medium bitternes makes the body of the beer pretty complex. Warm and nice hoppy end.
M - medium to full body with light to medium carbonation
D - very drinkable, however pretty strong for some big drinking

I was at the Blue Martini Bar on St. Martin/St. Maarten recently. Besides all of the usual Caribbean beers offered, I noticed they had Leffe on draft. So as I sat down, I saw they had a few Ch'ti bottles behind the bar, so I ordered one instead. First up was the Blonde. That was great. I gazed into the cooler to see that I ordered the last yellow labeled Ch'ti. Behind it was a Ch'ti bottle with a green label. I ordered that beer next, and the bartender said that he was out of the Blonde. I said I'd have that one instead, which I then discovered was the Triple (same price!). Poured into a Ch'ti Triple goblet. Hazy yellow body. Not as thick of a head as I'd expect from a triple. Smell was great - yeasty and musty. Taste was also very good. Ripe fruit flavors and some burnt sugar notes. Mouthfeel was a bit thin for a triple, and the abv was pronounced. A great beer to try, and I am glad that I took the time to check out the back of the cooler for the last of the stock.

Golden yellow appearance, with a white foam, compact and creamy, average.
Malty smell, with a hint of hop. Correct for a tripel, but nothing particularly interesting.
Same for the taste, without any peak, still on an average level.
Some cereal and graininess, a bit of hop comebacking in the aftertaste.
Honest, no more beer.

Beer bottle (33cl), tasted in 2003.
Appearance: amber beer (old rum color)
Smell: nose brown sugar
Taste & Mouthfeel: mellow in mouth (honey)
Drinkability: a good beer brewed by Castelain in Benifontaine (near Lens in France)

Review added 10-19-2007, translated from french 2-13-2008.

Moderate yeast haze in a dirty orange body. Topped by a finger of clingy, kind-of-rocky white head. Nose is pears, canned peach syrup, mellow wheat, perfumey sugar, and slightly skunky hop funk. Interesting. Kind of like a mild tripel mixed with a Euro lager. Nutrasweet sweetness sits above smooth wheat and fruit cocktail malt. If you don't like cloying tripels, then this is your ticket. The sweetness is accessible and easy, like the Eagles. Of course, if you want more than bland country rock, you're out of luck. Swampy, yeasty, hop funk is present the whole time, lending some Grolsch-ness to this beer. Lightly medicinal alcohol detectable, but not significant. Medium body, with a smooth, creamy feel. Almost feels undercarbonated, but not by much. Residual sweetish-ness, bananas, and cooked carrots in the finish. Not too bad, but not anywhere close to a great tripel.

Ch'ti Triple

A = Poured a light amber with a thin foam head.

S = Little to no smell. Slight wet rag smell.

T = Very light taste. Initial sugary flavour followed by a dry finish.

M = Moderately carbonated.

D = Drinkable. Not bad. But there are much better triples out there.

BB 16-07-07. White head and clear golden beer. Nose is malty, lightly buttery and candysugar. Taste is also buttery, pale malted, alcoholic and bitter. Not that bad but just a pile of tastes not fitting together and far from a good triple. That said this comes more as an alcoholic blond to me then as a spiced and estery triple. Low carbonisation, sugary sweet and no bottle ferm... huh yeah triple. Drinkable but certainly not my favorite of the style.

Light, pilsner colour body - transparent with little haze. Pretty nice looking bottle anyhow. Small, off white head. Pungeant yeasty aroma. Odd pilsner malt character. Little taste for triple. Weird maltyness - barnyard funk yeast in the Biere de Garde style. Falls out fast, little please the palatte. A gentle spice in the backdrop but far too subtle. Some hint as to the 7.5% but generally it is well hidden. Not entirely a writeoff but entirely too weak as a tripel. I would review it higher under a different category. Some reedeming character, as a Biere de Garde or anything else I liked this one, but as a tripel it has a ways to go.

Wow I'm surprised by this, it's supposed to be a triple, if it is, it's the weakest example out there. Pours a clear slightly gold color, smell is a weak sweet flavor. Taste? Not really much taste here, a bit sweet malt flavor, but really weak tasting. Mouthfeel is thin. Overall I am not impressed. This tastes slightly better to me than the Budweiser private reserve, and that's sad. I'm hoping somebody put private reserve in this bottle and this beer is a decent beer for real.

Poured from a corked 25 oz. bottle. Very pretty straw color with snow white head and tons of lace. Aroma of honey, malt and yeast. No hops in the smell that I could detect.

First impression of taste is sweet malt. Next layer is estery-spicy and some hop bitterness. Aftertaste of more malt with a bit of alcohol warmth.

Easy drinking and pleasant with food. Not a big tripel feel like a Belgian.

Paid 2.79 euro for a big 75 cl bottle. Interesting color, straw with the faintest hint of brown. No lacing or minimal. Smell is nice, floral but not overdone. Excellent taste. Good Belgian yeast characteristics, slightly buttery feel/taste like a scotch ale. A bit of spice with good alcohol presence. Mouthfeel is nice, again a bit buttery but low foam and good underlying bubble, not too sharp.

Mostly clear first pour in a Duvel glass, distinctly bright golden in color. Whitish head, small bubbles and leaving delicate crowns of ring lacing. Aroma is moderately spicy, some white wine notes but mostly pie spices of mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon with some apple qualities. Mouthfeel is sub-medium, carbonation is subdued overall. Flavor is a little on the lacking side (at least in distinction), more spices as noted in the smell with a heavy sweet maltiness going on. Concord grape, slight peach, but not a lot of yeastiness. Finishes slightly drier but not as punctuated as many Tripels. Pretty good drinkability, some alcohol notes.

750ml corked bottle

Pours with a light yellow body, large fizzy bubbles rise up, white head with pretty poor retention

Smell, some esters, little hint of fruit and grain

Taste, malty and grainy. Some alcoholic warmth on the finish. Almost lager like

Way too filtered, lacking in flavour, more like a lager than any tripel i've had. Its not 'ch'ti' but it aint great either :)

Sainsburys seem to have replaced chimay with this, dont ask me why they choose a really off beat tripel like this instead of westmalle tripel (which they have the double of) or tripel karmelit

Best before 04/04/06...

Appearance: sparkly gold, great clarity, medium layer of bubbly suds on hard pour but not much in the way of head retention

Aroma: pilsner malt, hint of alcohol, light indescript fruitiness, quite clean

Flavor: somewhat lagery maltiness at first, then a sugar-cookie/vanilla essence as a little more sweetness peeks through, mild alcohol, hint of herbally hop flavor, a but perfumey but otherwise quite clean here too, finishes semi-dry with an aftertaste of light malt

Mouthfeel: medium-light body, fine carbonation, very soft texture, surprisingly low alcohol warmth

Other comments: This is a very strangely low-key triple. Quite clean in flavor and aroma (i.e.- not a lot of yeast character or spiciness). And I know it's labled as 7.5% abv... but really?! If so, it's really well hidden!