Tripel Tasting Thread (March 25-27, 2022)

Oh snap, I forgot about this. I know what I'm going out to buy tomorrow. Enjoy.

 

Tröegs Brewing - LaGrave

No date on the bottle, but this has been in my cellar for about 2 years. Very pleasant aroma - soft stone fruit and apple, crackery pale malt, and a touch of peppercorn. Similar flavors in the taste, slightly sweet. Medium bodied, carbonation is very fine, smooth mouthfeel. Overall quite enjoyable.

 

I thought I had two local triples for this tasting, alas, just a multiple FOBAB award winner: Pollyanna Apple Brandy barrel aged Orenda Vol. 3

Dated 10/19/20
Beautifully soft feel, apple is stronger than banana in the yeast esters, and the 11% is well integrated. Without being obvious there is some warmth, but of course the 18 months under the stairs may have had some impact. Either way, very happy with this. It has to be a completely different beer I first reviewed in 2018, which reads:
"13oz draft served in a tulip glass shows a clear yellow-gold body, supports little but a whispy island of bubbles and an edge-hugging ring that leaves artistic lacing.
Aroma is banana and funk, and the flavor only adds booze.
Mouthfeel is crisp and bubbly with no real finish, past the tongue it just disappears, which is fine.
Overall it is ok."

I now get little banana, virtually no funk, no crispiness, and the finish is warmth and a hint of sweet, yet spicy, apple. So much better than okay.

From the website: "Volume 3: Belgian-Style Tripel brewed with 100% RO* water to remove impurities, Belgian pilsner malts, Belgian candi sugar, French Strisslespalt hops, and house Belgian yeast." *Reverse Osmosis
On the can:

Now to update my review.

 

Hoping to compare notes with many thread participants this weekend, but I, too, have this comparison in mind. The "not" Fin du Monde I saw listed as a Belgian pale, but the I feel the comparison will still be worthwhile.

 

This one is classified as a Triple here on BA (and on that other website about Tapps or something like that).





4.04/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

2020 Vintage

A - Pours a dark golden orange color with thin white lacing and low carbonation. Dark for the style but it is what it is.

S - Some sweet caramel malt, Belgian candy sugar, and some fruitiness.

T - The ABV is not shy by any means and is up front from start to finish. The malt base is light with some sweetness along with Belgian candy sugar, some candied fruitiness and candied pear. Ends on the sweeter, boozier side with low to minimal bitterness.

M - Big body and overly thick for a Tripel, more like syrupy. Warming in the back of the throat and finishes wet.

O - This is a style bender for sure. Leave it to the Americans to brew a Tripel on 'roids.

 

First time I’ve had this beer thanks to this tasting.

St Bernardus - Tripel



A darker dirty straw color, very cloud, big puffy white head with lively carbonation.

A surprising bright and lemon citrus like smell, there is spice hiding behind it and just the slightest bubble gum like banana smell.

The taste surprise too as the notes hiding in the aroma show themselves much more in taste. There is also a graininess to this beer.

Super lively carbonation on the tongue, a semi drying citrus feel on the tongue and a minor grainy like bitterness.

A nice and somehow, at 8%, a very refreshing beer.

 

Ok, so I had a couple beverages earlier, but reading these posts had me hankerin' for a Tripel. Specifically, the less-than-stellar impressions from @mvogt of this beer, that I think I rated quite well (will check after*) had me curious. I have three more, so can adjust my thoughts about Allagash Tripel later this tasting weekend.


First off, I am using proper glassware

Kidding aside, I had a decent head, and a sea foam froth lay atop my beer before I took a sip (I do think the glass has nucleation points). On the nose, I am getting a sugary sweetness I expect as well as some of the banana others have mentioned. There's a bit of a yeasty... not funk, but something old - maybe something like the endearing memory of a grandparent's basement.

There's also a bit of pear and, with a good whiff, a bit of alcohol. Diving in for a taste, there's a mix of sweetness and that old house clay-like earthiness spiced up with some spent incense. The more bitter earth tones envelope my palate while the spice breaks through from the edges, penetrating a bit but leaving the middle of my tongue untouched.

Dryness spreads out from there, though the edges seem somewhat numb to its advance after dealing with the spice bite. As sips build up, I do think the bite takes on a bit of an alcohol vibe, with a bit of a metallic tinge.

In total, the beer is drier and more bitter than I recall the Tripel Karmeliet being about a month ago. I do think I would enjoy a little less bite, whatever its root. Given its likely base, I can totally see where...

Nope, wait, that's for later this weekend.

(*note: I had this beer rated at over 4, which is pretty decent)

 

First time trying this beer. I took me years to come around to this style, but I have been enjoying it much more over the last couple of years.

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a Boulevard Smokestack Stemmed Tulip.

The beer pours a clear golden yellow with about three fingers worth of fluffy white head that recedes slowly leaving behind bits of spotty lacing

The nose is grainy and yeasty with notes of lemon zest, banana, a slight bit of spice and just a hint of floral hops

Similar to the aroma the flavor is biscuity and zesty with notes of banana and yeast. There are also hints of spiciness and light fruits. Medium bodied and well carbonated with a sticky finish

Overall this is really quite a nice beer, deceptively easy to drink for the 8.4% abv.

 

I can totally get cloves, now - a note in aroma and taste my mind often neglects to consider as an option. As I stated, I personally get a little alcohol with a strong inhale. Another point of agreement is that this beer seems very dry.

 

My tastes skew heavy to Belgian beers (with the exception of Belgian IPAs which I really dislike). I just happened to have a Canadian Tripel lined up for this Friday and then noticed this thread. Rather than repeat details, I will point to my review here. I usually have La Fin Du Monde in my wine fridge, so I was intrigued by this when I was stocking up earlier in the week.

In summary, this was the strangest tripel I have ever tasted. Much closer to a winter warmer.

 

My second beer for the tasting:

St. Bernardus Tripel - Tripel #7 - BOF #113
ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 30

Dated 05-03-23 (assume European practice, 05 March 2023), leading to an assumed bottling date of 05 March 2021. Maybe 05 March 2020.

Murky golden orange, heavily carbonated. Tall white head from a VERY gentle pour with ridiculous retention (I took 5 photos, over a couple minute span, as as I examine the photos, the bottom of the head has not moved up one whit). The head forms a volcanic cone top as it does start to visibly recede after another several minutes. Heavy stringy lacing are left behind as I take a sip.

The aroma is dominated by fruity smells, a mixture of ripe (or even a bit overripe) apricots and bananas. Wafts of peppery cloves.

The taste is, as predicted by the aroma, fruity and spicy. Underlying is a base of cracker. There is a bit of an earthy funk. No alcohol presence at all in either the flavor or any feel. Fruit flavors are a mix of the apricot and banana detected in the aroma along with peach, pepper and clove. Very dry, but still smooth with no bitterness.

As indicated above, the feel is smooth, but with sparkling carbonation. Moderate to heavy body.

Back to the look, I'm half-way through at this point, so a good 30-45 minutes in as I linger a bit, and what remains of the head is a tall, thick island surrounded by a foamy cap with continuous lacing down the back side of the glass.

Overall, a tripel deserving of it's BA ranking. By the end of this tasting, I will have tasted the #2, #3, #4, #7, #16 tripels, so I'll have my own ranking. But, as of now, this beer, at #7 on BA, may be underrated to my palate. I've upped my rating from 3 years ago about a tenth of a point to a 4.43 ~+4.5% rDev (but I didn't record the date stamp on the bottle for the 2019 review, so...)

Even the empty glass looks great with the gobs of nice looking lacing.

L: 4.75 | S: 4.25 | T: 4.5 | F: 4.25 | O: 4.5 | Rating: 4.43

 

FINE I'll buy a real glass tomorrow.

Thanks for the detailed notes! I'm looking forward to seeing what the Allagash has in common with the other Tripels in my fridge.

 

Ha! I was right. I had the wrong beer. I quoted my review of the base Orenda Vol. 3 NOT the Apple Brandy barrel version. Ooops.
Here is the correct original review from just after the 2019 release.
"Now available in cans. 16oz can dated 11/01/19.
Back to back FOBAB winner.
Poured into a tulip glass, the apple brandy barrel aromas jump out. Very inviting. A cloudy orange tinged gold body briefly floats a 1/4in cap of tight bubbles and leaves a clean glass behind.
Apple aroma is prominent with a mix of barrel, earth, vinegar, and Belgian yeast esters.
The only additional note in the flavor is booze, a brandy/woody note, not astringent. And in that vein, the 11% abv is well integrated with the barrel, barely noticable other than slight warmth.
Mouthfeel is soft, light and bubbly, while simultaneously syrupy, with a dry and warming finish.
Overall, a pleasure to "explore the oddities of brewing"."
Very close to today's 2020 release.
Now back to regular programming.

Thanks to @FBarber for hosting.

 

Thanks for hosting @FBarber ! Belgian styles were my gateway to better beer many years ago, but I rarely revisit those styles today. Starting with Unibroue Don De Dieu, which I guess is really some hybrid of a tripel and a wheat ale - but it’s classified on BA as a tripel so that’s good enough for me.

Nose is sweet and estery. Flavor is apple & melon with some herbal & earthy components. Hints of spicy hops. Finish is yeast driven. Mouthfeel soft but full. Overall pretty damn tasty. Cheers!

 

Lovely floofy head, moderate lacing.

Assertive estery smell, I guess more apple than banana?

Light and dry with cheerful fine carbonation. Kind of champagne-y even. Slow sipping reveals the flavors. Notes of honey and papaya with a little passion fruit up front and a light cracker after that. Moderate aftertaste of green grapes and herbs.

Bright and fizzy feel, not syrupy or sugary. Refreshing, not dominated by alcohol.

Overall interesting and harmonious. I would drink this with friends to celebrate a birthday, or maybe just a Friday.

Edit: reminds me a lot of champagne. Except I like it much better!