Belgian Tripel
Copper Country Brewing Company / The Library

 

 

Pours a clear bronze in color, topped with a thin off-white head and minimal lacing. Carbonation is very good.

Nose is zesty, with light spice and bubblegum notes, and very little hint as to the punchiness of the drink -- that came later.

Lightly tangy on the first sip, with a mix of lighter-skinned fruit and some rum and white raisin notes. Big sweetness all through the middle. Candi sugar and loads of crystal malt? On a guess I'd say yes, though there's more to this one than meets the eye! No spices that I could detect.

Warming -ever so warming- throughout, and deceptively so.

Nice clean mouthfeel and gently-scrubbing carbonation.
A little on the lighter side in terms of body, it actually became a little hot toward the end of the pour; At that point I should have gone straight to the water, but instead we split the rest of the growler!

I've had more than my fair share of renditions of the Tripel style, and most were more up-front with respect to booze and punch. This entry was very sneaky!

Originally reviewed on October 31, 2005. On tap at the brewpub. Cloudy dark caramel banana colored pour, with little ivory head and lots of carbonation. Rich rum raisins, cream, toffee and lots of alcohol aroma. Running with lots of esters, hexane and a touch of diacetyl. Peculiar, with an off band-aid hexane dominated flavor brought on by a really strong belgian yeast. Fusels dominate. Rubbery. Still has caramel a the notable Saaz. A dry yeasty bite on the back end. Lacks much depth, complexity or character. For me, too dominated by the hexane. Good malt and sharp fruits on the smack.