La Trappe Tripel

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

750 ml bottle from Bev4less in Santee. Pours a hazy copper color with a large sudsy white head that lingers a fair while and leaves plenty of lacing. The Aroma is strong with bananas, pears and mild spices. The flavor mirrors the aroma--the bananas are sweet and ripe in the forefront; other fresh fruits round out the sides: grapes apples and pears. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. The finish is long with complex fruits lingering. Overall: This is the sweetest tripel with the most fruit that I can ever remember. Very different. Recommended.

Bottle. Pours a hazy, deep golden amber with an off-white head. Sweetish and a bit tart aroma with fruity notes – berries and dark fruits – on a malty background. Flavour is malty and fruity – again dark fruits, but no berries – and with a sugary sweetness. Slightly tart and with a slight bitterness as well. Dry, grassy finish with a malty and fruity sweetness. Lingering sweetness with a wooden note. A tad too much carbonation. 17.11.10.

Another undemanding and unbalanced La Trappe offering akin to their Blonde. It may be the yeast involved, the Dutch influence or the brewery itself, but these beers lie a mile down the list when compared with other Trappist beers. Poured into a chalice quite cool; an absolute twin to the Blonde as far as looks with the exception of this ones missing head. Pale orangey copper, quite hazy with an incomplete head forming even after a slow pour. It did manage a fine lacing, though. Spicy, rather pungent and noticeably alcoholic, toffee, fairy floss and tangerine nose. Very sweet inside the mouth; a little light in body and biting in carbonation at first only to soften late into drinking. Overtones of burnt wood, oak chips, pine nuts and a little citrus attempt a balance with the overly sweet caramel and toffee mix on the tongue with a stand-alone note of metallic, zingy hops in the back which finishes it off quite short. Highly alcoholic with a warming vodka-like swallow and a little heat in the mouth. Slowly comes together near warm, but it lacks balance and flavour integration to be anything other than a fizzy alcohol hit. Obviously needs a few years in the cellar to mellow, so this is another for a re-rate. (30cL, BBE12/07, Int’l Beer Shop, W. Leederville)

Amber body, brownish creamy head, mostly dimishing. Spicy and malty aroma. Lightly bitter initial flavour. Heavily bitter finish. Dry mouthfeel.

Bottle @ Home. Pours slightly hazy golden with a white head. Aroma of malt, yeast, honey, sweet fruit, light spicy. Taste is malt, belgian yeast, fruit, spices. Medium body, quite high carbonation level. 071211

2 Bottles, courtessy of Hopdog, one new and one BB 1995. Rating for the older version.

New: 8-5-6-3-12- Orange, nice white head. Nice candied malt aroma. Flavor is a little lacking in the malt catagory. Slight banana. Dry finish.

OLD: Score indicated above. Orange, tannish head. Cardboard musty candy aroma. Flavor is vinous and malty, hints of cardboard again. A little flat.

Nice opaque deep golden darkened yellow color, a lighter peachy tone that has lots of little floaty things suspended in its haze. Small whitish head thats loose and fluffy and fades pretty fast and lace is in drippy strings and spots. Smell is a subdued mellow mix of very dulled melons and lemon with some yeasty grab and a nice spicyness and alcoholic warmth over lays. Taste is quite quenchingly yummy and mellowing. Nice mild citrus of dullish lemon, melons, and dried orange and apricot all have a certain impressionable mix and lightly souring tartness kick thats mostly upfront. Hops add to the boost some, then it begins to fade some as it reaches farther past midway. Just after midway it mellows out with some spicyness and lingering lightly into the finish with some malty chewyness and more dulled citrus mix. Solid medium body feel with some creamyness at first, picking up a small surge on its way to a mellowing smooth and lightly chewy sweet finish. Not overly complex but very enjoyable, a nice drinkable thickness and lush feeling as it begins to warm after half a glass or so. Makes for a nice relaxing glass full of delight.

Bottled from Dutch cheese shop in Bratislava. dark golden color with nice thick head. Aroma, bananas, orange with spicy hints. Taste, very fruity, orange, banana with spicy, bittersweet finish. Very nice beer.