Trip III
Elysian Brewing Company

 

On tap at Apex yesterday.

Trip III pours a solid brown color with good head retention and lacing. The beer looks attractive enough, but then I inhaled.... while I'm not a big sour fan, I don't know how anyone wouldn't be intrigued by this beer. The aroma is incredible, showing ginger ale (must be some serious juniper berry in this one), lemon zest, lime and rose petals, along with some considerable sour funk. On the palate, the beer is nearly as good, and I love the interplay of caramel, vanilla and chocolate with the lemon zest and sour funk. Also, I appreciate how the sour component isn't completely over the top in this impressive beer, which keeps me in the game from an enjoyment standpoint. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, and is fairly refreshing to drink. There is plenty of flavor in this (relatively) low alcohol beer, and drinkability isn't bad at all (alcohol is barely an after thought).

Very nice beer... very glad I had an opportunity to try this one.

Pours with a frothy white head. Aroma is oaky. Flavor is very mild for a bruin and has a tannic finish with a strange, 'puckery' finish that tastes like high alpha hops. Very drinkable. A decent bruin but nothing to get too excited about or to seek out with much effort.

Poured a deep brown color with good carbonation and a dirty white head. Nose is full of sourness, tartness, grapes, cocoa, perhaps some unripe cherries with booze. Mouthfeel was lighter than I like my sours. It was not a kick in the teeth but good and enjoyable. I believe anyone who thinks other sours are to much should get this, tasty and tamer than many.

The latest brainchild from the New Belgium/Elysian thinktank. Someone posted a photo (via Twitter), shot yesterday at the brewery in Ft. Collins; alas, he lamented, the tap handle was a tease. My good fortune is that Bailey's Taproom is around the corner from work AND they just tapped their keg of The Trip III...lucky me!

A snifter (12 oz) for $3.50.

A: Sexy chocolate-brown with tiny bubbles creeping all around the glass to a thin blanket of tan cream. Held to light, a ruby/garnet glows deep within. Lace in gravity-defying sheets.

S: Nose-tingling tartness, sour grapes and green apples. A whiff of malt vinegar, then dry malt with a drier fruit (odd - cranberry); earthy and musty with heavenly potency.

T: Cocoa maltiness, 'cereal grain' huskiness beneath a covering of lemon-lime tartness. Vinous and woody 'white wine' flavors with an astringency held in check. For every sip that starts with vim and vinegar, each ends with dusty cocoa and doughier sourbread. It all works well.

M: Teasing crispness, a cool cascade of carbonation dancing on the tongue. Tart/tang draws the cheeks, induces a slight pucker, clears the sinuses! Body is lighter, mellow creaminess follows, then a cleaner finish with some mineral bitterness.

D: Not the style for everyone, but a real taste bud pleaser for me and certainly worth a strong endorsement. ABV nearing 6% puts it within range and that saliva-inducing tartness beckons for another round. Not tonight, but likely tomorrow...

Chill-hazed garnet with off-white head that leaves really gorgeous lace.
Smell is rich, vinous and malty, big sweetness, candied tropical fruits.
Taste is fantastic, with exceptional balance. Bracing tartness from the high acidity required to balance the residual sugars, which provide wonderful layers of texture. You can taste the Schwartz backbone, but it's unquestionably Flemish.
Mouthfeel is bone dry, with lots of creamy carbonation and a medium-light body.
Drinkability is through the roof - this trip is a raging success. Highly quaffable, super approachable yet with satisfying depth.