Bornem Triple

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Abbey Tripel
Ertvelde, Belgium

11.2 oz bottle. Pours a dirty gold with thick white head that dissipates quickly. High carbonation does not take away from the sweetness. Quite sweet and spicy and I can taste those bananas. Taste gives way to a nice warm finish. Toward the end of the bottle however I’m starting to notice the sourness.

Bottle: Real sweet and spicey aroma. Pours a hazy light gold with a huge white head with great retention. Very sweet up front. Some banana and apple in there. Still sweet with a little tart and spice in the finish. Some light hops and light alcohol in the finish.

Pours hazy golden in color. Strong orange peel slightly sour aroma. Some kind of fruity nut taste I can’t pinpoint with a sour finish. Almost skunky. Liked the double much better.

Bottle. Slightly hazy yellow, some nice looking head. Sour fruity aroma, which goes well into the flavor. A passable triple.

Cloudy amber, nearly opaque, floaties. Sparse sudsy head and little apparent carbonation. No lacing. Fascinating menagerie of aromas: lime leaf, caramel, black pepper, barnyard, pina colada, allspice and ginger. Tropical fruit flavors- pineapple/honeydew/plantain/coconut- lightly sweet, spicy, and yeasty. Almost syrupy viscosity. After swallowing, the flavor evolves into toasted nut and caramel, and then a more intense butterscotch and candy corn. Long caramel aftertaste, sticky sweet and a little tingly. Less sugar and more bitterness would be a vast improvement. Hoppy dry finish, my ass.

33cl cool. Pale gold, large bubble carbonation, coarse head. Big aroma pineapple, dry coconut, pear, fresh cider. Taste citrus, spruce, pear, pie spices, apple, controlled acute hop dryness towards end. Banana estery smoothness counters hard-cider alcohol feel. Very aromatic Tripel but not sweet, with flowery hops. Has med-dense body, dry hop palate/tongue. Cool It finishes off a bit like a good pilsenser but with lingering pear. Warming up it goes a bit funky, with odd grainy off-notes in the flavor, and harsher alcohol bite. Doesn’t end well at room temp. I think it lacks the completeness and integration of other tripels but I guess it’s unique and in many ways good fior the price. (6 pack at LCBO.)

Pours fairly clear golden, soapy head. Aroma is very fruity, alcohol, metallic. Flavour is malty, sour, rotten fruit. Really not very nice, and not worth further review.

330ml brown bottle. Yeasty, spicey aroma. Poured cloudy gold. Giant whipped cream head. Yeasty notes continue in flavour, bit of spiciness, wheathy notes, some orange/lemon, and malt. Quick finish, dryish.