On tap at the Pub With No Beer. Pours a pale yellow with a big thick dense white head. Enormous bubble gum sweetness to the aroma. In addition, straw and banana emerge from the heavy esters. The flavor mimics these aromas as well. This is served in a traditional Belgian tulip glass and is completely satisfying after spending a week drinking mass-produced Australian pale lagers. The people at this famous bar were some of the nicest that we met in a country full of incredibly nice people. You must visit this place.

Lovely, clear, burnished bronze body with a white, medium lasting head. Nose offers something different with each whiff, perfume, fruit and mint. Lovely smooth malt depth in the taste, almost full in body, banana, a little diacetyl and some bitterness as well as the warming alcohol.

Bottle with yalnikim (in NZ), an amber pour with a thin head. A hoppy aroma with ginger and fruit. Lots of malt on the palate, with candy sugar and nuts.

Oh good, I like to be the one who makes a beer count. This beer, while not being a vintage series, is definitely a batch to batch prospect. The second batch has been a much more balanced act than the first with the apreciation of some of the subtleties that the Belgian tripel requires. This is a fine melange of dried fruit, plums and bananas. Certainly some diacetyl in the mix but this is not a disarming factor at all. Lets call this one more of a work in progress as the Belgians have been doing this sort of thing for ages. It has a fine (insert place where kangaroos sleep)mate in the Icon DIPA and so we know the potential for even greater improvement is there.

Rerate: 2nd batch was much more balanced. Raising rating by a few points. Original rate: Well, first off, don’t try to drink one of these by yourself unless you’ve just been dumped or your dog died or Howard wins the election. 750mls of this Abbey tripel goes a long way, and the after-effects are lingering. It’s a big mother, and best shared with like-minded souls. For mine, it’s a qualified success, superior to most recent Australian experiments with Belgian styles, but not in the same class as their IPAs. As the Melbournians observe, the champagne-style corks can be a challenge with these caged 750ml bottles. I resorted to sawing the bulb off with a bread knife and prying the remainder out with a cork-screw. The beer poured with the noisy splutter that sometimes indicates a carbonation issue. It raised 2cms of loose suds that quickly fizzled away. Clear bronze colour with a peachy tint. Strong aroma of over-ripe fruit, quite thin and piercing. Plums, Cherry Cola, fresh mint leaves and Werthers Originals. Very fruity, with lots going on. Medium bodied and oily. Perhaps marginally under-carbonated? I found the flavour mix a real cocktail and a bit of a head-scratcher. Definite diacetyl, pureed dates, quince, chewy malts and a Victory V-like heat and minty medicinal astringency in the finish. Sweet but not OTT. Licorice-root intensity. Very "hot" to my palate - I prefer the alcohol to wear more camouflage than this. Overall, a very worthwhile addition to the local scene, but a bit confused. I don’t think it would take much tweaking to lift this into the top flight. (750ml bottle from Liquor on Parade)