Kasteelbier Tripel Blonde 11%

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck
Style: Abbey Tripel
Ingelmunster, Belgium

Hazy blonde with a thick cremay white head. Light sweet malt with herbal spices, like thyme, and catnip. In mouth, a sweet dry malt with orange peels, and a warm alcohol finsih. Some metallic notes. A delicious beer. Bottle from Bieropholie private imports.

330 ml bottle. Very rich beer full of spicy fruit flavor. Hides the alchohol very well which isn’t an easy task at 11%.

Tasted at SIB. Beautiful golden with huge head. Spicy kind of fruity aroma. Tasty; similar to the aroma. Lovely.

Bottle. Clear yellow coloured with a medium sized white head. Aroma of fruits with note of spices and light acidic notes. Fruity flavour with notes of spices and alcohol. You fell the alcohol.

Bottle in Brugge. Hazy, pale gold with a thin head. Fruit and alcohol in the nose. Quite yeasty. Thick mouthfeel, sweet and fiery. This is a sipper.

Cork Date January 2004, Sampled July 2006
Pours with a brilliantly clear, full gold color when held up to the light, it shows a full reddish copper color as it sits on my desk in the dim light. It is topped by a frothy, two-finger thick, pale, off-white colored head. The aroma is quite nice; a mix of sweet grain, a grassiness, a touch of earthy spice, some hints of bergamot, and even a touch of moist wood character. As I explore the aroma a bit some notes of phenolic clove, perhaps a touch of higher alcohols and some toasted grain notes start to come out.

The beer has a clean grain sweetness to it up front, but quickly picks up lots of other notes which keep the whole of this beer a dry experience. A phenolic astringency seems to initially dominate the finish as does a touch of hot alcohol. The combination almost seems to give a sensation of menthol, quite interesting. A touch of lemon peel, some clove-like notes, a touch of grassiness and some definite herbal notes round out the spice character of this beer.

This beer is quite drinkable, and pretty complex as well, but it is perhaps a touch to phenolic and sharp in the finish to be great; it does not seem to hide its alcohol content very well. I would say that it needs to mellow out in the bottle some, but it is already two years old, so I am not sure that would help. Regardless this is a pretty tasty brew, which I will be happy to polish off the 750ml bottle of.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Wine & Spirits, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>

Bottle: light-colored and clear. Nose is quite sweet, with apple and banana. Flavor is fruity with loads of apples and quite strong, but doesn’t have the particular bite I expect from tripels, just not as distinctive and explosively flavored as normal. A bit too tart.

Poured from 750ml bottle into a Kasteel bier glass. The apperance was a hazy pineapple yellow with small white head. Nice lacing. This Kasteel glass is one of my favorites to drink Belgiums out of. The aroma was spicy, musty, and yeasty. The taste is stong on the yeasty esters, tangy and slightly burning in the back. The alcohol is apparent. The belgium sweetness manages to pop its head once the lingering spice fades. A slow sipper. This Tripel is well-rounded, but not really a knock out.