Tripel Tasting Thread (March 25-27, 2022)

@officerbill I'll join you in cracking open a bottle of RiverHorse Brewing's (Ewing, NJ) Tripelhorse. There is no date on the bottle, it's been in my fridge a few months.

Pours a dark orange golden color, thick head, good head retention. aroma has a touch of fruitiness, but more spiciness from the Belgian yeast. taste starts with a bit of honey like malt sweetness, and then drier finish with solid bitterness to balance it out. medium bodied, tingly carbonation but nice creaminess to the mouthfeel. Overall this is a solid domestic example of the style.

 

Time to join in on the fun with a St. Bernardus Tripel, sorry for the blurry photo! Looked ok on my phone but terrible on the computer!


Appearance: Cloudy gold, tight head.

Smell: Sweetness, clove, yeasty.

Taste: Mild sweetness, then a yeasty mix of cloves, black pepper, and citrus zest.

Overall: Finally revisiting and reviewing St,. Bernardus Tripel. I was big into tripels when I first got into craft beer in the early 2000's. It seemed a logical step up from wheats/wits. This is a classic example of a tripel, and still tastes great.

 

Well, another aspect to keep in mind is that the amount of alcohols (both ethyl alcohol and higher alcohols) can be impactful as regards the development and retention of head. You beer was "ABV: 11.5%" and that could be a factor here.

FWIW I have discussed three Tripels in this thread and two out of three had small-ish heads and they fell down quickly.

Cheers!

 

Didn't get a good photo, but Tripel #3 of the weekend is Trappistes Rochefort Triple Extra. Nice work, Trappist bros. I'm drinking it out of a stemless Teku (with a unicorn on it, v. important) at cellar temp.

Look: love the big foamy head and abundant lacing. Nice golden yellow.

Smell: I'm haven't tuned my sniffer to the finer aspects but it smells nice.

Taste: HELLO. Sweet, toffee-ish with spice cake undertones and a little alcohol zing at the end of the sip.

Feel: The fizz lightens the sweetness just right. Reminds me of meringue the way Allagash Tripel did, or maybe spice cake with a fluffy frosting.

Overall: I really like this. Excellent exemplar of the style. (I say from my experience of about six examples.)

Bottle size: I want more than 330ml, dang it.

 

Yeah, that can happen as well. It is a 'battle' of the qualities of foam (e.g., amount of proteins in the beer) and the amount of alcohols, more so higher alcohols (fusel oils) which are foam negative.

Sometimes the foam 'wins' and sometimes the alcohols 'win'.

Cheers!

 

Ngl, it seems like a good solid beer, but I would buy it just for the label.

 

It was a single at a local supermarket; they are supposed to age well so I didn't bother to check the date, but now I want to find a fresh one to see how it differs. It was still good, I enjoyed it.

 

Denizens Brewing Co. - Third party Tripel

It has a pleasant and obvious Belgian yeast aroma with light notes of bubblegum, some banana, and an almost cotton candy like scent. There is also an alcohol aroma which is sometimes present.

Up front there is a bit of an herbal note which quickly folds into this light caramel flavor mixed with a touch of biscuit. The middle of the mouth has a touch of banana mixed with some tea leaves. A bit of bay leaf comes through after a few sips. The biscuit note that appeared up front on the palate also follows on to the middle of the tongue. The finish has a bit of cedar wood flavor that comes off as a little bitter.

It feels medium-light bodied and smooth with a touch of slickness. Slightly sticky finish. The beer has a noticeable bitterness which comes across as herbal and seems to cut too much into the beer. It drinks well.

It's a nice beer with some pleasant Belgian yeast notes giving it a slight banana aroma and flavor which is enjoyable. The light biscuit character also gives the beer some nice complexity. The herbal bitterness seemed like it was too much for the beer but the other characters were pleasant enough. The beer would pair well with something like a pot roast or a hearty beef stew.

 

Trying a local brew, Starr Hill Tripel Note fruited Belgian-style ale. I wanted to like it more, but the appearance threw me with the non-clarity as well as a lack of foam which other tripels, especially Belgian-based tripels, show so well. So many pics above have that meringue look which this decidedly does not. I rated it a 3.03 and will post my pic in my most tulip-like glass but it's got a long stem since it's a wine glass I suppose. It's a trophy from a triathlon and I use it for the occasional beer.

Cheers!

 

Having a beer while catching up with the thread. Great stuff so far!

New Belgium Trippel. Pours bright and clear straw color. Fluffy head that doesn't stick around all that long. Nose is bread & yeast with hints of spice - maybe coriander. Flavor is very straight forward - crackery and mostly dry with fleeting hints of sweetness. Fair amount of hop bitterness. Slightly herbal but no overt contribution from any spice component. An atypical Tripel in my eyes but a pleasant experience nonetheless. Wishing I would have grabbed one of the Honey Orange variants to compare. Cheers!

 

I'm back with an Indiana tripel side by side. Taxman's Exemption is 8.5% 30 IBU and widely available across the state. Warpigs The Apparition is a new release that hit town just in time for this tasting.

My review of The Apparition:

12oz can PKGD ON 02/11/22 poured into a tulip glass at 53° Fahrenheit, no ABV listed on label (9.5% says BA). The beer pours bright light amber in color with off white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island of tiny bubbles. The aroma is pretty sweet malt with bubblegum and banana. The taste is semisweet banana, bubblegum, mild clove and then drops off to a barely bitter end. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, a little syrupy with medium carbonation and a fairly undry finish. Alcohol is pretty well hidden. Overall, a bit too sweet for me.

I've had Exemption many times so I'll point out the differences here. My can is dated 2/2/22, so similar fresness. The looks are similar with the Taxman being a bit less bright with better lacing and retention. The aroma of Exemption has more orchard fruit and less sweetness. The taste is bittersweet with notes of pepper, clove, pear and mild bitterness. The Exemption is medium bodied with average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Much more balanced than The Apparition. I prefer Exemption by a decent bit and my review scores reflect that.

This pairing will, more than likely, wipe me out for the night. I have two 330s and a 750 of real deal Belgian tripels lined up for tomorrow. Cheers all!

 

That's what it was, just couldn't place it. A faint, but distracting, presence in both smell and taste.

My bottle had the date on the label, at the bottom of the description

TBH, that's what first drew my attention a few years ago, good label design pays off

3 hours, 3 cans of seltzer, 3 slices of pizza later...
Finishing off today's tripels (see what I did there) with one of the first of the style I ever had, but for some reason never reviewed: Tripel Karmeliet

Honey/peach/gold colored with a tall foamy head which dissolves into a long lasting thick film and the aromas of sweet malts, some lemon, some honey, flowers, and mild banana.

Smooth rounded sweet malts with some apple, banana, clove, citrus zest, with honey a very faint bubble gum in the background

A fizzy mouthful that finishes with a clean peppery bite and a slightly pithy aftertaste

About halfway through I added in the residue from the bottle which resulted in a thicker, chewier(?) feel and upped the pepper at the finish

A truly excellent example of the style (even if it is owned by AB)

4.29/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25