La Trappe Tripel

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

A very complex flavor. Well worth the premium price.

Now this was interesting! The first thing that I picked up on was this strange (to me) flavor of cloves. I liked it! With this being the first tripel that I tried, I do not really know how to describe it, other than I was very taken by the complexity of this Belgian. Nice an thick, but it has a decieving taste. It changed on me so quickly! My favorite part of the beer was when it passed over my palate and I blew air out of my mouth, the entirety of my mouth was suddenly cooled by the prescence of alcohol (though the abv is not high, the beer did not mask the alcohol as well as other beers do. But that’s not bad, for me :})

Hazy orange color with a dispersive head and very lively carbonation. Aroma is very clean with sweet hops, raspberry, slightly tart with lots of complexities, this is a great aroma. Flavor has detectable alcohol with unripe cherry notes. Yeast, clove, spice and coriander are also detectable. Finishes with a slight burn of alcohol with a profound bready feeling. This was a totally unexpected delight. Thanks Indra!

A very light amber coloring that is slightly cloudy and has a quickly fading head. The aroma is very lively and heady. I smell a very fruity aroma that has everything from raspberries to grapefruit, perhaps some melons even, even pineapple, I know I am reaching but there was a rainbow of fruit flavors here. The aroma is just amazing, I just could just sit here and smell this beer. If there was an air freshener of this beer I would be ecstatic. Alot of flavor in the taste and the aroma. Strong hints of bananas upon first tasting. An extremely good follower to the Corsendonk Christmas Ale. This beer does a very good job of keeping its flavor throughout. Thanks Indra!

Encouraged by the delicious Dubbel I moved on to this. Perhaps I need to remember that the reverse order would be better. While this has higher ABV it is lighter and not as malty. Once again smooth is the word. Lovely apricot, peach and plum nose with a hint of hop. This beer slides down. Clearly a big alcohol beer but nothing of that harsh fusel type of alcohol that can sometimes detract from this style. What a find.

Pours a firey apricot color w/ a full, semi creamy froth. Great head retention finally reducing to a full, thick canopy. Aroma of granite and dried bananas, peach, and citrus. Full nectar w/ ample residual effers. Mildly sweet w/ strong flavors. Malty w/ a persistant peach pit bittering from start to finish. Secondary favors of dried apricot, peach, banana cream, vanilla bean, and candy rocks. As she warms a little honeycomb comes through. The finish is bittered perfectly leaving some lingering malt complexities. Overall: a stronger flavored brew w/ perfect Tripel character and a mild sweetness.

Bottle. Pours a lovely slight hazy orange. Head is made up of lots of small milky white bubbles with a distinct creaminess on the top - a little lacing. Aroma is nice and fruity. A milky feel blending with a yeasty edge. Very full mouthfeel, very creamy for the style. Flavour is very complex. Begins with a powerful vinious edge, then a general sweetness comes through. It blends a nice spicyness with the malty sweetness and a tone of alcohol. Apples, berries, plums, raisins and a touch of oranges. Great!

A truly fine Abbey ale ale as are most. A golden ale with a hint of red. Very malty flavour with a strong yeast note and a hint of fruit.