Brother Barnabas
Three Notch'd Brewing Co. (Craft Kitchen & Brewery)

Golden color and clear. Nice streaks on the glass from a minor head.

Aroma: Mostly pale malt with some yeast remnants.

Smooth and rich with fairly dry, caramel (crystal malt?) taste. The swallow draws out a strong Belgian yeast bite. The finish is a combination of a new-found berry sweetness, bitter yeast, and alcohol warmth. Overall, an interesting, well-made Tripel.

 

 

 

L: Poured from a bottle to a goblet. Had a dark copper color and a somewhat hazy consistency. There was a half inch of foamy head that quickly dissipated. Not a whole lot of lacing here.

S: A nice aroma of apples, malt, spices, and some yeast as well.

T: Tasted of a moderate amount of malt, light notes of Belgian-style yeast, lots of apples (this is a big component), spices (pepper, cloves), bananas and light citrus. An interesting take on the tripel flavor, with the apples taking center stage. Quite lively and definitely likable.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a smooth, lively finish. Medium-bodied.

O: While this beer has its imperfections, it's still pretty tasty. Definitely worth a look.

2017 brewing. 10% ABV.

Coppery in color. Darker than the usual tripel, but nice. A 1 finger whitish head leaves minimal lacing before retreating, leaving a ring around the glass and a light haze on the surface.

Malt is evident in the aroma, with a faint hint of molasses. Fruitiness of green apple, banana and lemon, with light spice and caramel.

Sweet malts upfront followed by banana/clove and a taste of alcohol that hints of dark liquor rather than beer.

Light to medium in body with a decent bite of carbonation/alcohol. Fairly warming and lightly drying in the end.

This is a really good beer. Well rounded and tasty. My first sampling of this brewery.

 

2017 edition, poured into Belgian ale glass.

L: 1F white foamy head, with very little lacing, and only a tiny ring. Beer is a very clear deep copper with visible carbonation bubbles.

S: Sweet kandi sugar and malts, cloves, deciduous fruits ($10 word!), and banana

T: Follows nose, pretty much. Sweetness and spiciness stay within bounds, cloves and banana pretty assertive.

F: Medium body, light to medium carbonation. Pretty decent construction.

O: Nice tripel. Have yet to have anything substandard from this brewery.

It's less a blond, but it is a beautiful amber color, clear with very slight bubbles. This contributes to the lack of fizzy head, but just the ring of head. The aroma, though, is almost spot on. It's grainy, sweet, and a little yeasty, all in turns. The taste is right there with the aroma. The body is not quite a light and effervescent but it has just a little tingle of carbonation.

 

The beer pours a nice white head that dissipates very quickly. The beer itself is a nice clear and medium gold color. The overall look is very nice and glows. It's certainly a very regal looking beer.

The beer smell is pretty nice. The beer smell is a bit more hoppier than you would expect from a triple. It has a sort of a strong orange smell with a bit of salt and light pepper note to it. The Belgian spices and sugar are there but they are a lot weaker than one would expect. The sugar gives a nice sweet note to it that works.

The taste follows the smell pretty closely. There is a stronger bitter orange note with a slight bit of peel that dominates the taste. The Belgian spices are present and manage to make themselves present with a slightly salty and peppery note but the hops are stronger. The sugar has a very small sweet presence there through the entire beer.

The feel is medium bodied but on the lighter side of medium. The carbonation is very light but gives a tiny bit of a bite and a bit of texture to it. It has a very smooth feel to it. However, the body can feel thin compared to some other beers but gives it a dangerous drinkability.

Overall, it an above average tripel and worth getting if available because it's a pretty good deal for the price and then some. The beer certainly has a slight kick to it but it serves as a better introductory tripel since it's hoppy enough to be recognized as American with some subtle Belgian notes but not overly complex that it's trying. While it doesn't compare to Chimay, this is one of the better American Tripels out there. Go for it.