Tripel Tasting Thread (March 25-27, 2022)

Golden Monkey has been tasted a few times, but I haven't seen Tripel Horse yet.
These are the two tripels sold in supermarkets and convenience stores around here and I haven't had either one in years, so let the Horse and the Monkey battle it out

Golden Monkey has no visible sediment in the bottle while Tripel Horse has a thin, but noticeable layer.
With a light pour you can see that right off the Horse is a darker, richer looking beer than the Monkey. Monkey's head is short and short lived while Horse's is slightly higher and quickly dissolves into a large island and ring.

Neither one has a strong aroma. Monkey's is light banana with a hint of orange and a whiff of chemical. Horse has a mild banana with a whiff of clove

Monkey tastes of banana, clove, candied orange peel, pear juice, with a peppery hit at the end.
Horse has a stronger malt base. The banana and clove are there, but subdued. Almost hidden in the background are a hint of bubble gum and a warming spice I can't quite identify (bottle says it's crushed coriander)

Monkey shows almost no carbonation in the glass, but has a fizzy mouthful with a dry peppery, slightly bitter finish
Horse has a small, but steady, stream of bubbles and also has a fizzy mouth with almost the same dry, peppery, pithy finish but feels fuller and a little richer.

Both are fine beers and both hide their alcohol well (9.5 for Monkey, 10% for Horse), both live up to the label description, and both are about $10/6 pack.


The nudge goes to Tripel Horse, a 3.75 vs 4.0. This is a richer full bodied tripel that, in my opinion, is closer to the imports in flavor and feel

Now please excuse me while i wait out 24oz of 9.75% tripel

 

Very telling, my friend, very telling.

Hydration time!

 

Uhm, oops, yeah I'll need to edit that and have some iced tea

 

OK, yesterday I stated I would write down my predictions for the differences you would perceive in the older Tripel and here you go:

• Decreased levels of esters (fruity flavors)
• Decreased levels of phenols (spicy flavors)?
• A thinner mouthfeel in comparison

In my opinion I came pretty close here. You commented "more of a bland taste profile" which is consistent with the first two bullets above. Based upon my homebrewing of other Trappist/Abbey style beers I have consistently noticed that esters decrease with bottle aging. I was not quite so confident about the phenols so I 'hedged my bets' with a ? mark. You mentioned "Clove and banana predominant, but weakened by the ravages of Father Time" so I think it is fair to say that phenols also decrease with time in the bottle. You also mentioned "Far less creamy" which I will claim is consistent with my prediction of "thinner mouthfeel in comparison". Over time proteins (and polyphenols) will precipitate out of solution and this will impact the mouthfeel (creaminess).

If a beer consumer is seeking a more 'vibrant' drinking experience then I tend to agree that fresher is 'better' here.

Cheers!

 

I commented similarly yesterday when discussing Golden Monkey:

"In the background there is a very slight hint of Ethyl Acetate which is on the border between being pear-like vs. solvent-like."

How people will perceive Ethyl Acetate will be a function of the amount in the beer and needless to say individual palate.

For my palate it was at a level, in context with the other flavors, to be borderline fruity vs. "chemical".

Cheers!

 

#4 for me in the tasting is, as I described it above, La Fin Du Monde's wheaty brother. This one is new-to-me.

I didn't include this beer in my "group photo" in the planning thread because I wasn't sure I was going to include it in my tasting lineup. However, since it has been reviewed already in this thread, I decided it would be interesting (to me, at least), to compare notes!

As I make this post, I've nearly finished the beer, and I think I've pushed these two too close together, given the ABV, so, like @officerbill, I expect I'll be taking a bit of a hydration / liver break.

Unibroue Don de Dieu - Tripel #10
ABV: 9.0%
IBU: 10.5

BB: 10-14-24 (or about 6 months fresher than the LFdM I had a bit ago - I neglected to include that with the post.)

As with the La Fin Du Monde, a loud sound when TWISTING OFF the cap! Unlike the LFdM, foam begins oozing out of the top of the bottle. Not a gusher, just a slow ooze.

Quite pale yellow-gold, hazy, and nicely carbonated. Foamy and fizzy head that, despite the active carbonation, never reaches more than ¾ inch or so due to it being so fizzy and receding fairly quickly. It leaves no lacing as it recedes, but some as I take a drink. But this meager lacing slides quickly down. (The empty glass has no lacing at all.)

The aroma is not strong. Initially, bready. If I tease it for a few minutes, some indistinct banana-esque fruit and spice.

The flavor is better than the weak aroma promised. Banana, clove-like spice, hints of apple, a bit of a tanginess. No bittering at all. Some hints of floral. The middle is smooth, with the tanginess keeping it from becoming too sweet. The finish and aftertaste, though, bring the sweetness up a bit for a generally sweet finish. The aftertaste remains sweet, tempered a little by the tanginess.

The mouth feel is moderate-to-thin and smooth.

Overall, this beer is merely OK to my taste. Nothing really stands out at the "outstanding" level, barely hitting "very good" in some aspects, so the overall is enjoyable but fairly mediocre. Perhaps my rating of this beer is biased low by comparison with those great beers than preceded it in my tasting lineup, but even allowing for that, I am disappointed.

PS: As I reach the final 3rd of the glass, I'm upping my taste and feel a notch. As the beer warms to room temp (NB: I did start out at cellar temp, not 'fridge temp, so... ), it does develop a bit more complexity and a more inviting feel. The Overall aspect remains at mediocre.

If this is the #10 tripel in the world (as ranked on this site), it must be riding on the reputation of the brewer. Just sayin'.

L: 3.75 | S: 3.5 | T: 3.75 | F: 3.75 | O: 3.5 | Rating: 3.64

 

All absolute statements are false!

 

How about the Barleywine beer style? Do you consistently prefer those beers to be fresh vs. aged?

Cheers!

 

Trappistes Rochefort Triple Extra
330 ml bottle, best by date 8/31/2023.
This had a spectacular fluffy white head. The best by date indicates better freshness than most Belgian ales on local shelves.
Subtle citrus and pear aromas. Tasting reveals grape, orange, herbal, bread yeast, light clove. No banana that I can perceive.
I found the flavors vivid, and the beer well balanced. No alcohol heat, dry drinkable finish.
I enjoyed this very much. Only the $6 price prevents me from buying it more often.

 

Into the fray I jump. New Belgium Trippel.
Best by 1-22-23.

A first ever style review for me -- and the tasting. Grabbed the easiest to be had -- hopefully not a regret. Poured into my Libbey Tulip (a rarely used vessel).



A -- Clear, effervescent, light gold with a dense white head that leaves good "Belgian" Lacing (go figure). 3.75

S -- Soft citrus fruit, clove, light banana and DMS, mellow sweet malts. 4.0

T -- Peppery alcohol and herbs up front, folding into sweet malt and cloves. Finish is a balance of light citrus, bitter, herbal hops and peppery alcohol -- somewhat harsh phenols with warmth. 3.5

M -- Mouthfeel is soft to crisp and sudsy with a light-medium body -- closing in on medium. 3.25

O -- Pretty tasty and different from most beers I drink. Comparing NB to any style guidelines, I think it may be a little too rough for expectations. Just not smooth on the palate, but not at all undrinkable... a sip at a time, that is. 3.75

 

I am not the type who thinks that Belgian beers that typically have wonderfully big heads are an indication that such styles NEED to have high carbonation… but to see that beer next to a 750ml bottle is just sad (and even more so considering the pours I often see in your pics). Seems like they were playing dress up.

 

Not sure why, but I thought this was starting today!
Anyway, first for me is the New Belgium Trippel which was a bit past its best by date but still tasty, if a little clove heavy.
The first sips came across as malts and pepper and biscuits, but by the 3rd or 4th sip the cloves pulled out in front and stayed there.
Good still, but probably better fresh, or at least stored properly. I picked this up for this weekend (and 4 others) over the last couple weeks. Didn’t look at the dates like I have been with IPAs.
Cheers!

 

I've seen nothing but new distribution around here, how did you get year-old stock? Distro trying to unload old inventory, or were you buying singles that have been on the shelf too long?

Yeah, nevermind this is supposed to be a style that ages well, still...

 

You may want to repeat this sort of an exercise with a non-hoppy Barleywine such as an English Barleywine. I am of the opinion that what sometimes gets lost in these sorts of discussions is that while some flavors of a fresh beer diminish with age (e.g., the hops aspect for the case of Bigfoot) there are 'new' flavors which develop with aging, for example flavors of sherry in the case of aging an English Barleywine. It will be subjective for each beer drinker as to whether the 'new' flavors that develop are more beneficial vs. the fresh flavors which will diminish with aging.

Cheers!