Illuminated
Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room

Clear bright yellow brew with plenty of foam in the Belle-Vue Gueuze glass. Classic yeasty and phenolic aroma. Taste is very strong with relentless Belgian character. I don't think a Tripel needs to be this strong, but at least you get your money's worth. Maybe this will be the next trend-- three dollar stovepipes of Tripel beers with extra sugar and a dose of hops! From the 16 oz can dated 03/20/25.

Red-orange color. Nice, healthy head. Smell is mild aside from ethanol. Metallic, with some eucalyptus notes. Not bad as far as tripels go. Mild effervescence consistent with Belgian strongs.

Taster at brewery. Clear, medium gold, scant head. Belgian yeasty notes on the aroma, herbal. Taste brings some of the sweet buttery flavors. Almost there.

16oz can

Pours a finger of white head into my snifter. Retention is average and the head fades within a minute or two, leaving a nice film. Lacing is pretty good. Body is a deep burnt orange, somewhat cloudy, with a moderate amount of bubbles coming up. Looks nice.

Nose has clove and sweet bread up front. Banana comes in, as well as some perfumey floral notes. Smells great.

Clove is evident on the flavor, malts come in much fuller than just “bread”, some light citrus notes in the finish. This is very good, but it’s pretty straight foward, not quite as much detail as the nose.

Carbonation is very high. Drinks surprisingly light, not cloying whatsoever. Very little sweetness, finishes dry and a somewhat bitter. A perfectly appropriate mouthfeel.

Drinkability is pretty absurd for the alcohol. While not offensive at all, the bitterness does help keep things at a reasonable pace.

Overall a very solid Tripel. Bitterness gets a little high at times, and it could use a little more depth, but good none the less.

 

Look: Fairly clear copper in the glass with a sudsy and silky-looking head that settles to a lid, leaving great lacing behind as it does
Aroma: Floral hops, honey, light spice notes, bready malt, Belgian yeast, wet straw, fruity esters, and a little yeast funk
Taste: Starts off with a nice bready malt note and quickly joined by honey, spice notes, and floral hops. Some fruity esters and yeast funk become prominent as the hop and malt train slows and closes with more bread and spicy yeast notes
Mouthfeel: Full, pretty smooth, medium-high carbonation, and a fairly soft – outside of a light spritzy note – on the finish
Overall: This is good stuff. I love these folks’ Belgian offerings and think they do really well across the board producing American-made ones that taste authentic and moreover, tasty. This is another one in that mold and I was pumped to see lots of their Belgians have gone to the 4pk 16oz. format as well. A tasty Tripel for sure and recommended

Murky golden pour with a plump soft white head. Classic aromas of rustic belgian grains and yeast, apple, lemon and pear esters, hay, grass, hints of white pepper, clove and sweeter malt with cracker round out, really impressive. Taste follows suit with a blending of the yeast and botanical elements, malt, clove, and decent esters bond well with these starring hybrid golden botanicals. Feel is light but has plenty of texture from the soft yeast, expressive esters, light graininess and hints of booze. Best american tripel is a long time! The wife loved it

 

 

Poured from 500mL bottle into a tulip.

Appearance: medium golden hue with a moderage haze and a massive head of pillowy ivory foam. The color is reasonable, but the head is outstanding -- like 3 fingers of persistent foam. Capital!

Smell: the aroma is a bit malty and a bit sweet, with a definite booziness present. It's not bad, but it lacks the orchard fruit quality that I really love in the style.

Taste: a little bit drier than the aroma might suggest, but every bit as boozy as I might guess. Now, this is a tripel, so boozy and malty is par for the course, but this one lacks finesse. Not a bad beer, but not a tripel I'd go out of my way for.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body and a massive and well-integrated carbonation. This is about one of the smoothest and creamiest beers I've ever had. Outstanding!

Overall: this beer is all over the place in the numbers. It's a bit booze-forward for my taste, so as lovely as the mouthfeel is, I don't think I'd order another one.

500 ml bottle from Safeway in West Salem.
$4.59
Hazy dark honey colored body , large thick and frothy off white head.
Aroma is spicy, bubblegum, banana and clove. Some lingering alcohol.
Taste similar but with a nice hot touch of honey..coriander and ripe banana.
Very nice mouth feel smooth yet adequate carbonation..semi dry finish.

Good tripel ..as always from Block 15

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium golden amber with slight coppery notes and a fine, three finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of candi malt, mixed light stone fruit, banana and clove, spicy. Flavor is candi malt, Belgian yeast with its typical stone and apple family fruit notes, pepper and clove. Develops a nice spicy fruit flavor into the finish that is clove forward suggesting other dessert spices like allspice. Great medium body with fine moderate creaminess and great mouth feel. The last rew tripels I've had have been kind of envelope pushers and were fine for what they are, but I haven't had a classic Belgian tripel for a while and this is one. The malt, yeast and spicing are spot on. There is a pleasant revealing of new flavors throughout the taste. Very enjoyable and well done.

Beautiful golden color and very clean. Cleaner than expected actually as the styles classics can be quite turbid. A modest amount of rising bubbles support a respectable off white foam that keeps good surface coverage and minimal lacing.

At first, this is all banana in the aroma. Peppery and clove forward spice do come in along with a mild earthy hop profile. Phenols and esters galore.

Oh my God. This may be one of the best U.S. representations of the style I have had in a long.... long time. It takes me back to the classics with a bold clove and banana influence once again, but surprisingly less sweet than expected. Touches of cinnamon and black licorice round out the spicy profile, while the wonderful sweet flavor of what can only be the beet sugary Belgian Candi represent the other side if the spectrum. A touch of tart green apple skins show themselves as it warms.

Just the right feel with a lively carbonation, sweet bite, and a spicy and dry finish. Perhaps a bit too easy to drink as it does lack a bit of heft.

I think the Belgian would be happy this one. If that's not enough, I don't know what is. A great Tripel at an amazing price. Excuse me while I go down the street for perhaps a case or two.

Cheers.