Elysian Bête Blanche Belgian Triple

Brewed by Elysian Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Seattle, Washington USA

Draft at RNH. Pours a murky amber body with an off white head. Candy notes and then lemon grass and citrus, plenty of wheat character. It works but nothing special.

Rattle’n’Hum: This was the best of the Elysian samplings in my view. Darker than expected for the style. Aroma reveals citrus and caramel/ dark cooked sugars. Tase, definition of balanced. Bitter hops are present first but are quickly offset by the fruits. Some alcohol lingering but nicely washed by the carbonation.

Soft clove bubblegum nose. Flavors are soft Belgian spice, coriander, clove, and a little alcohol. Nice standard Belgian, well balanced 3.65

Picked up a single 22-oz bomber from Malt & Vine via internet sales. Pours a hazy golden pale colored brew with a thick and lumpy white head that has excellent retention and sticky lacing throughout. Aroma of golden grain malt, candi sugar, some yeast, cloves, a touch of white pepper, and some banana esters. Taste is medium to full bodied, some carbonation with flavors of candi sugar, some cotton candy, golden grain malt, some banana esters and yeast. Finish is slightly yeasty, with some honey and candi sugar aftertaste. Overall it’s a nice sweet tripel.

Bottle from The Beer Authority, poured a murkey orange color with large fizzy head. Nice yet faint aroma which could be due to the lack of proper glassware. Flavor was sour with orange peel, a nice break from overly sweet tripels. At 6.9% I thought it was a bit light for a tripel but will be great when the sun comes out in Seattle.

cloudy grapefruit with a generous white head. Smell is fresh, mouthfeel is above average, but taste is not really there. Some sweetness and even astringency. Its drinkable, its a decent try, but its not up to a real tripel.

This unassuming tripel packs quite a punch - a lot of flavor per sip, but maybe a little cloying for the style. I tend to like sweeter, more refined tripels. They should be like clouds, passing along the tongue, depositing their fruity and savory flavors and then disappearing in a soft breeze. But the Bete Blanche is a little more gruff, even threatening. The Bete Blanche Belgian Style Tripel pours a blonde-orange, darker than I expected, with a shallow white head. The aroma is redolent with honey and grain, housed in an alcohol chassis, and decorated with pear, pineapple, mango and even a touch banana. I’m enamored with with the aroma, but find that there’s a great deal of muscle behind this genteel mask. Syrupy, sweet, cloying, packing a lot of honey heat and wheat. Two-dimensional, and maybe a little too intense, I find myself returning to the aroma energetically but taking sips robotically, even apathetically.

Frothy head with a very present cider aroma, german hefe with some doughy and belgian wit spices; i love the strength. clear cider color with lots of carbonation. body feels heavier than expected. taste is very spiced with bitterness.