La Trappe Tripel

Brewed by De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abbey Tripel
Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

A tripel from the only Dutch trappist brewery, pours a golden-orange colour, slightly hazy, with lots of carbonation, made of bigger bubbles, and has a foamy mild off-white head that has good retention and some lacing. The cork has writting on it, 07/08. I think this is the first time I sense caramel in the aftertaste, for a tripel. The taste is quite mild overall, but still lots to choose from. Fruits (mostly apples), spices, hop and some bread in the finish. The nose is on the spicy side, reminding me of Unibroue’s Maudite (which is one of my favorites). Bready, fruity and yeasty. Almost like pepper aromas.... which I like very much. Smooth mouthfeel, real easy drinkability for such a high alcohol beer. Pretty good overall, but lacking the ingredients that make these brews hazy.

(750ml bottle). Pours a hazy dark orange and has aroma of candy sugar. Flavor is sweet with some bitterness. Slightly bitter finish. A good triple.

Bottle from some bar in Eindhoven poured golden with white head. Taste somewhat sweeter and less bitter/acidic than most other triples I’ve had. Bread-like malt, cloves flavor. Just so-so

UPDATED: JUL 11, 2010 Poured kind of dark for a Tripel; amber color with a decent sized off-white head. Light aromas of citrus and spices. Flavors of citrus, yeast and some spices. Sweet and dry finish with a very slight alcohol burn. A pretty standard Tripel; not enough going on in the flavor or aroma departments.

Bottled 33cl. Sampled at several occasions and had a bottle in Cappucino in Winterthur, Switzerland lately. Banana accented aroma with coriander sneaking in. Sweet and not subtle at all. Low bitterness. A very poor tripel.

Light sweet, fruity aroma. Dirty orange-gold color with a hint of white head. A refreshingly light bodied triple, moderately sweet and fruity with a hint of spice.

Bottle. A - Slightly cloudy honey golden orange with a thick, creamy, pillowy, meringue like white head. Good retention that settles into a nice layer of lace with some thick, sticky lacing on the edge. S - Slightly tart apple and orange are the strongest fruity aromas. Some honey and caramel maltiness. Some yeast and alcohol aroma present along with some floral and spiced scents. T - Apple and pear (with just a slight tartness) and hints of of golden/typical Tripel fruit. These other fruits get a touch stronger through the sip. Some sweet honey-like malt with touches of caramel come out mid sip. Some spiced flavors (clove, coriander, pepper and some others) and some alcohol taste comes out toward the end. The fruitiness comes out stronger on the finish again, especially the apple. M - On the lighter side of medium body with a good amount of carbonation. A bit thin, and some creaminess. D - Pretty easy to drink beer that is fairly well balanced and a good amount of flavor that makes me want to drink more. Notes: Best before 04/2012. Overall a solid and nice beer to drink. Nothing amazing, and it doesn’t blow me away and there are Tripels that I prefer, but it is a good beer. With all that said, I would drink it again, and it is worth trying.

.33L bottle, small stable head, quite hazy deep golden with orange colour, malty aroma with notes of vanila, mushroom, mustard and some herbs, malty fruity sweetness, medium bitterness and some alcohol in the back, pleasant sweet aftertaste with a touch of sourness. not spectacular but quite good and solid.