Defiant Tripel

Brewed by Defiant Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Pearl River, New York USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

One of the best american triples I´ve had, if not the best! Perfectly balanced, perfect sweetness, perfect carbonation. Much more genuine than the most american triples, subtle citrus and a pleasant finish. Thanks to Neill brewing this and ruffian serving this

UPDATED: JAN 2, 2008 Re-rate: based upon shared 750 at the brewery. Hazy golden in color with a huge frothy off white head. Aroma: Musty and lightly bready belgian yeast with alot of spice (coriander) and citrus and light pear esters. Taste: dry as a bone with alot of yeast, pear and citrus, lightly grainy pils malt and a light honey sweetness....very light metallic notes. Finishes very dry with yeast, fruit and spices. Awesome Tripel.

Bottle for my birthday. Nice golden color. The flavor is rich and smooth, although if you hold it in your mouth, it will stab at your tastebuds in a really interesting way. Finishes clean. Superb beer.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy gold with a thick white head. Aroma of sweet fruits (particularly apple), sweet tarts, bubblegum, and lots of spices (clove and pepper). Flavor of sweet malt, some corn notes (tortilla chips?), and a sweet fruity and spicy finish (chiles?). Interesting for sure and super tasty. I really like this one! Solid triple, great beer. I really need to get more of this... 8/4/9/5/17 (4.3/5)

750ml of the new batch - pours a very hazy gold, with a fizzy body, and a large head of enormous bubbles - a nice mixture of candi sugar sweetness and fruits (pineapple, mango) in the nose, but deeper whiffs reveal notes of hay, spices, light earthy funkiness and musky character - full carbonation in the mouth - the flavor is quite sweet at first, with a lot of fruity notes of banana, pineapple, apricot - remains sweet through the middle, with some yeasty and bready notes - on the back end, the beer dries out considerably, and some crisp, grassy notes and dry spices and herbs settle in - the finish has a very mild earthiness, and even a slight funk to it - these qualities work well with a crusty, crackery character that also develops at the end - I would like this to dry out even more, but it’s still great - I’m surprised how much I love this beer - if only this brewery did have so much batch variation and bottling issues - I would buy a whole case otherwise.

Appearance: Pours down a clear, lightly-hued gold body with a tall, looming, white head. Smell: Aroma of pils malt, perhaps a smidgen of wheat, with sweetish honey tones and an ambiguous tanginess. Pinch of spices. Sliced orchard fruits spritzed with alcohol. Even a couple pieces of individually-wrapped bubblegum. Taste: A golden sweetness of emboldened pale barley and pilsner malts slathered in clover honey. A brief flirtation with some floral aspects, then, it’s cut down by a spicy pairing of coriander and pepper. Fruity flavors of pear and McIntosh apples. Even some noted bubblegum carrying over from the nose. Minor bitterness. Sparse creaminess to the drying mouthfeel. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. Mouthfeel has a faint stickiness to it. Drinkability: A pleasant surprise. I mean, have you heard of Defiant Brewing? No, neither had I. But yet here I am enjoying a solid Belgian-style tripel from them. Delightful!

Thanks to Dickinsonbeer for this one, hand bottled. Hazy deep golden pour with 1-finger white head. Aroma of grainy pale malt, candi sugar, apricot, funky yeast, spice, and orange marmalade. Tastes pale malty and candi sugary, with hints of apricot, floral dryness, funky yeast, spices. The palate is medium heft, very carbonated, and it gets even more citrusy and apricotty as it warms, with the candi sugar coming out more as well as the florals. Very unique, as it tasted different with every sip.

In short: A refreshing and tart Triple. Excellent.
How: Bottle. Sample at Mondial de la Bière 2008
The look: Cloudy banana-yellow body topped by a small white head
In long: Lemony nose. Full and fluffy body. Honey cookies, lemon juice and apricots, lots of dry grassy hops, light tickling spicy feeling. Rather tart, a lot more than usual for the style. This is like a big fluffy and tart pilsner on steroids. More refreshing and highly drinkable than a 9% Belgian Ale ought to be. I have been disappointed by some of Defiant offerings but this one was Wow! Now you’re talking!!! And unless you’re a married man you can continue doing so.