Kasteelbier Tripel Blonde 11%

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

This was a 750 mL bottle purchased at Discount in Milwaukee. Huge white head, light gold body. The carbonation moves very quickly through the beer. Aroma is soy sauce, nuts, alcohol. Also some butter, pears and cloves. The taste has a slightly sweet begining with grapes and apples. As you drink more bread comes out with some diacetyl and nuts. The warmth of the alcohol is felt, but not really tasted. Very warming. Taste also has a little spice in the finish. A slightly light body for the style and alcohol content. This is scary drinkable.

Pours a clear golden with a large frothy white head with nice lacing. Semi-dry floral bready Belgian yeasty aroma has a touch of candi sugar and caramel malt. Starts with a pleasant subtle candy toffee sweetness turning more dry and earthy, semi-bitter toward the finish. Has some complexity, but not nearly as much as I would expect from a Belgian beer with this much alcohol. Of course the alcohol is pretty well hidden. Overall a nice Belgian Strong.

This one was solid overall, very smooth and almost champagne tasting, hides the alcohol well. Tastes are subtle, with light spice and tart throughout, very different from other belgians I have had in that it had a high degree of crisp flavor. Good stuff.

Bottled 9/2003. Brilliant pale golden. Aroma is full of yeasty spice, a touch of flowery hops and a bit of alcohol. Big thick tongue-coating maltiness. Hints of coriander and orange. For 11% the alcohol is quite well hidden. Cloves and pears are coming forward, with a bit of warming alcohol (felt) Perhaps as not as tight and cohesive as some of the better examples of the style, but certainly nice. The longer I spend with it the more cloying it becomes.

Very sweet beer, nice to taste, and nice to look at. Cant have more than one in sitting though. More like an occasion beer, than a get together beer. Will definately buy again and enjoy with a cigar sometime.

Surprisingly light color for a tripel, aroma biscuits and banana and also on the light side, but it has that wonderful candy sugar sweetness that the Belgians are famous for with a bigtime sweet banana aftertaste, with a touch of alcohol finishing it out. subtle

Orangy color and a big but short lived off-white head. Alcohol and bready yeast are the dominant scents. Rich fruit and some floral hoppiness are in the shadows. A thick feeling sweet warm brew. A rich nutty maltiness coats the mouth. Alcohol warms all the way down. If approached as a normal drinking brew, it’s overwhelming. If approached as a "sipper" this is a nice dessert brew, great as a before bedtime drink on a cold winters night.

11.17.04 750ml bottle. Lightly hazed gold with creamy white head of dense and aromatic bubbles. Strong aromas of ripe pear, sweet sauterne, biscuity yeast. Very enjoyable to sniff with perfumey undertones and lots of booze. Palate is chewy, ripe, and full. Big mouthfeel with major alcohol presence and finish. Nothing spectacular but fantastically drinkable for such a big beer.