Tripel Threat
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

Tripel Threat was sampled at the Widmer Gasthaus. In the glass, the beer was an orangish-golden color, and was topped by a thin white head. The nose was well-developed and enticing, with pungent clove, black pepper, smokey spice, anise, licourice, and coriander notes. The taste was nicely developed as well, presenting a coriander-tinged malt base that held great spicy accents...bitter orange zest, light white pepper, coriander. It finished dry with a good level of spicy bitterness. The body was creamy and very smooth, working very well with the flavors of the beer. Widmer has suceeded in creating an wonderfully spiced and tasty tripel...a pleasant suprise!

Sampled at the 2003 Holiday Ale Festival, Portland, OR. According to the brewery this is a traditional monastic tripel. Quite malty and a dark amber color. Not your light and delicate devilish tripel. Better as a winter warmer, and a really good, interesting beer from Widmer which is often a middle-of-the-road brewery. Plenty of yeast and spices in the flavor, even a twinge of fruitiness and ultimately sweet. Some Saaz hops twist the flavor a bit. Pretty darn good.