Kasteelbier Tripel Blonde 11%

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

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.

hazy blond colour with a chaotic head, nice lace, orange, yeasty and spicy aroma, fresh, very sweet, full-bodied, nice bitterness, long bitter, spicy and fruity finish - fresh, robust and balanced

Thick white head, champagne-like bubbling. Quite stable. Beer colour of old gold, very clear. Nose gives an alcoholic-tinted sweetness, grain. Later something sulphury, like burnt rubber. Taste is a bit oppressive sweetness, candisugar. Faint flavour of green sultana's (sulphur?). After a while, it becomes completely almond-flavour, even with a whiff of bitter almonds. Quite some alchol-burn, throat-warming effect. Very dry at the same time. Alcohol masks the body completely. Sweetness becomes nearly cloying, given time. Not too outspoken, seen the dryness. Was the blond version really necessary? Commercially, yes, no doubt. For the taste palette, however...

Tasted at Fynske Øldag 2005, Pale yellow colour with a small white head. Malty and fruity aroma with faint alcohol note. Malty and quite spicy flavor with a warming alcohol finish.

Bottled @ Fynske Øldage: Pale yellow coloured. Hazy. White head. Citric, spiced and fruity beer with some light alcoholnotes. Is well balanced and quite complex. Medium bodied. Has a nice alcoholbite with a nice warming on lips and palate.. NIce one.

(bottle, brewed anno 2004) Golden colour with a small frothy white head, quickly diminishing. Sweet malty aroma with notes of citrus and peach. Bittersweet flavour, malty and fruity taste. Nice finish of bitter lemon peels. Good alcohol management, not ostensible but heartwarming. Nice !

Rich in flavour and aroma.

Bottle. Slightly hazy, golden-orange body with a medium, dense, white head on top. There’s some floaties in the beer, and a very lively carbonation, causing the floaties to swirl rapidly from bottom to top to bottom and so on. There’s nice lacings forming too. The nose is very fruity, with a good dash of alcohol, lots of dried fruits, some spicyness, a little pale malt, and a little hoppy note. There’s also some beef-stock like aromas, more common in darker beers. Flavorwise it is quite bitter, but the sweetness of course hits first. Fruits, mostly yellow apples, spicyness, alcohol, some pale malt and dried fruits are other things that comes to mind. A slight alcohol burn in the mouth, quite full bodied. Finishes with some alcohol, a good bitterness and sweetness, pale malt and fruityness. And it lasts for a long time. Well suited as a night cap or a relaxing beer earlier in the evening. 11% ABV is a bit strong if one wants more than one or two beers, but for the forementioned purposes, it works just fine. Not refreshing, not quenching, but surely enjoyable. (071120)