Marmalade Triple
Bison Brewing

Sampled on tap @ 1702, Tucson; August 2011
Arrives from the tap with a frothy, fairly tight, pale tan colored head. The beer is a dark gold / amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, bright-gold hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of lime scented, honey like malt up front; it really reminds me of orange marmalade actually, even having the characteristic tartness that marmalade has. Touches of turbinado sugar and a maltiness that reminds me of pale pastry crust and whole grain crackers.

Somewhat sweet tasting as if first hits my tongue, this sweetness grows a bit through to the finish were it is also boosted by an orange citrus flavor. Touches of vanilla like flavors seem to accentuate the citrus notes and the spiciness from the yeast contributes accentuating flavors of sweet ginger, white pepper, sweet clove, and even some earthy-herbal spiciness that sort of reminds me of dirty coriander; this last isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. Some of the spiciness comes from some warming higher alcohols, though the alcohol is fairly well integrated here. While this has some heft to it, it has the lightness that a Tripel needs and maintains a drinkable quality that could make this beer dangerous. Hints of cracker like malt join with the pale malt sweetness to contribute some extra complexity to this beer; it doesn’t quite have the toothsome grain / malt character that I adore in the great examples of the style, but this certainly isn’t all that shabby either.

This is a decent beer, I wasn’t expecting too much for it and it has managed to be a pleasant beer to be drinking. I like that the marmalade wasn’t nearly so over done (as the citrus was in the last beer I had), though it certainly plays a big role in this beer.