Elysian Bête Blanche Belgian Tripel (2000 - 2010)

Formerly brewed at Elysian Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

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01.15.05 Bomber @ Heavyweight open house. Orange-hazed-golden pour with fair white head. Light and fruity tripel that is recognizably west coast with plenty of orangey citrus and a mild hit of coriander. Angel food. Somewhat tart, grapey (a recent trend?). Thanks Mike.

Bomber. pours hazy gold with thick persistent head. Aroma of coriander, banana, orange, cloves. Taste of coriander, cloves, orange. Full body, a bit creamy with a lingering spice finish

A: Hazy golden-straw. Good head, retention and lacing. S: Yeasty citric character. Lemon, grapefruit. Some light spice. T: Solid, but not terribly noteworthy. Yeasty. Light citric fruits over a slight biscuity malt body. M: Moderate body. Bubbly. Clean finish. O: Solid american tripel. Doesn’t quite have that true belgian taste that only a few american breweries can match.

Bete Blanche Belgian Style Tripel 2001 22 oz. Bottle. 8.00% ABV. (3.5 / 5.0) Big white head. Hazy thin golden color with orange shade. Belgian yeast front. Thick pellicle clouds color and mellows flavor. Creamy rich sweet dry malt fruitiness. Slightly hot spicy alcohol end. Sampled 7/28/2001. 2004 22 oz. Bottle. 6.90% ABV--31 IBU’s. (4.0 / 5.0) Big pellicle. Mild foamy head. Clear light bright golden color hazes lemon gold. Floral fruity ester mild hop front. Sediment mellows rich spicy Belgian wheat body. Hot spicy mild hop end. Too Much. Tasty. Sampled 8/21/2004. 2005 22 oz. Bottle 6.90% ABV--15 IBU’s.? (3.5 / 5.0) Foamy lacy head. Cloudy bright lemon orange color. Rich coriander spice mild banana hop front. Thin spicy dry sweet tart rich caramel candy ester body. Big Belgian spice end. Totally Unbalanced! Sampled 7/25/2005. 2006 22 oz. Bottle. 6.90% ABV--31 IBU’s. (4.5 / 5.0) Huge foamy lacy head. Cloudy bright gold color hazes dense lemon white with big brown sediment. Mellow Belgian clove banana hop front. Creamy malty mild sweet Belgian fruit ester wheat body. Clean NW end. Sampled 4/16/2006. 2007 22 oz. Bottle. 6.90% ABV--31 IBU’s. (4.0 /5.0) Thin foamy mild lace head. Clear bright gold color hazes bright orange. Big floral Belgian coriander fruit ester front. Thin crisp dry sweet tart Belgian ester body. Tart crisp citrus hot spice end. Sampled 6/14/2007.

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.