Agnus Dei (Abbey Pale Ale)
Brouwerij Corsendonk

86sportster883 from Maryland

3.96/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A beautiful brilliant yellow gold body capped by a big dense foamy head that slowly recedes to a quarter inch cap, leaving a splotchy broken lace behind. The nose is slightly sweet but dominated by the typical powdery yeast aroma of the style that let’s you know that this is most certainly a Belgian Abbey ale. I didn’t identify any fruit or hop aromas. The flavor is more complex and delicately balanced between a light malt sweetness, slightly spicy clove yeast flavors, a hint of alcohol and a fleeting, but noticeable, dose of hop bitterness on the finish. The beer comes off dry once the hop bitterness fades. The seemingly light body grows slightly heavier as the high carbonation subsides from the initial pour, but it continues to drink lighter than the 7.5 abv would suggest and is an easy drinking version of the Abbey triple style.

Aug 29, 2020

VABA from Virginia

4/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy amber color with a generous head and some nice lacing
Aroma has banana and clove hints
The taste follows the nose with banana and clove flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A well balanced Tripel

Jul 31, 2020

VoxRationis from New York

4.24/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Decanted from an 11.2 oz (330 ml) bottle into Captain Lawrence muffin top pint; best by 4/17/2022.
A: Pours a nearly clear, golden color with an orange caste, a one to two fingers, foamy white head, very good retention, but more soapy lacing.
S: Slightly tangy. Aromas of banana, cloves, caramel, honey, and golden apple.
T: Sweet and ever so slightly tart. Flavors largely follow the nose. Bitterness sharper at first, but generally light through on the back end.
M: Light bodied with moderate effervescence. Crisp and creamy. Leaves a tingling on the palate.
O: A light, crisp, and lightly enjoyable Tripel. Lovely.

Apr 05, 2020

Spike from England

3.74/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

330ml bottle.
L: Crystal clear. Rich, dark gold colour. One finger of white head collapses slowly, leaving sheets of lacing.
S: Very light aroma of lemony, Belgian yeast.
T: Honeysuckle & overripe pears. Sufficiently bitter to counter the sweetness.
F: Big, rich & sticky mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation, alcohol heat.
O: Big & bold tripel, full of honey & alcohol. Almost harsh at times. A sipper. On the bitter side for the style.

Mar 06, 2020

Iamchzh from Canada (NB)

4.14/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

My first beer in 2020 pours a hazy golden amber colour with a lasting white head. It has a robust hoppy nose with some dried fruit and spices. A well balanced taste of hop bitterness,honey, dried figs and spices. It has a lasting slightly sweet and hoppy finish

Jan 02, 2020

vinicole from England

3.88/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Bottle. Clear gold with a thick frothy head.
A fruity ester aroma with light sour notes. Mild spice.
Taste reflects the aroma. Grainy with a bitter completion.
A nice mild fizz on the tongue. Quite light.
Nice.

Dec 21, 2019

jkblr from Indiana

3.99/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

11.2oz bottle marked 02/01/21 poured into a Corsendonk tulip glass at fridge temp 7.5% ABV. The beer pours bright light honey in color with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is clovey yeast and some sweet malt. The taste is yeast driven throughout with clove up front transitioning to semisweet malt before a bubblegum flavored, yet firmly bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with well above average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, very good. This beer does a lot of things right, but the massive forced carbonation affects the feel and taste too much to be top shelf.

Note: let this one sit in the glass for 15-20 minutes too warm up and let some of the excessive carbonation blow off. You will pick up some apple and pear and the bitterness won't be as intense.

Jul 30, 2019

jonb5 from England

3.99/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle, poured into La Chouffe tulip.

A: Golden, clear, small head which disappeared fairly quickly, left lots of lacing around the side of the glass.

S: Phenolic esters gave off quite a fruity aroma.

T: Basically followed the nose, started sweet but towards the end it started to develop hints of starch which made it slightly bitter.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Quite a nice, light Tripel

Jul 03, 2019

EMH73 from New York

3.96/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a very slightly hazy golden color with a very well retained one inch white head that left lacing all the way down the glass, some fine carbonation visible. Smells of Belgian yeast, cloves, bubblegum, bread and apples. Taste follows the nose with additional flavors of pear, pepper, coriander and sweet malts. Medium bodied and carbonated, slightly dry mouth feel. a classic Belgian Tripel.

Jun 12, 2019

LiquidAmber from Washington

4.18/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium golden amber with a two finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, pear and apple, clove and Belgian yeast. Flavor follows, with mixed grain malt, apple and pear, Belgian yeast, clove and coriander. Spicy and mixed grain finish with a little husky grain. Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation. A spot-on Belgian tripel. The malt, yeast, fruit and spicing are all classic for the style. This is comparable to the tripels that made me start loving this style many years ago.
2021 update. Nice to revisit this after having the chance to try a lot of tripels in the intervening years. The flavor profile matches the original review, except I'm getting a much more complicated grainy malt with some spicy, almost rye-like flavors. A little less clove spiciness, but I'm impressed with the complexity of the malt. Very nice and a worthy tripel style Belgian pale.

Mar 01, 2019

scootny from New York

4.01/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Life is so strange. This and the Dubbel were my house beers over thirty years ago. They were always in waiting, at least two 750 ml bottles of each at all times. For me to come face to face with the fact that I had never reviewed either of them on BA was an eye opener. Yet here we are.

So this is a lovely beer. Deep golden with a lightly cloudy state. Lovely thick head with a good amount of lace. Stays and fades slowly. Stays covered all the way down to the bottom.

Nose takes me back. Loads of bubble gum and cotton candy sugar. Light dinner roll breadiness. Faint alcohol sweetness. Some honey, a bit of pepper. Mild hops give a touch of earth to balance.

Taste is so malty, sweet and mild. Pilsner malt in spades with lots honey and a healthy bubblegum. A firm hop bitterness follows. Lots of Fuggles give a solid earth dryness along with a mineral edge to create a quenching finish with a cracker body coating my mouth and a light bit of mild hop dryness. Not a trace alcohol.

Feel is full on crazy. Each sip brings a blossoming creaminess that fills my mouth. Dry quenching and easy drinking. How can a beer do all that while being crisp and dry, begging you to session it like there's no tomorrow.

This is a world class beer that I am embarresed to have overlooked. It's a unique take on the style while remaining true to it. I loved it way back when, without the sophisticated beer knowledge I have these days. I love it even more tonight.

Jan 08, 2019

MoreBeer4me from New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Its good, but not as good as many other Belgium Tripels. I likely wouldn't seek this one out on its own. But when I see the Corsendonk variety 4-packs which include this beer I usually pick one up.

Nov 21, 2018

JonnoWillsteed from England

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

L- Quite a pale golden, clear (minor sediment left in bottle). Pours with 3Cm pillowy white head.
S- Typical Belgian Tripel smell, woody/leathery/spicy.
T- It's pretty bold, to me blind-tasted I'd guess more than 7.5%. It has typical Tripel spicy notes, together hoppy bitterness and some notable richness which effectively 'self balance' each other. It has a deep, rich and quite pungent profile, I'd suggest starting with this well chilled as I'm not sure if the 'rich' facet might evolve towards sweetness as it warms.
F- Pungent and meaty. It is a notably impactful beer for a relatively modest (for the style!) 7.5%
O- Superm balance here. I like it and would have rated this higher if it weren't for the approaching sweet facet, something that never works for me.
Bought from BelgiumInABox in Antwerp/BE for home delivery to me in Lonodn/UK.
330ml. The featured bottle above (12FlOz/350mL) is likely a bottle exported to the US. The EU bottle is 330ml, does not

Oct 07, 2018

OlaB from Norway

3.89/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy golden color with a big top of white head that dissolves slowly and leaves some decent lacings. Aroma is of apples,lemon,yeast,honey,biscuits and spices. The taste starts of sweet and dry with notes of fruits and spices while in the back is some slight notes of bread and biscuits. The finish has some slight bitternes with some floral notes. The finish and aftertaste is a little weak. Mouthfeel is smooth with some crispness. Prickly carbonation with a medium body.
A fairly good and enjoyable triple, but falls a little short to be among the best ones out there.

Jul 15, 2018

vainosuomi from Virginia

3.91/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Look: Clean gold with a frothy white head
Smell: sweet fruit and spice (corriander, clove)
Taste: sweet malt flavors of brown sugar, fruit (apple pear), with spicy yeast
Feel: medium body, medium-low carbomation

A solid tripel.

Jun 20, 2018

Act25 from New Jersey

4.23/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Up there with Fin Du Monde, and not quite Chimay or Bernardus.
a) Pours a wine-like slightly hazy, golden body with a mounding three-finger white head that laces well in a white wine glass.
s) Funky yeast, wheat, medicine cabinet. see-saw of sweet and white pepper.
t) More spicy, mineral, and yeasty, Sauvignon blanc/ chardonnay like, easy afternoon sipper.
f) It's crisp, sharp minerally, with a dry finish. A lighter tripel with a meditative yeasts, tongue ticklers and alcohol warmth.
o) Love these beers and this is just below top tiers. Try 24.

Apr 27, 2018

hopsputin from New Jersey

3.91/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.75

a: clear, vibrant pale orange color - almost copper - color with a large 3 finger, frothy off-white head that fades somewhat quickly

s: lemongrass, earthy grains, sweet green pears, a mix of red and green apples, Belgian yeast spice, sweet citrus, and some sweet grains

t: loads of pears, apple, and sweet grain up front. A mellow Belgian yeast spice behind that along with some lemongrass and those earthy grains. definite phenols in this one. a hint of pepper, sweet malt, and a big bready note to close it out

m: solid medium mouthfeel with high carbonation


o: a solid Tripel. It's definitely not the best i've had, but there is nothing wrong with it. It could use a touch more of the fruity esthers in here, and maybe a bit more spice. Other than that, a nice beer to drink

Apr 13, 2018

captaincoffee from Virginia

3.78/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear yellow straw with a medium head and limited lace. Nose is mild for the style. There is a bit of spice and earth, but the esters really aren't what I was looking for. Taste is more-or-less what you'd expect from the nose in that it is straightforward and doesn't have a dominating aspect. A touch of yeast and some pear, and something like a sharpness/tang as well. I will say the mouthfeel is really nice like champagne. Overall, just okay.

Feb 16, 2018

GreesyFizeek from New York

4.01/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

This one pours a clear light amber, with a small head, and a good bit of lacing.

This smells like green apple, floral hops, clove, and light spices.

This has a nice dryness to the finish, which helps make it work. There's some apple and pear, with clove, and a bit of syrupy sugar, which luckily isn't that strong.

This is medium bodied, starts crisp and ends syrupy, with a good level of carbonation.

This isn't exactly my favorite style, but this is definitely pretty nice.

Oct 10, 2017

Victory_Sabre1973 from Minnesota

3.84/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours a lighter golden color - semi clear. The head is frothy, white, 2 finger, and fairly long lasting.
The nose is somewhat spicy. I also, to me, get a slight apple aroma.
Taste - is fairly light flavored up front. I do get some spices, and sourness on the backside.
Crisp feeling, and decent body.
Not bad, and an interesting beer.

Oct 04, 2017

The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It pours clear amber with a huge head. The aroma is sweet and cola-like with some of the spices coming through. The taste is sweet upfront but it progressively becomes drier and even bitter toward the end. Yeasty esters all around. A nice Tripel.

Sep 16, 2017

HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey

4.31/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Cloudy gold color,above average carbonation. Aroma is yeast,candy and floral ,spice,with a mild scent of malt. Taste is identical,smooth and crisp ,high carbonation didn't harm the feel and had a clean dry finish. I'm a big tripel fan and didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. A pleasant surprise and one I will definitely have again

Sep 03, 2017

ChrisCage from Canada (AB)

4.06/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A- A beautiful slightly hazed golden colored Tripel with a super white head that is puffy and active on the underside....starts about 3 fingers thick in my tulip glass and slowly settles to a finger and a half. The carbonation is plentiful and aggressive looking, as there is a combination of large and petite columns cascading to the top of the liquid, and there is a large amount of small foam patches clinging to the side of the glass! A very nice looking brew to say the least!

S- There is a distinct alcoholic presence noted and there is sweet candy sugar quality as well. Fruit throughout the smell as well, with candied apple, apricot and maybe a little bit of a banana ester. Slightly floral, slightly grassy and everything is bound together by a yeasty bread/biscuit quality.

T- The overall taste is sweet (honeyed) and of spiced fruit......plus there is a heavy yeast/bread/biscuit richness about it. The malt is caramelized, and it's like candy sugar has been added to give this an extra zest. The booze really isn't that bad but it is present and adds a quirky metallic flavor that lingers in the background throughout the entire taste. The fruit I get is again of apple character and the finish is a little cloying and lingers long after the swallow.

M/O- Medium bodied and with plentiful carbonation, this really is quite easy to drink and I'd have no problem having a couple of these....it doesn't fill the gut and the booze, even though it is noticed on the palate, for the strength, it is reasonably well hidden. Ive had better Tripel style before but I don't think this is a bad beer by any means....probably just in the middle of the pack as far as overall quality is concerned.....give it a try!....I'd get this one again.

Aug 13, 2017

Hanglow from Scotland

3.77/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottle, lidl. BBE 12/04/20 so this was only bottled two months ago.

Pours bright golden, voluptuous rocky head.

Spicy noble hop intermix with spicy belgian yeast, bit of alcohol and bubble gum .

More spice in taste, some mild marmalade hop flavour , light malts. medium middle bitterness that gives way to a drying finish. Medium body, high carb.

A very good beer

Jun 12, 2017

DJ-Hophead from England

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330 ml bottle, Lidl, Bristol - Pours clear golden with a large white foamy head. Nice lacing. Medium carbonation. Aroma - yeasty/bready notes, spice overtones, Taste - Sweet at the front, yeasty/bready, light spice, slight malty notes, crisp bitter finish. Solid well balanced tripel.

Jun 11, 2017