Commercial Description: Ath, Belgium, the City of Giants, is famous for its annual Parade of Giants. Every year, Goliath – whose name is pronounced ‘Gouyasse’ in the local dialect – leads the parade. The Brasserie des Géants (Giants’ Brewery), in Ath, didn’t think long before naming its first brew ‘Gouyasse.’ Gouyasse is a golden Belgian ale, and a nice one, at 6% alcohol by volume.
Only trouble is, the Gouyasse, at a respectable but not intimidating 6% abv, was not ferocious enough to carry the name of the mythical giant, especially here in the U.S., where we like our beers big – the bigger the better. And so it was that we proposed to the brewery a stronger beer, with the name Goliath. They came back with Goliath Tripel, which they have also packaged for sale in Belgium. It’s become their biggest seller there in very short time.
Goliath is 9% alcohol by volume, a little more red in the face than your average tripel (almost an amber, really), nicely balanced with a bracing hop note versus a solid malt wallop. Goliath is the only Tripel in Belgium that is all-malt – without any sugar or other additives in. (Everyone else uses some sugar to ‘thin out’ their Tripels, which gives them alcohol, without the body that you normally get from malt.) That means Goliath starts out a bit sweeter than some, but over time, as the live yeast in the bottle do their work, it gets drier and more punchy. The first batch, after about half a year in the bottle, is about where we want it, but it will probably become a greater beer as time goes by. We recommend that you check in on Goliath every once in a while.
Tap at PIB. Hazy yellow pour with a small bisque head. Hefty yeast aroma, light citrus and some booze. Flavor is yeast, citrus fruit, some pepper. Very tasty tripel, would drink again.
Tap at Capone’s. Poured a dark, hazy yellow with a nice portion of slightly off-white head. Nose is light Belgian yeast, light hops, and light malt. The aroma was very modest on the brew. Taste was Belgian yeast, light pepper, hops, and a sweet/tart citrus. Finish was a nice wet mixture of sweetness and bitter. A pretty odd Triple which leaves great lacing and hides the high ABV nicely. That, along with its light body, make for a beer that one could drink a little too much, just a little too fast ... always makes for a good time though!
Bottle. Amber beer with a nice off-white head. Musty malt aroma with yeast and a bit of breadiness. Bready/yeasty flavor with spice. Medium-plus bodied. Spice, yeast, and breadiness lingers. Finishes dry. I can see people going either way on this - I’d like a bit more esters/fruitiness, but that’s just me.
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