Agnus Dei (Abbey Pale Ale)
Brouwerij Corsendonk

3.79/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

Best By: 12-11-23

A - Pours a clear, vibrant, medium gold color with strong carbonation and a nice thick layer of white creamy foam.

S - Light fruity presence along with a delicate pale malt aroma. Overall smells dry on the nose.

T - Follows the nose (big surprise, huh?). Light pale malt presence with a little bit of sweetness and light fruityness on the tongue.

M - Medium body with soft carbonation that finishes dry on the tip of the tongue while the rest of the mouth waters.

O - Decent but not a stand out. I could see myself throwing a few of these back when they're ice cold on a hot day.

Apr 24, 2022

4.22/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by arizcards from North Carolina

Picked up an 11.2 oz bottle from TW Greenville, SC 6-28-21 for $4.25. Best before 12-11-23; consumed 8-18-21.

Beer poured a clear golden with a very nice white head that has maintained thru the first few sips.

Nose is light fruit esters and pale malts.

Taste follows the nose with a medium light pale malt base that displays the apple and pear esters playing off the yeast beautifully. Finishes dry and balanced with adequate floral hopping; 5/10 on my bitterness scale.

Mouthfeel is wonderfully light and refreshing, true to the style.

Overall a very nice beer, glad i came across this one!

Aug 18, 2021

4.64/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by REDAMI from Ohio

L - Pale straw-gold pour with white head disappearing to a thin lace

S - Mango, pineapple, apricot, spicy yeast

T - Lemon/orange, coriander bitterness, light grains, grassy hops

F - Fine, stinging carbonation, dry mouthfeel

Nose is quite sweet and juicy, but actually drinking it gives you a pleasant dry, clean tripel.

Jul 10, 2021

4.08/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by REVZEB from Illinois

Couldn't believe I had missed this one, excited to finally give it a try. Somewhat foggy yellow body with a white head and light lazy lacing. Smells of belgian yeast first and foremost, giving off banana, black pepper, flowers, pear esters, and crusty white bread. Taste is much the same but with some earthy spice, maybe clove, in the finish, peppery features emerge more and more as it warms. Feel is soft, light, yeasty, and smooth. Classic

Jul 03, 2021

3.93/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Captain68 from Russian Federation

89,5

Oct 11, 2020

4.05/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
by AElfwine_Nerevar from Connecticut

Date code (BB?): 21/06/21 B 11:41

Slight oxidation.

Sep 01, 2020

3.96/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by 86sportster883 from Maryland

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

4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by VABA from Virginia

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

4.24/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by VoxRationis from New York

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

3.74/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by Spike from England

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

4.14/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by Iamchzh from Canada (NB)

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

3.88/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by vinicole from England

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

3.9/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by sokol_1993 from California

Doesn't feel like a tripel at all, not tangy of orange. Somewhat taste like a dubbel, strangely.

Dec 10, 2019

3.99/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by jkblr from Indiana

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

3.99/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by jonb5 from England

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

3.96/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by EMH73 from New York

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

4.18/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by LiquidAmber from Washington

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

4.01/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
by scootny from New York

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

3.6/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
by MoreBeer4me from New Jersey

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