Midnight Sun Épluche-Culotte

Brewed by Midnight Sun Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Anchorage, Alaska USA

gold, white head. spicy orange, pineapple, malt and honey aroma. very fruity peachy, apricoty flavour with honey and booze. spicy finish.

Tropical fruit sweetness and petulant yeast punch through alcoholic undertones in this most warming of lively salads...Phenolic apricots and big-bubbled pineapple infusions infer quality maltage and a healthy dose of creativity...A rich and sunny Caribbean vista growing in the northern wilderness of Alaska...

You’ve got to admire the pluck of the trouserless, flame-haired cartoon lass on the label, as she tosses away her clothing and rides a caribouinto the wild, a distinct grin lighting her countenance. Did an ale like this give her the confidence and joie de vivre necessary to pull off so defiant an act with such gumption? Let’s crack the crwon and find out! She pours a slightly hazy perfect peachy shade, witha layer of solid, creamy foam, that slims down but never departs. Aroma. bold citric, frank orange and lemon coupled with a funky, yet inviting sourness, all met with a cookie-dough-like yeastiness that further entices. I like it, I like it! Great blast of flavor right on the tongue, floods the mouth with a wide, round, fully fruity flavor. Spices, and yeast also make up a large contingent in this taste barrage, and it all connects and washes up and down the palate. Zingy spice, plush, tasty, ever-pleasing citric fruit, long, luscious, still-spicy finish, and medium-to-full bodied. Flavor lasts long on the tongue, richly rewarding. Very nice. Very, very nice....oh, how I wish this wasn’t such a rare bottle to enjoy...if only I had a case or two at my diposal...alas! I’ll just have to savor this bomber slowly and soak it all in...lest I go overboard like the Alaskan Lady Godiva who graces the label, Lord lover her!

Slightly appley, orangey. Quite sweet. Alcoholic, peppery notes and basic malts. This is straightforward, unadventurous tripel, with an accent on spices and alcohol. There are dozens of better ones, IMO.

Re-rate (2/20/05 - 6-2-6-2-12=2.8): Mild cider vinegar, alcohol, honey, sour cherries, sugar and candy in the aroma. Opaque tan-brown with shy, large-bubbled, white head that recedes rapidly to thin ring. Strong brown sugar, and very fruity (apricot, peach), honey, and doughy yeast flavours. Medium bodied and somewhat sticky. Feels somehow still despite a very strong carbonation that detracts from overall enjoyment. Bottle sampled at the Voyager par des Papilles group tasting Feb-05.
Original Rating (5/23/04 - 6-3-6-3-13=3.1): Sweet, fruity aroma with a touch of alcohol. Hazy straw colour with decent white head that recedes to cover. Overly sweet. Aggressively spicy. Some fruitiness. Noticeably alcoholic. Very prickly mouthfeel due to high carbonation. Slightly acidic. Bottle (sampled with MartinT, mr_kimchee, Oakes and Rastacouere).

Enjoyed with tiggmtl, kimchee, oakes and MartinT. Thanks to captaincougar for the trade Deep golden hue with a white head that doesn’t seem to be particularly well-laced and actually seems to fade away rather fast. Aroma proposes a mild alcohol presence, very yeasty, flowery with more powder sugar than I’d like. Rather sweet candi sugar and a good spicy backbone with sage and cardamom. In mouth, it’s also very spicy (mint, cinnamon sage), lightly tart with fruity undertones (orange, mango) and more candyish flavors (honey). Dry spicy flowery hoppy bitterness and a moderate alcohol presence in the finish. High carbonation as it seems to be the trademark with this brewery, medium and round bubbly body. Sure it’s a good beer and a good tripel even, but there are plenty of better ones in Belgium scoring lower.

Gorgeous beer-head is very full and lacy. Overall color is a little darker than most belgian tripels, but not too dark. Luscious fruit and malt flavors, followed by nice spices and ample hop bitterness. You definitely wouldn’t mistake it for a true belgian as its a little hoppier, but a wonderful beer.

22 oz bottle. Absolutely clear copper, gigantic lasting near-white head. Very sweet, spicy nose reminiscent of honey, clove, cinnamon, apples, and bananas-n-cream, quite lovely. Very sweet initially, with strong warming alcohol presence that helps cut the sugariness. Thick, pillowy body supports a complex, assertive middle texture full of yeast, bananas, sweet lemons and a hint of maple. Dries up just a bit at the end, though predominant sweetness lingers. Excellent, far and away my favorite thus far from this brewery.