New Belgium Trippel

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Tripel
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Clear honey golden with a chalky fluffy head showing good retention and solid lacing. Perfumey aroma of straw and dried flowers. sweet malty palate with spicey yeast accents and a dry finish. After a while some subtle herbal elements come through. Nice.

shared bomber on 11 25 08. light golden pour with average white head. some mild yeast notes on nose. candy sugar, and some mild bitterness. medium body. kind of a boring Trippel.

On tap (and bottle 1/3/09). Nice golden hue with lots of sparkling co2. Great belgian yeast flavor of hay/straw, woody, barnyard with estery floral notes. Alcohol level not present in taste. Slight hops in the finish. Pretty good.

Bottle from World Market - Clear golden color with white head. Floral hop aroma - hop flavor seems more like a cascade rather then saaz, grassy/citrusy flavor. Not overly done with the hops but they are there and well balanced with the malt. This is a higer ABV then what I am used to but it still tastes like an ale; without the winey "hot with alcohol" taste you find in other styles with high ABV. Hop flavor increases the warmer it gets.

Clear yellow color with a white head leaving a bit of lacing. Smell of creamed corn, coriander, lemon, bread, and maybe some chamomile. Fairly strong banana Runts flavor; also lemon, coriander, bread, and the smallest hint of clove. Medium body and carbonation. This Tripel was more like a weird Witbier to me. Thanks to mashmaster for the bottle.

Bottle: (Thanks mashmaster!) Pours a golden color with great clarity and a dense creamy white head. Nice aroma. Some pastry-like qualities, honey notes, toasted cocoa-butter and herbal hints. Nice creamy body- substantial dense carbonation. The flavor has just enough sweetness, not too much like many American examples of this style. Softly sweet honey notes, vanilla, toasted almond-like hints, and a doughy Belgian pale malt character. Mildly spicy herbal notes into the dry-ish finish. Complex and very tasty. Nice malt character. Great interpretation of the style from an American brewer.

Draft at Library Alehouse in Santa Monica, CA. Pours deep gold with subtle orange and with an offwhite head. The aroma is grainy and malty-sweet with some caramel toffee and hints of fruity esters. The flavor is malty and grainy with some toast and caramel. Esters are fruity and include noticeable levels of clove and bubblegum. Finish has subtle roasted grain note (unexpected) and soft noble hop bitterness to balance. The mouthfeel is medium-full in body and briskly carbonated. Overall, an unexpectedly mediocre (poor?) tripel. Perhaps this just wasn’t fresh since my experience was definitely below par compared to other ratings...

Bottle. Pours a cloudy, gold color with a large, clingy, white head that fades some. Taste is of hops, wheat, yeast, fruit, caramel and malt. Some sweetness. The alcohol is hidden well. Aroma is much the same. Easy to drink and is a satisfying beer. For the price this a pretty nice beer, that is well worth visiting.