Triple Fruited Tripel
Brewery Ommegang

Fills a St. Bernardus chalice with a deep gold/amber beer. A thin, off-white head quickly dissipates despite one solid column of carbonation that forms a thread below. The beer is almost clear.

Funky orchard fruit melds well with mild horse blanket. Orange zest and mango add character, although they are faint. A late dose of coriander adds a nice touch.

The flavor is earthy and dry, primarily focused on orange and mango that carry forward but are still fairly mild. It has a light bitterness and faint sweetness. Very faint sourness is confined to the long, modest finish. The flavor does improve with warmth.

It has a medium to full body and a soft, smooth texture. Both the alcohol and carbonation are well below expectations.

Aside from the style deviations, this is a well-done and tasty beer. I particularly enjoyed the earthy yeast and found it to pair well with a funky Teleggio cheese. The second pour deposited a couple of chunks, muted the fruit, and elevated the earthiness.

 

 

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a hazy, medium golden orange with a fine, 4 finger white head with great retention and solid sheets of lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, over-ripe citrus and light stone fruit and clove. The thick head may mask some of the aroma. Flavor is grainy malt, clove, orange, mixed tropical fruit and light stone fruit (particularly apricot and peach). Clove and coriander in the finish. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. Well, this sounded a bit gimmicky, particularly with the many fruit adjuncts in just about every style and the flood of fruit forward IPAs, but I figured if anyone could pull off fruit in a tripel, it would be Ommegang. Fortunately, although the fruit is dominant in the aroma, if a bit vague in distinct fruit characters, the taste is mostly tripel with the fruit a light, but interesting addition. The base tripel is fairly classic in profile. The fruit flavors are blended, much like an IPA with fruit dominant herbal hop varieties, although here, I guess this is real fruit and not hops. I liked this fine, and would grab this if I had a hankering for a triple, but would probably be just as happy with a traditional one. Better than expected and enjoyable. Looked fantastic.

This is a tripel that starts with a fruity nose, fizzes in the glass and pops on the tongue. It has a slightly sweet hoppy finish. Nice golden, slightly hazy color with a creamy head.

 

 

 

 

Pours a turbid honey/amber with floaties & a thumb of pearl colored head. Pretty good head retention & lacing, not digging all the floaties

S: Orange peel, cloves

T: Follows the nose, sweet orange, peaches & some mango up front. Orange peel, white pepper & juicy Fruit once warm, faint hints of vanilla. Finishes with some citrus, but with mostly cloves & cilantro

MF: Medium body, fairly creamy carbonation, gets firmer as this warms up

ABV is totally hidden, drinks nicely, but glad I only purchased a single

From a bottle stamped L012323. Sampled on May 11. 2022

The appearance is orange amber under a modest, lacing leaving cream colored head. Semi opaque.

The aroma is fruit with specific esters of peaches, mango, orange, clove, coriander, toasted bread crust, and little to no booze.

The mouthfeel is around medium and smooth

The taste is sweet and mainly fruit but the pepper, clove, coriander, and other spice characters are notable, But balanced. Semi dry. Decent enough.

 

L: Orange pulpy body with a very thick 2 finger head.
S: Spice, a slight rubbery funk, a hint of peach and citrus.
T: Follows the nose. Spices (coriander?) and hops, yeast, citrus and mango that alternates between slightly sour and sweet, and orange peel lingering through the finish.
F: Very creamy, high carbonation, noticeable warmth.
O: An attempt to attract drinkers by drawing inspiration from the fruited IPA craze? I appreciate any brewer that is willing to try new things in order to keep less popular styles on the shelves. While this isn’t bad, it does seem a bit…. generic.

My initial rating is more obligatory than disciplined. I will revise it as I work my way through this 4-pack.
But for now, I'm struck more by this: Ommegang is probably my second favorite Belgian-inspired brewer and has had a longterm successful brew in each of the 6 major Belgian styles... except the tripel. So the question is: how do they make this Triple Fruited Tripel into a success?

My initial answer is simplify the tastes: drop at least one of the fruits, probably because the mango is similar to the peach but less familiar to the North American market than is the peach. Un-muddle the fruit. But we will continue this discussion.

3/8/23 I was going to hold the other three bottle until summer showed a glimmer of hope and the menu would change. But as usual, my patience fails me. I drank this copy with a plate of roasted winter root vegetables. My bad. But that doesn't change that this is a messy tasting ale and tripels are sharp and spicy.

Triple Fruited Tripel Looks messy and without any lasting foam; rates average. Smells are better, but still is a fruit bowl punch and not a distinctive tripel. Tastes are balanced, nothing offends; but not much says integrated. In the mouth, medium and probably will be refreshing if summer comes.

OA: I probably will not buy another 4-pack. I'm still waiting for an Ommegang-quality tripel to appear.