La Trappe Tripel

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

Fiery Orange Glow With Sandy Head. Rich Syrupy Sweet Malt, Yeast, Bread and Spices, Particularly Cloves on the Nose. Heavy Creamy Mouthfeel with Spicy Notes Dropping Continuously Through. Nice Malty Underlay. Spice Notes, Breaded and Yeasty. Some Noticeable Warming. The Konings are Far More Simplistic Than Other Trappist Beers, But then Perhaps A Very Good Example of what a Great Session Beer Can Be All About.

orange amber color seems a litle dark for a tripel. head is almost non-existant, which is a big disappointment. Aroma is moderate with sugar, yeast, citrus, sweat and a strance acidity that riminds me of stomach acid. Not the most pleasing. Body is nice and full, with perfect light carbonation that melts around your tongue. taste is very sugary sweet with belgian style yeastiness, and alcohol finish. There’s also another off factor that I can’t pin down. Lacking overall. Easy to drink, but has several flaws, especially for the style.

Pour is a deep dark almost tan. Nice size white head foams after the pour. Aroma is nice an musty almost like a dry wine. Flavor is sweet,fruity and a dash of honey. Nothing really overpowers though and this one is quite bland. I will still try the dubbel and quad though. The good thing about this brew is the price. Probably the cheapest trappist out there.

Old Bottle, with the old name. Apple, yeast, banana, papaya nose. Fizzy Carbonation. Orange with a little head. Brussels lace. Bready taste, applejuice like at the end. Warm but initial alcohol finish. "It’s like a muld sandwich" (arnoud)

750mL bottle, no date. Clear orange amber with a 1 1/2 finger yellowish white head that fades to a film fairly quickly. Candy sugar, fruity yeast consisting of pear and apple, a bit of spicy pepper and some stale herbal hops. Hints of plastic are also present. Flavor is much the same with some definite alcohol presence, though nothing crazy. Some light ripened bananas add to the candy sugar sweetness, but the hops do a good job of keeping things balanced (not too sweet), barely earthy, and herbal. There is something in here I can’t put my finger on that I’ve had in many beers, so we’ll come back to it if I remember throughout this bottle--update--is it brown sugar and/or juicy raisins? Semi-dry peppery finish. Moderate carbonation with a medium to full body--seems to be a bit flatter than most tripels I’ve had. A solid beer, though nothing phenomenal.

Unsubstantial is the word that comes to mind. Starts fruity - grapes and pears. Thin in the middle, a little thicker around the sides. Finishes thinly sweet and dry - a hop/alcohol combo with light sugar bowl taste. This is not a bad brew, just lacks the complexity of many of the others in this style. No yeast floaties at all. My bottle had the new "Koningshoeven" label instead of La Trappe.

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.

Bottle. Hazy golden color with a quickly laced white head. The nose is deeply malty with cherries and quite rich for a tripel. Dry, citric, and spicy in the mouth. The alcohol is a little harsh.