New Belgium Trippel

Pours a deep gold with a moderate white head. Aroma is slightly wine-like, with some honey, grape, and pungent grain, mild cheese and slight alcohol. Taste reminds me a little of champagne (not the real good stuff), bitter honey, moderate hop flavor, apples, with an earthier slant on the finish. more carbonated than the abbey dubbel and more apparant alcohol. Perhaps it’s slightly more complex, but I’m not sure if I enjoyed this as much as the dubbel. It’s good stuff and certainly priced well, but compared to beers like Westmalle, it doesn’t have much of a chance. Just don’t think of other beers, and you’ve got something really good here!

12oz bottle, best by Jan ’09. Deep golden-orange, clear, with a small head, some lasting foam, some lace. The aroma has some green apple and grape with some doughy yeast, sweet honey, and subtle hop spice. Sweet, honeyish flavor, with a drying and slightly astringent mouthfeel. A little tangy, fruity character. Light hops in the finish that provide moderate bitterness. Drinkable, but lacking the boldness and character of a good tripel. Too filtered and toned down. I would never turn one down, and this does come in sixers for the same price as fat tire, but there are plenty of better tripels available.

Pours a dark golden color with very little to no head. Aroma is a musky malt fruitiness with some bread grain notes. Flavor starts out with a very sweet malt but ends abruptly with a syrupy mouth feel. Some hop spiciness lingers. Nothing crazy, and easily drinkable, what hurts this beer is that it doesn’t take any chances and ends up just mixed in with the rest.

Poured from bottle. Nice darker golden color, with good sized white head. Hints of banana, slight vanilla. Nice flavor, very drinklable.

It’s muted in a good way, working well to blend in a myriad of spice and caramel flavors that other tripels let overpower.