Kasteelbier Tripel Blonde 11%

330ml bottle, bb. May 2009, from Systembolaget in Kiruna. Shared with Finn during the great Halloween drinking session at Elsas house in Skibotn – perfect rating conditions. This one poured a hazy, orange coloured body supplied by a fading, white head. Modest aroma of dried fruits. Blended flavour of sweet ripe fruits, including banana and apples. Dry yeasty notes on the swallow. Masked alcohol, but quite heavy to drink, 31.10.2009.

Bottle. Moderate malt notes of light bread and grain, lemon for the hops, leather for the yeast, and a big hit of white wine up front. Head is average size, fizzy, white with no lacing and is fully diminishing. Color is slightly hazy pale amber/orange. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic, then finishes moderately acidic and lightly bitter. Palate is medium, oily with a lively carbonation and finishes a touch dry. A bright and refreshing Abbey Tripel with no bad attributes.

Flaske 0,33l fra bestillingsutvalget til Systembolaget. Delt med Rune på Elsas Skibotn 31 Okt 09. Flaske 5 mnd over BB dato. Gylden på farge. Høyt kremaktig skum som la seg etter noen minutter. Uklar. Forsiktig fruktig og svakt krydret aroma. Fyldig smak. Litt citrus & frukt. Du aner alkoholen. Litt ”tungt” helhetsinntrykk – noe som kanskje er meningen. KI=7

12 oz bottle. Pours a hazy gold body with a frothy tight bubbled white head that had excellent retention. The nose is quite odd, it’s a little vegetal with some tropical fruits and lighter notes of marshmallow and yeast. Nothing like I expected. The flavor is seemingly a little odd as well, the malt is dull with some earthy yeast and marshmallow on the finish. A little too sweet for me with not much yeast derived flavors. Too old maybe? Mouthfeel is soft and lightly carbonated up front, but it gets a bit doughy and sticky on the finish. Overall, very much not what I was expecting, I will have to try this one again down the line sometime.

33cl bottle from trappisten.dk clear orange, smooth white head. very mild aroma, mild floral. 11% alc totaly hidden in aroma, faint aroma of pineapple. flavor is mild fruity, dry sort of ike dry champagne, but more round. yellow fruity spicy. boozy- but in a nice way. A very nice boozed up delicate blonde.

33cl brown bottle, as shown. Pale yellow colour, minimal white head, little lacing. Aroma of sweet-and-sour apples, possibly "Jonagold", and some malt. Medium mouth feel, creamy texture. Initially sweet, fruity taste of sweet apples, with a strong alcoholic note (well, it’s 11 % abv) - soon to be replaced with a strong, persistent bitterness and dry, bitter aftertaste. Well-balanced tripel - which, in itself, is quite an achievement.

Bottle. Hazy, yellow color. Small white head. The beer had a rather nice acidity. Hops, citrus, yeast. The beer felt smooth to drink, despite the high alcohol content. Tasty.

Hazy golden body with a small white head. Spot lacing. Yeasty smell with lemon and pepper notes. Taste was the same but also had a touch of peaches. Good hop and yeast flavor on the palate. Enjoyable.