Tripel Tasting Thread (March 25-27, 2022)

Which of the Belgian Trappist/Abbey styles is your favorite? Is there some specific aspect(s) to the Tripel that makes it a least favorite?

Cheers!

 

I prefers strong darks and quads by a good bit. Dubbels and saisons from there with strong pales next before tripels. I get massive banana from many tripels, which I don't enjoy. I would say I enjoyed the Rochefort Tripel, but I would still drink the 10, 8 or 6 over it when offered the choice.

 

I sorta 'get you' here in that I previously discussed the banana aspect previously in this thread:

"I personally go 'back and forth' on whether I enjoy the banana aspect in a Tripel. I think in some brands the level of banana is very complementary to the other fruity & spicy flavors while in other brands the banana is too dominating. I suppose proper balance is key here (for me)."

If the Tripel has too much banana, such that it is not in proportion to the other flavors (e.g., fruity, spicy), I too am not a fan.

There are some Tripels which have little to no banana flavors and perhaps this weekends Tripels tasting thread can provide you with some input here.

Cheers!

 

New Belgium Trippel

I bought this one as a single a few weeks ago and then noticed it and figured why not have it for this occasion?



Pours a beautiful clear gold, some carbonation and a decent head. Aroma of cloves, but. It overpowering. Tastes a bit fruity. Not much banana here. Definitely somewhat spicy, cloves and some pepper. Nice and thick at 8.5 percent but not syrupy.
This is very good. Better than I expected. I haven’t had a tripel in a while as far as I can remember. Nice change of pace. I might have to buy a few more singles of different tripels for tomorrow and/or Sunday.

 

I'm starting with New Belgium Trippel and gave it a rating a bit higher than most, and I like it now more than I did a few years ago. I'm jealous of all these chalice pictures but I break glasses all the dang time, so now I'm using a glass much like Blogjacks above.

Good springtime tasting!

https://imgur.com/gqYkjCy

Banana in the back of the pic; I taste a little of those banana-y esters but not too much...

 

I will be discussing this beer tomorrow in both NBW (since it is a new beer for me to discuss) and here.

Cheers to New Belgium!

 

Nice! Back to back posts and looks like we both rated it higher on BA reviews. (But you still need to post the pic instead of a link). I can help you if you want.

 

It sees that this thread has 'evolved' a bit?

 

My Westmalle review is next. (BTW, your pic did not load for me.)

 

For my first tripel of this tasting, I'm going to re-visit what is (to use a phrase over-hyped by the Rose Bowl publicity machine) "The Granddaddy of Them All" for tripels. This seemed like the right one for me to kick off the tripel weekend with.

I lollygagged about in converting my shopping list into actual shopping. By the time I did, my usual store had sold out of the 330ml bottles. Rather than drive to another store, I just got the 750ml size. In the interest of moderation, I'll be using a stopper after sampling about half of the bottle.

Westmalle Tripel - Tripel #3 - BOF #78
ABV: 9.5%
IBU: 37

The bottle label is stamped:
Best Before End: 2023/02/15
Bottled On: 2021/02/15
05 03171

Tall, billowing head from a very gentle pour. The head is white and fluffy, comprised of large bubbles and having a creamy surface. Excellent retention with a well-laced side of the glass as it does recede. Good carbonation through a pale gold slightly hazy body. Once the head mostly receded, I did a second small, gentle pour to bring the liquid level up to the 25cl mark on the Westmalle chalice.

As I drink, the opposite side of the chalice is coated with a very thick wall of lacing (well, foam; it's too thick to be called "lace").

The aroma is not very strong, but it is very nice. Apple, banana, and floral. Promises semi-sweetness.

The taste is not a bold "in-your-face" presence. Rather, it is quite nuanced. Apricot, apple, spice, with the banana from the aroma being there, but very much in the background. The spice is peppery backed by coriander. The flavor begins initially very fruity (apricot, etc.) and spicy, with the middle picking up a slight bittering, tartness even, and transitioning to a finish that seems to be both semi-sweet and dry in turn. That is, the body and lingering in my mouth tends toward semi-sweet, but the spiciness and bittering also tends to dry things out. The back and forth of this beer in the various flavors as well as in the sweet-dry spectrum is quite delightful.

The body is moderate, and the mouth feel is smooth and creamy at times, and tingly and tart at times.

There is little in the taste or aftertaste of this beer to suggest its ABV strength. It drinks deceptively easily, so beware! (Thankfully, I have a stopper for the bottle!) Overall, as the inventor of the style, this beer wears its iconic status proudly and well. This is an excellent, very interesting and delightful, beer.

L: 4.5 | S: 4.0 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.5 | Rating: 4.33

 

Going to try to post the image with advice from DrStiffington:

 

It worked!

 

Thanks for pointing me to the postimage site. That worked. I guess I need to post more pics! Cheers!

 

First of all... Praise be to FBarber for starting and monitoring this thread.
There are many interesting comments and reviews already and the weekend is young.
As an aging Belgo-phile, I look back on my Beer Career and hope I can leave you kids something to build on... or at least think about.
But rather than wax enthusiastic about Tripels (which everyone does anyway), I thought I'd leave a little analysis of my Beer Career.

Possibly three items worthy of attention... as I Look at my elegant Westmalle goblet filled with those monks' exquisite tripel.

First, I'm probably more experienced in this style than, I'm guessing, 2/3 of Poo-bahs. Tripels are in my 5th top position and represent 2.82 % or 92 uniques. During the BA chapter of my Beer Career, I've averaged 10.3 tripels a year. (That doesn't include my first year in which I added 44, since my Career also has pre-BA chapters.) If ever I see a tripel I haven't had, I buy it. Anyway ... 2/3 of you Poo-Bahs, that is the standard.

Second item... My hypothesis is that the most difficult ingredient of the tripel is the yeast and American crafters have the most trouble getting and maintaining this unique yeast. My proof? Those tripels that I repeat. Since BA does not count what we repeat, I opened an UnTappd account two years ago. Here is UnTappd's accounting of my tripels: 12 Fin du Monde; 9 Westmalle; 7 Karmeliet; 6 Chimay; 5 Consendonk; 5 Allagash renditions; and then other North American crafters dominate the lower counts.

Third item also is proof of my hypothesis. While ratings are subjective... sometimes ridiculously so... here is what I found. If we accept Fin du Monde as the North American highest standard for tripels, then there are 7 higher than my Fin du Monde rating... and all 7 are from Belgium .... where the culture encourages the cultivation of yeast !

Be all that as it may .... For the next BA thread on tripels, my contribution will report on how North American crafters are catching up. A Votre Sante' !

 

Moving on to my currently highest rate Tripel, Westmalle. As much as I love the balance to La Fin du Monde, Westmalle is definitely more complex. This is fruity with a pear like quality, nice mild earthiness, a balancing touch of alcohol, some yeast, just enough sweetness, very well balanced.

Cheers!

 

I've a large bottle of what I believe to be the best N. American tripel (haven't tried the Allagash yet, that's tomorrow) so this might be my only one tonight

Clear honey colored with a smooth rounded feel and the taste of banana, clove, apple, and a watercress pepperyness. The fizzy carbonation gives it a clean finish.
Fin Du Monde isn't available here anymore and I've had this bottle in my basement for well over a year. I'm sad to see it go.

 

Victory Golden Monkey



This is the 2nd of 2 cans I cellared in January 2021, and I'm thinking that 14 months is too long. The flavor is still there, but while it's pleasantly subtle, it comes across more like a high-octane saison.

Having said that, I may age a few more and make sure to have some fresh for side-by-side comparison.

 

Here we go! This one is sweet and fizzy and kinda chewy and it makes me think of eating a meringue. It smells delightful. I'm bummed to be missing out on the head - I blame my roommate's glass.

I am not getting a ton of complexity here. Maybe it's just me. It's good, but there are similar beers I would reach for first.

Also, the alcohol is clearly present and I appear to have forgotten to eat lunch, so the next Tripel may be a little while later. I think I'll go for La Fin du Monde, to mirror Officer Bill

Note: bottled on 9/30/21