Brakspear Triple

Brewed by Wychwood (Refresh UK - Marstons plc)
Style: English Strong Ale
Witney, England

Bottle condtioned, 500 ml. Bottle No. 001880. Trade with maeib. Pours with a large, thick and lasting beige head. Beautiful copper colour, transparent, no sediment in bottle. Delightful sweet aroma - Christmas spices, caramel, brown sugar, oak, fruits (sultanas, plums), sherry. Flavour is malty and spicy with some brown sugar notes, but not too sweet. A substantial hoppy bitterness from start to finish. I can’t believe the first two raters didn’t think more highly of this one! My warmest thanks to maeib for picking it out for me!

Bottle from Waitrose, for the record No. 095927. Not many British beers are better than this. Dark brown red with a fair head. There is so much to enjoy here:alcohol, malt, fruit, hops, sweet treacly dark fruit and Christmas cake. Sheer pleasure.

Bottle conditioned. Bottle number 355455Copper coloured with a slim beige head. Visibly quite highly carbonated. Aroma of caramel, malt, fruit, sherry, brown sugar, honey, raisins. Flavours are malty, spicey, hops, honey, treacle and dark fruits. Alcohol only just detectable. Full bodied, but a little too lively. I will age the other bottles. Excellent.

lovely off white head on ruby, nose of thick caramelised malt and cascade, full bodied and zesty flavours, with a prononced cascade crisp finish, a great beer well worth seeking out.

Bottled BBE 18-12-06. Stunning, a dark amber colour with the most wonderful rich honey, treacly taste it’s fantastically complex as you get hints of other taste sensations with each mouthful, dark fruits, bonfire toffee its all there. I’ve had this before and whilst I enjoyed it can’t believe it was as good as this, just been back to Saisbury’s to get some more today, I’ve not rated a bottled beer as highly as this! Superb

bgreat well round butter taste - you barely even notive it was 7.2%. Greaqt aurburn looker, like the ber from the old days! Fatr beer. Nice smooth finish no nasty arefacts

Oct, 2005 Bottle Conditioned. The Triple name suggests a Belgian Tripel, but this is very much in the tradition of English strong ales. Malty with that fascinating balance of sweetness and bitterness which the best English strong ales and premium bitters manage so well - and it is in that balance that this beer departs from it’s Belgium relatives. The rounded, clean and nutty Brakspear (& Wychwood) malt is not to my taste - I like a fruitier, rougher, more involved edge to my beers, especially when the strength climbs this high and the beer is asking to be considered rather than simply consumed. The cascade hops add an interesting if slightly odd pine resin note in the finish. This beer is clearly drinkable fresh, and with a best before date of only 9 months and so little yeast in the bottle this is a beer that doesn’t suggest it will improve if kept. [3.4]
May, 2006 Blind tasting: Leather and deep hop malt. Very pleasant. Sweet malt - hop infused. A solid British beer of character. A hop soaked, orange tinged toffee. Bottle Conditioned. 6%? [3.6]
This beer doesn’t have a reputation so when I first rated it I was doing so "blind" anyway, which is probably why my impression was fairly much the same on both occasions. Drinking it after the tasting I am enjoying it much more than the other British filtered and pasteurised bottled beers. This does taste fresh. There’s no stale notes, and no candied pasteurisation. A fine beer indeed. [3.8]
Nov, 2007 Compared blind with Chimay Blue this comes out well on top. This is a splendid ale packed with subtle toffee flavours, various sweets, palma violets, glue, plastic, and all things wonderful. A spanking good ale. [4.1]
Dec, 2009 Ooooo, this is a very pleasant slow drinking beer. Lovely flavours, wonderfully balanced. Enjoyment no end. Each time I drink it I appreciate it more (or the ingredients are improved - which seems to be happening to a number of British beers). A modern classic. Enjoy it. Appreciate it. [4.2]

Dark colour over a nice head. Beautiful balance of alcohol, hops and bitterness. Sublime balance. Sultanas and floor of the forest predominate. Great beer.