Kasteelbier Tripel Blonde 11%

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

This beer is all over Belgium in 4-pack 11.2 oz bottles. I am sampling it from a corked & caged 750 mL with a bottling date of 9/2003. There doesn’t appear to be any yeast in the bottle. Pale. Lovely, subtle nose of mainly malt (butter toffee, honey, caramel and biscuits and delicately hoppy with notes of citrus fruits, pineapple, lemon and lime. This is one gigantic beer. It’s pretty tasty as well. Flavor of deep rich malts (hazelnut, caramel and biscuits) with different light fruit flavors, mainly pear, pineapple and a hint of almonds on the finish. I enjoyed this one.

750 ml. green magnum champagne bottle. Corked and caged. Date bottled is 07/2003 on a waxy feeling cork. Freshness date is of 10/2006. 13 months old when drank. Loud pop forced the cork out with great pressure. So, it’s still very lively. Poured out a somewhat hazy orangish / yellow color, with a decent, but short lived head. The head was an off-white color, and it quickly faded back to a thin island of yeasty foam on top of the beer itself. Aromas are of sweet malts, slight Belgian yeasty funk, and lemon / citrus peel. No hops are present in either aromas or flavors. Alcohol is well off in the background, along with some slight phenols. Tastes are of lemon zest, sweet malts, candi sugar, some spicy corriander, and alcohols. Very warming to both the throat and the stomach. It tastes earthy as well as sweet. Go figure. Medium mouthfeel is rich and thick, but doesn’t coat your tongue. Almost chewy in a way. Warming buzz to it after awhile too. Finishes somewhat dry, but not overly so. A really decent Belgian triple. I can’t believe I haven’t rated it before now. I was missing out on some really good beer here.

Golden, white head. Pineapple aroma. Sweetish, malty flavour. Hoppy finish.

750 ml bottle. Pours orangey golden, slightly hazy with a large white head that diminished mostly and left good lacing. Citrus, sugar cookie aroma, yeasty and spicy. Sweet & flavor with a definite alcohol bite. Medium body and prickly carbonation. Pretty nice ale - but watch out for the kick.

75 cL bottle. Straw color. This is labeled a tripel but doesn’t have that candi sugar flavor that most do. It was a bit dry and citrusy with a sake-like flavor. Nice beer.

Pours a murky straw golden color with some head and good lacing. Spicy/malty nose. Creamy texture fruity and spicy with a sweet finish. Develops more as it warms.

Hazy golden color, bright white head. Fruity aroma, pears, light citrus, some banana, a little spicy as well. Creamy flavor, a little spicy, pears and bananas again. Alcohol is remarkably subdued, also a very soft and creamy mouthfeel considering the abv. I’m diggin it like a shovel.

Cloudy golden w. small head. Sweet and fruity, little wheat, vanilla. Alcohol is there but not too much considering the ABV.